This study aims at characterizing communication in mathematics classes, from the perspective of Formative Assessment based on Semana and Santos (2012) and Fernandes (2008, 2012). It emerged from the need for improvements in teaching practice and assessment of the researcher teacher. In view of this, a sequence of four tasks of the mathematical content of percentage was applied, with the intention of articulating teaching, learning and assessment in a group of youngsters and adults students. The teaching methodology used in the intervention was the exploratory one, in which the students carried out the tasks in groups and later socialized the results in the collective discussion in the whole class. The methodology of the research follows a qualitative according to Bogdan and Biklen (1994), approach in which the interventions of the students and the researcher teacher were analyzed, based on the three dimensions of communication proposals for Semana and Santos (2012): dynamics, focus and meaning. The data collection is based on the audio recording of all the communications that occurred in the groups, in the stage of accomplishment of the tasks, and video-audio recording of the interventions occurred in the collective discussion of the results, with subsequent transcription of the speeches of those involved. The written records made by students during the tasks, the students’ perceptions of classroom experience - obtained through a video-recorded interview - also served as background information for the study. The empirical data were the object of an analysis of content oriented by the dimensions of communication: dynamics, focus and meaning and themes that emerged from the articulation between the research questions and the theoretical framework. The obtained results show that the communication of the students was predominantly destined for another student (dynamics), both in the stage of accomplishment of the tasks and in the phase of collective discussion of the results; In relation to the focus they focused the majority of their attentions to the process of resolution of the tasks; as to meaning they intended to explain in most communications. Regarding to dynamics of the teacher's interventions, in the phase of accomplishment of the tasks most of his communications were destined for the groups of students, while in the phase of the collective discussion the greater part was destined for the class; As to the focus, the teacher focused his attention on the process of solving the tasks; And in relation to the meaning it is evidenced a speech substantially of the type question in which it requested explanation of the students. In this way, the communication developed in the classroom was characterized as social interaction, in which the students appeared as a learning resource for the others, contributing to the practice of formative assessment. It was also concluded that the researching on the his own practice allowed relevant professional learning to the researcher teacher, transforming his conceptions about teaching, learning and assessment.
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