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Some thoughts on a student survey
41-59Views:123The paper analyzes a survey of college students and describes its major findings. The object of the survey, involving 154 students, was to discover and highlight the problems that arise in taking the course Economic Mathematics I. The paper, as the summary of the first phase of a research project, wishes to present these problems, ways that may lead out of them, and possible means of help that can be offered to those taking the course. -
On an international training of mathematically talented students: assets of the 20 years of the “Nagy Károly Mathematical Student-meetings”
77-89Views:218The 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. -
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:170Teachers 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. -
Analysing the effects of OOP helper application
65-75Views:111Nowadays students of secondary schools are familiar with the usage of computer very soon, lot of them are even capable of handling user applications very cleverly. This is satisfying for most of them. Those who imagine their future in programming or system developing, need to have deeper knowledge about object oriented programming, however, students do have it at very low level or not at all. We want to make sure whether this suppose is true, so different examinations have recently been made at Slovakian secondary schools with Hungarian teaching language. We have reached a conclusion that the students' knowledge of object oriented programming is deficient. We could achieve better results by using proper applications as a visual aid. In this paper we examine the efficiency of an application made by us. -
Teaching of problem-solving strategies in mathematics in secondary schools
139-164Views:100In the Hungarian mathematics education there is no explicit teaching of problem-solving strategies. The best students can abstract the strategies from the solutions of concrete problems, but for the average students it is not enough. In our article we report about a developmental research. The topic of the research was the explicit teaching of two basic strategies (forward method, backward method). Based on our experiences we state that it is possible to increase the effectivity of students' problemsolving achievement by teaching the problem-solving strategies explicitly. -
A survey on how students seek information on the internet
153-165Views:79Navigating among the information available on the Internet has become an expectation for the members of the information society we are living in. This especially applies to students of higher education, the intellectuals of the future. It is a general experience that most users make one or two word searches and they don't know about the possibilities offered by various search engines, which can make searches more effective. Given results from abroad we have set up a study among the students of the University of Debrecen (UD) about their use of the Internet, their knowledge of searching strategies and techniques, their perceptions of the effectiveness and efficiency of search engines. This paper reports the results of this study. The results imply that it is imperative that area should be included in the curriculum. -
Straight line or line segment? Students’ concepts and their thought processes
327-336Views:217The 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
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Teaching probability theory by using a web based assessment system together with computer algebra
81-95Views:125In 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. -
Online tests in Comprehensive Exams – during and after the pandemic
77-93Views:226The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the development of electronic (e-learning) assessment methods and forced their use worldwide. Many instructors and students had to familiarize themselves with the form of distance education. During and since Covid-19 in Hungary, at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Debrecen, the written part of the Comprehensive Exam in Mathematics is organized in a computer lab of the university using an online test. Our goal is that the results of the tests may be as reliable as possible in terms of measuring the students’ knowledge, and thus the grades given based on the test results would be realistic. In this paper, we show the analysis of a sample written exam and compare the real exam results of students who were prepared for the comprehensive exam during Covid-19 and who have participated in face-to-face education since then. The tools provided by the Moodle system necessary for comparison are also presented.
Subject Classification: 97D40, 97D70, 97U50
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Radio Frequency Identification from the viewpoint of students of computer science
241-250Views:109This paper aims at creating the right pedagogical attitudes in term of teaching a new technology, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) by evaluating the social acceptance of this new method. Survey of future teachers, students of teacher master studies and students from informatics oriented secondary schools were surveyed comparing their attitudes in terms of RFID to other recent technologies. Consequences of this survey are incorporated into the curriculum of the new RFID course at our institution. -
Connections between discovery learning through the Pósa Method and the secondary school leaving examination in three Hungarian mathematics classrooms
67-85Views:413The Pósa Method is a guided discovery learning method that has been used in Hungarian education in the form of extracurricular activities for "gifted" mathematics students. A four-year experiment implemented the method in three more "average" classrooms. This article reports on the relationship between the Pósa Method and the standardized secondary school leaving mathematics exam (Matura Exam in short) in Hungary. Data consists of students' survey responses, teacher interviews, and exam results from the three Hungarian classrooms who took part in the four-year experiment. We identify aspects of the Pósa Method that can benefit and hinder exam performance. In addition, we find that learning through the Pósa Method for the four years of high school has adequately prepared students for the exam.
