Search
Search Results
-
Teaching correlation and regression in three European countries
161-183Views:70In this article, we compare the presence of correlation and regression analysis in secondary education of Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, through the analysis of final-exam tasks and curricula based on the Anthropological Theory of Didactics (ATD). It points out that the same topic can appear in different ways and extent in curricula, even if the mathematics teaching goals are similar. This article is a kind of introduction to the research that explores the possibilities for the appearance of these concepts in the Hungarian mathematics education. Therefore, in the second part of the article, Hungarian curricular goals are included, and it is shown which methodology of the three studied countries has the greatest curricular basis in Hungary.
Subject Classification: 97xxx
-
From Newton’s fluxions to virtual microscopes
377-384Views:32The method of fluxions was originally given by Newton among others in order to determine the tangent to a curve. In this note, we will formulate this method by the light of some modern mathematical tools: using the concept of limit, but also with hyperreal numbers and their standard parts and with dual numbers; another way is the use of virtual microscopes both in the contexts of classical and non standard analysis. -
Research on IT language use at a company
203-219Views:25The aim of the research of the IT language, used in the written documents of a company, is to contribute to the creation of a (mono- or bilingual) dictionary or encyclopaedia available for the public on the Internet, serving, among others, as a reference tool for the unified, controlled and unambiguous use of IT terms for students at various educational levels. To this ongoing work, the participation and cooperation of a panel of experts of different competences, linguists as well as IT experts, is indispensable.
The methods of corpus linguistics were used to carry out the research. The IT terms were separated from the texts and then a concordance software was used to see the environment of the IT words and phrases in which they occur. So their morphological analysis became possible.
The results of the research showed that a great number of Hungarian morphological language use problems stem from the way the IT terms are used in the documents. This paper lists, groups, analyses these phenomena.
The conclusions of the author are: (1) If such an Internet dictionary is used generally and consulted when e.g. somebody wants to write a composition or essay, translate an article, write a newspaper article, a scientific publication or a textbook to be taught at schools of different types and levels, etc. most of the communication noises could be filtered out. (2) At the same time it could promote the use of adequate (both in linguistic and technical meaning) Hungarian terms eliminating the "Hunglish" usage. (3) It could also contribute to the prevailing use of the relevant Hungarian terminology. Such a dictionary would be indispensable, not only in educational and industrial environments but in the electronic and traditional media as well. Last but not least, it could raise the level of different teaching materials (textbooks, e-materials, etc.) used in public and higher education. -
Categorising question question relationships in the Pósa method
91-100Views:63The doctoral research of the author – with a reverse didactic engineering (RDE) methodology – aims at reconstructing the theoretical background of the ‘intuitively developed’ Pósa method for inquiry-based learning mathematics (IBME) in Hungarian talent education. Preliminary results of the second step of this theorization is presented, which applies tools of the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic (ATD). A model is proposed for categorizing question-question relationship with 3 categories: helping question, follow-up question and question of a kernel. The first two of them are claimed to represent two types (relevant or not) of generating-derived questions relationship. The model is also a prospective tool for connected task- and curriculum design and analysis within IBME development.
Subject Classification: 97D20, 97D40, 97D50, 97E50, 97K30
-
Mathematical Doctoral School of the Mathematical Seminar of the University of Debrecen at the beginning of the 20th century (Debrecen, 1927-1940)
195-214Views:13In this article, we present the life and carrier of Professor Lajos Dávid, and those 16 mathematical dissertations, along with their authors, which were written under the supervision of Professor Dávid between 1927 and 1940. At the time mentioned, Lajos Dávid was the leader of the Mathematical Seminar of the University of Debrecen. The themes of the dissertations were connected with his scientific work, such as the history of mathematics (the two Bolyais), or his research work in mathematical analysis (arithmetic-geometric mean). -
The Mathematics Education Traditions of Europe (METE) Project
353-364Views:8This study is based on the work of the METE (Mathematics Education Traditions of Europe Project) team. Following a short introduction of the project, its theoretical background, methods and research design are presented in the next three sections. In the 4th section the tools developed by the METE team for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the collected data are discussed in details. The 5th section contains some personal remarks about using these tools. The 6th section presents the main results of the project, followed by a summary of the project's educational and theoretical significance. -
Development of classification module for automated question generation framework
89-102Views:25Automatic question generation is in the focus of recent researches which includes bordering disciplines like education, text mining, knowledge-engineering. The elaborated system generates multi-choice questions from textbooks without using an external semantic database. One of the base modules of the system is the classification module defining the extracted word. This paper describes modules of the framework including a detailed analysis of the classification part. We show the operability of the elaborated system through a practical test. -
An examination of descriptive statistical knowledge of 12th-grade secondary school students - comparing and analysing their answers to closed and open questions
63-81Views:67In this article, we examine the conceptual knowledge of 12th-grade students in the field of descriptive statistics (hereafter statistics), how their knowledge is aligned with the output requirements, and how they can apply their conceptual knowledge in terms of means, graphs, and dispersion indicators. What is the proportion and the result of their answers to (semi-)open questions for which they have the necessary conceptual knowledge, but which they encounter less frequently (or not at all) in the classroom and during questioning? In spring 2020, before the outbreak of the pandemic in Hungary, a traditional-classroom, “paper-based” survey was conducted with 159 graduating students and their teachers from 3 secondary schools. According to the results of the survey, the majority of students have no difficulties in solving the type of tasks included in the final exam. Solving more complex, open-ended tasks with longer texts is more challenging, despite having all the tools to solve them, based on their conceptual knowledge and comprehension skills. A valuable supplement to the analysis and interpretation of the results is the student attitudes test, also included in the questionnaire.
