This research report focuses on the study of the social practices in the construction of mathematical knowledge. Unlike the traditional focus on the study of explicit mathematical concepts, this study focused on the presence of mathematical concepts in the scientific atmosphere of a toxicologist, where they are used implicitly. We employ a construct that we will temporarily refer to as "sets of practices" to analyze how they construct innovative knowledge by means of processes of institutionalization of practices; considering that social practices are the generator of knowledge, and recognizing the importance of "knowledge in use". We propose a model in which beliefs, knowledge, experience, expectations, social representations, and conceptions play a role in this construction. The results are relative to the functional nature of mathematics as a tool for building knowledge. The localized optimization-standardization mechanism played a normative role in the practice studied.
Socioepistemology of Mathematics; Social Practices; Process of Institucionalization; Mathematics in the Scientific Activity of a Toxicologist