Subject Classification: 97D44, 97D54, 97D64
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Let's learn database programming in an active way
213-228Views:145This paper introduces how I applied the "learning by doing" method in the education of advanced knowledge of database systems in Software Engineering BSc program. The first goal of my method is to enable the students to use the PL/SQL and SQL as a skill, namely they get a practical competence which can be immediately used in business. In the laboratory the students independently practise the material learnt on the lecture. They get feedback for all their activities from the teacher. A software system helps administer the solutions, automatically verifies the syntax of them and helps the teacher to evaluate them. The paper summarises the results of three semesters. In the last year I compared the active learning method with the traditional method. I asked the students in a voluntary survey about the active learning method. -
Maximum and minimum problems in secondary school education
81-98Views:147The aim of this paper is to offer some possible ways of solving extreme value problems by elementary methods with which the generally available method of differential calculus can be avoided. We line up some problems which can be solved by the usage of these elementary methods in secondary school education. The importance of the extremum problems is ignored in the regular curriculum; however they are in the main stream of competition problems – therefore they are useful tools in the selection and development of talented students. The extremum problem-solving by elementary methods means the replacement of the methods of differential calculus (which are quite stereotyped) by the elementary methods collected from different fields of Mathematics, such as elementary inequalities between geometric, arithmetic and square means, the codomain of the quadratic and trigonometric functions, etc. In the first part we show some patterns that students can imitate in solving similar problems. These patterns could also provide some ideas for Hungarian teachers on how to introduce this topic in their practice. In the second part we discuss the results of a survey carried out in two secondary schools and we formulate our conclusion concerning the improvement of students' performance in solving these kind of problems. -
Our duties in talent management in the light of the results of the International Hungarian Mathematics Competition of 2017
55-71Views:123The 4th International Hungarian Mathematics Competition held in Transcarpathia, Beregszász between April 28 and May 1, 2017, was organized by the Hungarian Carpathian Hungarian Teachers' Association (KMPSZ) and the Ferenc Rákóczi II. Transcarpathian Hungarian Institute (II. RFKMF).
The venue for the competition was the building of the Ferenc Rákóczi II. Transcarpathian Hungarian Institute. 175 students participated in the competition from Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Transcarpathia.
In this article, we are going to deal with the problems given in the two rounds to students in grades 5 and 6, and, in the light of expectations and performance, we make some suggestions for a more effective preparation of talented students on after-school lessons. -
The use of different representations in teaching algebra, 9 th grade (14-15 years old)
29-42Views:139Learning Algebra causes many difficulties for students. For most of them Algebra means rote memorizing and applying several rules without understanding them which is a great danger in teaching Algebra. Using only symbolic representations and neglecting the enactive and iconic ones is a great danger in teaching Algebra, too. The latter two have a primary importance for average students.
In our study, we report about an action research carried out in a grade 9 class in a secondary school in Hungary.The results show that the use of enactive and iconic representations in algebra teaching develops the students' applicable knowledge, their problem solving knowledge and their problem solving ability. -
The background of students' performance
295-305Views:115The question to which we were seeking was: how can we reveal the students' strategies and mental process by following their work precisely and by finding out what correlation these have with their efficiency. Our aim was to understand the factors behind of students' achievement. We tried to follow up the process of problem solving by looking at the number of wrong turnings. -
MRP tasks, critical thinking and intrinsic motivation to proving
149-168Views:132The lack of students' need for proof is often discussed. This is an important topic, on which quite a few others have written ([26], [27], [28], [17], [8]). Nevertheless, there is limited research knowledge about how teacher can participate in process of raising of students' intrinsic motivation to proving. In this article, we discuss relationships between intrinsic motivation to proving, critical thinking and special activity – engaging with so-called MRP tasks. We present here results of a research carried out by author in two elementary schools (21 classes, grade 5-9) in Ruzomberok, Slovakia. We identified the interesting relationship between students' dealing with MRP tasks and increasing of their intrinsic motivation to proving. -
Blind versus wise use of CAS
407-417Views:163During 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. -
Fostering engineering freshmen’s shifts of attention by using Matlab LiveScript for solving mathematical tasks
1-14Views:226We designed an experimental path including a summative assessment phase, where engineering freshmen are involved in solving mathematical tasks by using Matlab LiveScripts. We analyzed the students’ answers to a questionnaire about their perceived impact of the use of Matlab on their way to solve mathematical tasks. The main result is that students show shifts of attention from computations to other aspects of problem solving, moving from an operational to a structural view of mathematics.