Subject Classification: 97K40, 97-11, 97D60
-
Transition from arithmetic to algebra in primary school education
225-248Views:29The main aim of this paper is to report a study that explores the thinking strategies and the most frequent errors of Hungarian grade 5-8 students in solving some problems involving arithmetical first-degree equations. The present study also aims at identifying the main arithmetical strategies attempted to solve a problem that can be solved algebraically. The analysis focuses on the shifts from arithmetic computations to algebraic thinking and procedures. Our second aim was to identify the main difficulties which students face when they have to deal with mathematical word problems. The errors made by students were categorized by stages in the problem solving process. The students' written works were analyzed seeking for patterns and regularities concerning both of the methods used by the students and the errors which occured in the problem solving process. In this paper, three prominent error types and their causes are discussed. -
Willy Servais and Tamás Varga A Belgian Hungarian perspective on teaching school mathematics
29-38Views:71Willy Servais and Tamás Varga had a major influence on the development of mathematics education during the 1960s and 1970s, both in their home countries and internationally. In 1971 they jointly published Teaching School Mathematics–A Unesco Source Book, a review of curriculum reforms that were under way in different parts of the world. The book, presenting several modern syllabuses as well as examples of classroom techniques and segments of teacher-student dialogues, provided an often consulted guide to the field of mathematics education. We re-read this book and in this way acquire a unique insight into the modernization efforts of school mathematics during the 1960s and early 1970s. We take this opportunity to discuss the sometimes partly divergent views of Servais and Varga on modern mathematics education as reflected in this book.
Subject Classification: 97-03
-
A role of geometry in the frame of competencies attainment
41-55Views:24We discuss aspects of the Education Reform from teaching to educational system. In this context we recognize some problems in recognition of some competencies that students need to achieve and we present how we have developed the measurement method of spatial abilities and problem solving competence. Especially, we investigate how students use spatial visualization abilities in solving various problems in other mathematical course. We have tested how students use their spatial abilities previously developed in geometry courses based on conceptual approach to solve a test based on procedural concept in Mathematical Analysis course. -
Tamás Varga’s reform movement and the Hungarian Guided Discovery approach
11-28Views:148This paper presents Tamás Varga’s work focusing especially on the Hungarian Complex Mathematics Education reform project led by him between 1963 and 1978 and the underlying conception on mathematics education named “Guided Discovery approach”. In the first part, I describe Varga’s career. In the second part, I situate his reform project in its international and national historical context, including the international “New Math” movement and the “Guided Discovery” teaching tradition, something which is embedded in Hungarian mathematical culture. In the third part, I propose a didactic analysis of Varga’s conception on mathematics education, underlining especially certain of its characteristics which can be related to Inquiry Based Mathematics Education. Finally I briefly discuss Varga’s legacy today.
Subject Classification: 97-03, 97B20, 97D20, 97D40, 97D50
-
A mathematical and didactical analysis of the concept of orientation
111-130Views:31The development of spatial ability, in particular the development of spatial orientation is one of the aims of mathematics education.
In my work, I examine the concept of orientation, especially concepts of between, left, right, below, above, front, back, clockwise and anticlockwise. I analyze answers given for a simple orientation task prepared for elementary school pupils. I would like to call attention to the difficulties pupils have even in case of solving simple orientation problems.
