THE MATHEMATICS TEACHER'S SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE IN THE USE OF ANALOGY ON TEACHING THE FUNCTION CONCEPT

Analogies, often used to make an idea understandable using previous knowledge or experience, have been considered as a component of pedagogical content knowledge since earliest conceptualizations of teacher's knowledge. This paper addressed the mathematics teacher's specialized knowledge in the use of the analogy of function as a machine, based on lessons observation of two Chilean high school teachers and a subsequent interview. Study's findings regarding the teacher's knowledge about the function in the use of analogy allow establishing relations between different knowledge manifested by teachers in the functions' teaching - learning process, advancing in the understanding of their knowledge.