An alternative to broaden the school-promoted meanings of mathematics in electrical sciences from socioepistemology

Abstract

This paper is the result of a research done from the Socioepistemological Theory of Mathematics Education, perspective in which we enquire about the reasons to study trigonometric Fourier series in electrical engineering, and what historical and epistemological conditions can be considered to develop more profound meanings when this topic is addressed in class. The findings in this research are four notions for the social construction of mathematics knowledge found in a qualitative historical-epistemological analysis of the original works of nineteenth century scientists. These notions consider transversal aspects from the scientists’ works: the use of analogies from heat to electricity give mathematical support to their findings; the shift from a static to a dynamic paradigm about electricity; the concern of a steady state as the situational context in which the knowledge was built; and the presence/confrontation of an epistemological obstacle. We propose that these conditions can be used to broaden the meanings overshadowed by mathematics courses in schools that primarily promote the operational aspect of mathematics.