We have different ways to know more about the crucial points of a concept, especially of the concept of orientation. In this study I bring out one of them. I analyze and make some didactical conclusions about the origin and the axiomatic structure of orientation. -
Learning and teaching combinatorics with Sage
389-398Views:36Learning Mathematics is not an easy task, since this subject works with especially abstract concepts and sophisticated deductions. Many students lose their interest in the subject due to lack of success. Computer algebra systems (CAS) provide new ways of learning and teaching Mathematics. Numerous teachers use them to demonstrate concepts, deductions and algorithms and to make learning process more interesting especially in higher education. It is an even more efficient way to improve the learning process, if students can use the system themselves, which helps them to practice the curriculum.
Sage is a free, open-source math software system that supports research and teaching algebra, analysis, geometry, number theory, cryptography, numerical computation, and related areas. I have been using it for several years to aid the instruction of Discrete Mathematics at Óbuda University. In this article I show some examples how representations provided by this system can help in teaching combinatorics. -
Visualisation in geometry education as a tool for teaching with better understanding
337-346Views:153In primary and secondary geometry education, some problems exist with pupils’ space thinking and understanding of geometric notions. Visualisation plays an important role in geometry education, and the development of pupils’ visualisation skills can support their spatial imagination. The authors present their own thoughts on the potential of including visualisation in geometry education, based on the analysis of the Hungarian National Core Curriculum and Slovak National Curriculum. Tasks for visualisation are also found in international studies, for example the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Augmented reality (AR) and other information and communication technology (ICT) tools bring new possibilities to develop geometric thinking and space imagination, and they also support mathematics education with better understanding.
Subject Classification: 97U10, 97G10
-
Über die Verwendung von Maple für die Simulation von Mechanismen
21-39Views:21Maple is used to do numerical computation, plot graphs and do exact symbolic manipulations and word processing. This paper demonstrates how Maple can be used for the simulation of mechanisms. This offers the possibility for students to become familiar with this particular section of mathematical modelling. The mechanism under consideration is a so-called F-mechanisms, i.e., a planar parallel 3-RRR robot with three synchronously driven cranks. It turns out that at this example it is not possible to find the poses of the moving triangle exactly by graphical methods with traditional instruments only. Hence, numerical methods are essential for the analysis of motions which can be performed by an F-mechanism. -
Illustrated analysis of Rule of Four using Maple
383-404Views:30Rule of Four, as a basic didactic principle, was formulated among the NCTM 2000 standards (see [14]) and since then it is quoted by numerous books and publications (see [4], [9], [12]). Practically we can say it is accepted by the community of didactic experts. The usage of the Rule of Four, however, has been realized mainly in the field of calculus, in fact certain authors restrict the wording of the principle to the calculus itself (e.g. [3]).
Calculus is a pleasant field, indeed. A sequence of values of a function provides us with example for numeric representation, while the formula and the graph of the function illustrate symbolic and graphical representations, respectively. In the end by wording the basic features of the function on natural language we gain textual representation.
This idyllic scene, however, becomes more complex when we leave the frame of calculus. In this paper we investigate the consequences of the usage of Rule of Four outside calculus. We discuss the different types of representations and show several examples which make the multiple features of representation evident. The examples are from different fields of mathematics and are created by the computer algebra system Maple, which turns out to be an excellent tool for illustration and visualization of the maim features of mathematical objects.
Next we introduce the concept of basic representation and rational representation, which is considered as the mathematical notion of "didactic usable" or "didactic rational" representation. In the end we generalize the notion of numeric representation, which leads us a more widely usable didactic principle which can be considered as a generalization of Rule of Four. -
Proof step analysis for proof tutoring - a learning approach to granularity
325-343Views:26We present a proof step diagnosis module based on the mathematical assistant system Ωmega. The task of this module is to evaluate proof steps as typically uttered by students in tutoring sessions on mathematical proofs. In particular, we categorise the step size of proof steps performed by the student, in order to recognise if they are appropriate with respect to the student model. We propose an approach which builds on reconstructions of the proof in question via automated proof search using a cognitively motivated proof calculus. Our approach employs learning techniques and incorporates a student model, and our diagnosis module can be adjusted to different domains and users. We present a first evaluation based on empirical data. -
Word problems in different textbooks at the early stage of teaching mathematics comparative analysis
31-49Views:143In a previous research, Csíkos and Szitányi (2019) studied teachers’ views and pedagogical content knowledge on the teaching of mathematical word problems. While doing so, they reviewed and compared Eastern European textbooks of Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Croatia, and Hungary to see how world problem-solving strategies are presented in commonly used textbooks. Their results suggested that teachers, in general, agreed with the approach of the textbooks regarding the explicit solution strategies and the types of word problems used for teaching problem-solving. They also revealed that the majority of the participants agreed that a word problem-solving algorithm should be introduced to the students as early as in the first school year. These results have been presented at the Varga 100 Conference in November 2019. As the findings suggested a remarkable similarity between the Eastern European textbook approaches, in the current study we decided to conduct further research involving more textbooks from China, Finland, and the United States.
