The arguments and objectives guided by the interests of students and teachers during the development of mathematical modelling activities were systematized by Kaiser and Sriraman (2006) as perspectives on Mathematical Modelling in Mathematics Education. Considering the purpose of our article of investigating Mathematical Modelling as practice that can lead to the development of students' mathematical thought, we based our discussions on Cognitive modeling. To approach mathematical thought, we used Dreyfus' theoretical presuppositions (2002) about students' mathematical thought and the characterizations of Tall (2004) for different "Worlds of Mathematics." Analyses are carried out of the development of modeling activities by students in a university-level mathematics teaching program and express thoughts and considerations regarding the students' mathematical thinking and cognitive processes. There was evidence that students move among the Three Worlds of Mathematics during the development of these activities. The results point to the potential of Mathematical Modelling activities for the development of processes of mathematical thought characterized by Dreyfus (2002) and Tall (2004).
Mathematics Education; Mathematical Modelling; Mathematical Thinking; Three Worlds of Mathematics
