Professor Luís Radford was born in Guatemala, a Central American country, but it was on the academic benches of Laurentian University in Ontario, Canada, where he gained international projection from his research that culminated with the formulation of the Theory of Objectification (TO). During a visit to the Distance Education Department (SEDIS/UFRN), on Tuesday (28), where he was welcomed by the EaD/UFRN Secretary, Carmen Rêgo, the researcher talked about the main aspects of TO.

According to Radford, “the Objectivation Theory is born as an alternative to current trends, insofar as it starts from the fact that education is not simply the acquisition of knowledge, but also the production of subjectivities, the production of critical, ethical, and responsible subjects. Still according to the mathematics education researcher, it is not possible to look only at the instrumental aspect of teaching and learning and leave aside the human dimension.

In the book “Objectivation Theory: Foundations and Applications to the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics”, produced by Radford in partnership with Shirley Takeco Gobara, a professor and researcher at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), who also visited SEDIS/UFRN, excerpts from investigative studies are presented, which exemplify the applications of this theory to the teaching and learning of science and mathematics. However, other areas of knowledge are starting to appropriate these concepts and apply them in the daily life of the school environment and in teacher training.

Professor Claudianny Noronha, from the Graduate Program in Science and Mathematics Teaching (PPGECM), from the Center for Exact and Earth Sciences (CCET/UFRN), explained that Professor Luis Radford’s visit to Brazil is part of a series of activities that marks the strengthening of the actions of the International Network for Academic Collaboration on Objectivation Theory (Ricto), which brings together representatives from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile and Canada and provides for the production of joint studies on the school reality at different levels and schooling systems in different countries.

Carmem Rêgo thanked the visit and made the SEDIS/UFRN studios available for the recording of a videocast that will be published on YouTube as part of the “Teacher Talk” project, an initiative of the Contar Research Group, of which SEDIS/UFRN is a partner in several initiatives. Soon, the audiovisual content will be available on the Contar and SEDIS/UFRN channels.

Bruno Cássio – Communication Advisor of SEDIS/UFRN.