Subject Classification: 97U20, 08A50
-
Reappraising Learning Technologies from the Viewpoint of the Learning of Mathematics
221-246Views:13Within the context of secondary and tertiary mathematics education, most so-called learning technologies, such as virtual learning environments, bear little relation to the kinds of technologies contemporary learners use in their free time. Thus they appear alien to them and unlikely to stimulate them toward informal learning. By considering learning technologies from the perspective of the learner, through the analysis of case studies and a literature review, this article asserts that the expectation of these media might have been over-romanticised. This leads to the recommendation of five attributes for mathematical learning technologies to be more relevant to contemporary learners' needs: promoting heuristic activities derived from human history; facilitating the shift from instrumentation to instrumentalisation; facilitating learners' construction of conceptual knowledge that promotes procedural knowledge; providing appropriate scaffolding and assessment; and reappraising the curriculum. -
Understanding the spatiotemporal sample: a practical view for teaching geologist students
89-99Views:21One of the most fundamental concept of statistics is the (random) sample. Our experience – acquired during the years of undergraduate education – showed that prior to industrial practice, the students in geology (and, most probably, in many other non-mathematics oriented disciplines as well) are often confused by the possible multiple interpretation of the sample. The confusion increases even further, when samples from stationary temporal, spatial or spatio-temporal phenomena are considered. Our goal in the present paper is to give a viable alternative to this overly mathematical approach, which is proven to be far too demanding for geologist students.
Using the results of an environmental pollution analysis we tried to show the notion of the spatiotemporal sample and some of its basic characteristics. On the basis of these considerations we give the definition of the spatiotemporal sample in order to be satisfactory from both the theoretical and the practical points of view. -
On an international training of mathematically talented students: assets of the 20 years of the “Nagy Károly Mathematical Student-meetings”
77-89Views:25The focus of this paper is to present the gems of the "Nagy Károly Mathematical Student-meetings" in Rév-Komárom (Slovakia) from 1991 to 2010. During these 20 years there was done a lot of work to train mathematically talented students with Hungarian mother tongue and to develop their mathematical thinking, and to teach them problem solving and heuristic strategies for successful acting on the competitions. We collected the most interesting problems and methods presented by the trainer teachers. -
Straight line or line segment? Students’ concepts and their thought processes
327-336Views:94The article focuses on students’ understanding of the concept of a straight line. Attention is paid to whether students of various ages work with only part of a straight line shown or if they are aware that it can be extended. The presented results were obtained by a qualitative analysis of tests given to nearly 1,500 Czech students. The paper introduces the statistics of students’ solutions, and discusses the students’ thought processes. The results show that most of the tested students, even after completing upper secondary school, are not aware that a straight line can be extended. Finally, we present some recommendations for fostering the appropriate concept of a straight line in mathematics teaching.
Subject Classification: 97C30, 97D70, 97G40
-
Why some children fail? Analyzing a test and the possible signs of learning disorders in an answer sheet: dedicated to the memory of Julianna Szendrei
251-268Views:12Teachers and educators in mathematics try to uncover the background of the mistakes their students make for their own and their students' benefit. Doing this they can improve their teaching qualities, and help the cognitive development of their pupils. However, this improvement does not always support their students with learning disorders, since their problem is not caused by wrong attitude or lack of diligence. Therefore, it is the interest of a conscientious teacher to recognize whether the weaker performance of a student is caused by learning disorders, so the helping teacher can give useful advices. Although the teacher is not entirely responsible for the diagnosis, but (s)he should be be familiar with the possible symptoms in order to make suggestions whether or not to take the necessary test of the learning disorders.
In this article, through examining a test and the answer sheet of a single student, I show some signs that might be caused by learning disorders. -
The influence of computer on examining trigonometric functions
111-123Views:22In this paper the influence of computer on examining trigonometric functions was analyzed throughout the results questionnaire. The students, as usual, had to examine two trigonometric functions, both were given with the appropriate instructions. Three groups were tested. Two of those three groups were prepared with the help of computer and the third one was taught without computer. From the analysis of the questionnaire it follows that the computer has a great influence on understanding of the connections between the graph and very complex calculations.