Subject Classification: 97U70, 97H60
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Synthesis of concurrent programs
301-317Views:76Students need a well defined method to be successful in the complex process of writing a concurrent program. In this paper we show a step by step method to create such programs. The method based on UML which has been thought to students during previous courses. UML provides standard and relatively simple tools to describe concurrent systems, and from the description the program can be derived.
First we give a brief introduction to the concurrent systems. This is followed by the description of the method, and finally we demonstrate the method on a small problem. -
Software engineering education in cooperation with industrial partners
133-148Views:133This paper presents our experiences on teaching software engineering in teams which are organized around different R+D projects. These long-running, innovative projects are carried out in cooperation with industrial partners, and are supported by student exchange. While MSc and PhD students work together with faculty staff members on the projects in an industrial-like environment, the students develop skills that would be otherwise very hard for them to obtain. The methodological contributions of the paper are illustrated by, and substantiated with, the description of a concrete software engineering project. -
"On the way" to the function concept - experiences of a teaching experiment
17-39Views:205Knowing, comprehending and applying the function concept is essential not only from the aspect of dealing with mathematics but with several scientific fields such as engineering. Since most mathematical notions cannot be acquired in one step (Vinner, 1983) the development of the function concept is a long process, either. One of the goals of the process is evolving an "ideal" concept image (the image is interrelated with the definition of the concept). Such concept image plays an important role in solving problems of engineering. This study reports on the beginning of a research aiming the scholastic forming of the students' function concept image i.e. on the experiences of a "pilot" study. By the experiment, we are looking for the answer of the following question: how can the analysis of such function relations be built into the studied period (8th grade) of the evolving process of the function concept that students meet in everyday life and also in engineering life?
Subject Classification: D43, U73
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Typical mistakes in Mental Cutting Test and their consequences in gender differences
385-392Views:153Spatial ability of first year university students is measured and evaluated in this paper. We used standard Mental Cutting Test (MCT), where a body is given by perspective view and correct cross section has to be chosen. While gender differences in MCT are reported by several papers including our earlier results, much less known are the reasons of these differences. Here we show that typical mistakes (answers to problems which are close to be correct) can be one of the possible reasons, since female students made typical mistakes in some cases more frequently than males. -
Examining continuity/discontinuity of a function by using GeoGebra
241-257Views:162The possibility to visualize the things with the help of today's dynamic software (GeoGebra being one of them), enables the students to see and explore mathematical relations and concepts that were difficult to be presented in the past, prior to the state-of-the-art technologies. In methodological sense, the contribution of this paper lies in the presentation of a set of visualizations designed to help students better understand and explore the basic calculus concepts such as continuity at a point, to examine discontinuity at a point, to display discontinuities and the relations between continuity and differentiability of single variable functions. In technical sense, this paper presents creative GeoGebra applets which offer new possibilities that could be of a vital importance for the future development of e-learning of College mathematics. -
"Upperview" algorithm design in teaching computer science in high schools
221-240Views:128In this paper we are going to present a teaching/learning method and suggest a syllabus that help the high school students look at the algorithm design strategies from a so called "upperview": greedy, backtracking, divide and conquer, dynamic programming. The goal of the suggested syllabus is, beyond the presentation of the techniques, to offer the students a view that reveals them the basic and even the slight principal differences and similarities between the strategies. In consensus with the Comenius principle this is essential, if we want to master this field of programming ("To teach means scarcely anything more than to show how things differ from one another in their different purposes, forms, and origins. ... Therefore, he who differentiates well teaches well.").
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