Given the challenges of the process of formation to professors, the teaching and learning of the
concept of fraction is of singular importance for the development of research, especially in the
Initiatories Years of Elementary School. The present scientific work aims to verify the way
professors teaching mathematics in the Initiatories Years of Elementary School in Araguaína,
TO, solve situations that involve the concept of fraction, considering the use of semiotic
representation registers, the different meanings of fraction, as well characteristics of the
quantities. It is a qualitative and exploratory study, developed on two period: the first deals with
the literature review and elaboration of the theoretical reference that constituted the base of
support of the present study; the second phase consists in the development of five (05) activities
involving the concept of fraction, considering the records of semiotic representation, the nature
of the quantities and the different meanings of fraction. The activities are composed of tasks
which consider the use of distinct registers of semiotic representation, equivalence between
fractions, different meanings of fraction and the nature of the quantities. Participating in the
present study were 88 professors that teach mathematics in the 4th and 5th Year of Elementary
School of the municipal network of Araguaína, TO, at the occasion of a Continuing Education
Course given by the researchers. The results indicated that professor have facilities to solve
situations related to part-whole meaning, both in tasks involving discrete and continuous
quantities. We also found difficulties in understanding and solving fractional situations when it
comes to the conversion between registers of semiotic representation and, especially, the
meanings number, measures, quotient and multiplicative operator. We find which in both cases,
participants use geometric constructions (rectangles, circles, triangles) to solve fractional
problems, as well as the division between numerators and denominators when it comes to the
location of a certain fraction on a number line.
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