Search
Search Results
-
Teaching polygons in the secondary school: a four country comparative study
29-65Views:38This study presents the analysis of four sequences of videotaped lessons on polygons in lower secondary schools (grades 7 and 8) taught by four different teachers in four different countries (Belgium, Flanders, England, Hungary and Spain). Our study is a part of the METE project (Mathematics Educational Traditions in Europe). The aims and methodology of the project are described briefly in the introduction. In the next section of this paper we describe various perspectives on teaching and learning polygons which were derived from the literature, concerning the objectives, conceptual aspects and didactic tools of the topic. The next two sections introduce the main outcomes of our study, a quantitative analysis of the collected data and a qualitative description linked to the perspectives on teaching polygons. We conclude by discussing some principal ideas related to the theoretical and educational significance of this research work. -
Preliminary e ects of mathematics curriculum development for primary school student teachers in Sárospatak Comenius Campus
95-107Views:30Hungarian students' mathematics performance has been getting weaker in the past few years. A possible solution to stop this tendency is to develop curriculum. Therefore, Hungarian researchers have been refining a particular framework of curriculum development in primary school teacher training programmes. The national curriculum is designed on the assumption that learning can be broken into a sequence of levels and students can evenly succeed in gaining knowledge at successive levels. In this paper, we want to discuss how to reduce students' difficulties with different background to grow competence at successive levels. -
Statistical inference in school
265-273Views:24The paper explains a classroom example for convincing students about the utility and applicability of statistical methods in learning getting people's opinions. The emphasis is on convincing instead of proving. The necessary statistical data may be obtained from the Internet as a digital text. -
Introductory Computer Programming Courses in Mathematics Curriculum
19-30Views:109We present the results of surveys and curricular research on introductory computer programming courses that are required or recommended for mathematics degrees at U.S. colleges and universities. Our target schools were those with populations between 5,000 and 20,000 undergraduate students. A key result is a synopsis of programming languages in use in these introductory courses with Java, Python and C + + holding the top three spots. We found that 85% of the 340 schools in our pool require or recommend an introductory programming course as a component of a mathematics degree. Furthermore, most of these introductory programming courses are taught by faculty outside of the mathematics department. These results indicate that mathematics faculty value computer programming and should be actively involved in setting learning outcomes, incorporating skills and concepts learned in introductory programming courses into subsequent mathematics courses, and determining programming languages in use.
Subject Classification: 97D30, 97P20, 97P40
-
Teaching probability theory by using a web based assessment system together with computer algebra
81-95Views:34In the course of Maths Basics 2, the Faculty of Economic Science students of Kaposvár University learn the classical chapters of Probability Theory, namely random variables and the well-known probability distributions. Our teaching experiences show that students' achievement is weaker in case of problems concerning continuous random variables. From school year 2012/13 we have had an opportunity to take Maple TA, the web-based test- and assessment system, into the course of education. It is sufficient for the users of Maple TA to have a browser. Maple computer algebra system, which runs on the server, assesses students' answers in an intelligent way, and compares them with the answers that are considered correct by the teacher. In our presentation we introduce some elements of Maple TA system, the didactic considerations the test sheets were made by, as well as our research results concerning the use of Maple TA. -
Blind versus wise use of CAS
407-417Views:7During my courses for mathematics major students I often use technology linked to the arising problems. In such cases I noted that some students were used to learn just some procedures, which made them able to solve (partially) some problems and when they got the result, they accepted it passively and did not relate it to the initial problem.
In this paper I outline a strategy and investigate some simple exercises about how to develop a critical attitude towards the results obtained by technology in an introductory course to CAS.
I believe that wise use of technology offers an effective method in teaching mathematics, without reducing the students' mental contribution. -
Teaching fractions at elementary level in the light of Hungarian mathematics textbooks in Romania
149-159Views:80According to the new curriculum in Romania, fractions are introduced in the second grade. The present study analyses Hungarian elementary mathematics textbooks on the topic of fractions focusing on the types of tasks in the textbooks, the significance of representations and the proportion of word problems. Additionally, the paper presents a questionnaire-based research on teachers’ opinion regarding the adequacy and sufficiency of the digital materials and exercises related to fractions in the textbooks.
Subject Classification: 97F40, 97F80, 97U20, 97U50
-
On an international training of mathematically talented students: assets of the 20 years of the “Nagy Károly Mathematical Student-meetings”
77-89Views:33The 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. -
Kompetenzstreben und Kompetenzerwerb: Funktionale didaktische Fördermöglichkeiten durch Differenzierung und Individualisierung
1-52Views:32As a first glimpse of specific research endeavours the most important components of competence motivation are discussed in relation to didactical questions of gaining competence by inner differentiation and individualization: self-efficacy, optimal challenge, intrinsic motivation, exploration needs, internal attribution, self-determination motivation, defense of self-worth, self-concept, and achievement motivation. In this sense "competence" means ever changing standards of self-regulation of an individual interacting with the various cognitive and emotional demands of his/her environment.
In fulfilling these requirements a prototypical example of inner differentiation in mathematics instruction is given. This didactical elaboration is available as a selfinstructing unit in Hungarian and German language within the "Electronic periodical of the Department of Methodology of Mathematics" which can be reached under http://mathdid.inhun.com.