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Game theory for managers and mechanical manager students
73-91Views:5In this article we describe the second part of a case study, in which 48 Mechanical Management students were involved. The participants of the case study were MSc level students at Szent István University, Gödöllő.
In the case study we looked for methods by which we can support the most important components of competence motivation and the development of mathematical and other key competences during the mathematics lessons and individual learning.
Another goal of our research was to get reliable information about students learning methods and their awareness of self-efficiency, furthermore their achievement in the subject of Engineering and Economic Mathematics.
Detailed assistance was provided for the students in the e-learning portal. Knowledge tests, questionnaire and personal interviews with the students were also used.
During the semester four topics have been discussed: linear programming, graph theory, game theory and differential equations. In this article I will describe the lesson preparations, the help for examinations and the students' achievement on game theory. -
Live & Learn: When a wrong program works
195-208Views:6In this paper an interesting and surprising case study of my programming education practice is presented. This case underlines the importance of methods, standards and rules of thumb of the programming process. These elements of the programming technology can be taught well in education and they can guarantee the quality of the implemented programs. However the case described in this paper brings an anomaly when a programming standard is violated during the programming process and, although it should imply that the implemented program code works badly, the program works perfectly. This anomaly is caused by a typical implementation problem: the boundary and rules of the machine representation of numbers. This anomaly is going to be analyzed and the appropriate conclusions of our case study will be deducted. -
A case study of the integration of Algorithm Visualizations in Hungarian programming education
51-66Views:113In this study, I will introduce how Algorithm Visualizations (AV) can help programming education or, in this case, the acquisition of basic programming theorems. I used two di erent methods to test this: in the first round, I examined in a larger group how much the students' ability to solve specific tasks changes after being introduced to a visualization tool, and then, what was their motivation and experience during this process. In the second round, I looked for the components that could be important when choosing a tool with the help of an in-depth interview with a smaller number of individuals. In both cases, I describe the research, experience, and results of the study, and then summarize them at the end.
Subject Classification: 97P10
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Our digital education habits in the light of their environmental impact: the role of green computing in education
69-86Views:107With the increasing use of IT tools, the environmental impacts they generate have also increased. Education is increasingly relying on digital tools to become a major emitter of CO2 itself. Therefore, the task of education is to teach future generations how to use IT tools efficiently while being environmentally aware. In addition to some forms of green computing, we show the level and ratio of those teachers who have corresponding IT knowledge in the Hungarian education. In this study, we present the justification of the problem through a case study, which estimates the Internet traffic of a website streaming popular educational resources. In addition, we will examine the extent to which national and international educational organization and guidance documents address the development of digital environmentally aware thinking. Based on the content of this study, we suggest some considerations for content developers to decide if they really need to create the digital content.
Subject Classification: 97P99, 94-06, 94-02
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Engineering and Economic Mathematics for Engineering Management Students
35-50Views:11In this article we describe the first part of a case study, which was made with 48 Engineering Management students. The participants of the case study were MSc level students at the Szent István University, Gödöllő. We looked for methods by which we can support the most important components of competence motivation and the development of mathematical and other key competences during the mathematics lessons and individual learning. Another goal of our research was to get reliable information about students learning methods and their awareness of self-efficacy, furthermore their achievement in the subject of Engineering and Economic Mathematics. Detailed assistance was provided for the students in the e-learning portal. Knowledge tests, questionnaire and personal interviews with the students were also used. As an example we introduce one of the knowledge tests connected with the first half of the course about linear programming and graph theory. We detail its didactical background and show the results of the students. -
Young women's barriers to choose IT and methods to overcome them - A case study from Hungary
77-101Views:159Women's scarcity in the STEM, especially in the IT sector is pronouncedly evident. Young women are obstructed from entering and remaining in IT by a broad range of social, educational, and labor market factors. In our paper, we would like to analyze the main barriers girls face in choosing IT, while also proposing potential methods to help them overcome these obstacles. In the second part of the paper, we will present a case study to illustrate in detail how the combination of the above methods can be put into practice to address and tackle the complex set of barriers girls face. We will first introduce a Hungarian annual program, Girls' Day ("Lányok napja"), specifically aimed to promote STEM to girls, then we will present two specific events organized for the 2020 edition of the program and designed with the above principles in mind. The interactive presentation, exposing girls to female role models of the field in a gamified way, and a game development exercise, building Scratch programming skills, have attempted to provide young women both with positive perspectives and experiences in IT, which are instrumental in helping them to surmount entrenched obstacles and raise their interest in the field.
Subject Classification: 97P10, 97U30
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How the derivative becomes visible: the case of Daniel
81-97Views:10This paper reports how an advanced 11th-grade student (Daniel) perceived the derivative from a graph of a function at a task-based interview after a short introduction to the derivative. Daniel made very impressive observations using, for example, the steepness and the increase of a graph as well as the slope of a tangent as representations of the derivative. He followed the graphs sequentially and, for example, perceived where the derivative is increasing/decreasing. Gestures were an essential part of his thinking. Daniel's perceptions were reflected against those of a less successful student reported previously [Hähkiöniemi, NOMAD 11, no. 1 (2006)]. Unlike the student of the previous study, Daniel seemed to use the representations transparently and could see the graph as a representation of the derivative. -
Teaching Java programming using case studies
245-256Views:2The paper deals with the technical background and the pedagogical issues of a specific implementation for the collection, assessment and archiving of the students' assignments written in Java. The implemented system automatically applies object-oriented metrics on the collected works in order to measure the characteristic features of the assignments. Tutors use these results for the detection of plagiarisms and for the selection of outstanding works. The paper interprets the measured values within a real Java course held in the 3rd term of the Informatics bachelor study programme at the technical university. Students have several case studies devoted to the simulation of the ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) at disposal. We conclude that the access to the analyzed pool of case studies, blended with the Sun Learning Connection license from the Sun Microsystems, Inc., is an effective way of teaching programming in Java. -
"Frontier algorithms"
139-152Views:6In this paper we present a new method to compare algorithm design strategies. As in case of frontier towns the cultures blend, the so called "frontier algorithms" are a mixture of different programming techniques like greedy, backtracking, divide and conquer, dynamic programming. In case of some of them the frontier character is hidden, so it has to be discovered. There are algorithms that combine different techniques purposively. Furthermore, determining the programming technique the algorithm is using can be a matter of point of view. The frontier algorithms represent special opportunities to highlight particular characteristics of the algorithm design strategies. According to our experience the frontier algorithms fit best to the revision classes. -
Potential, actual and practical variations for teaching functions: cases study in China and France
157-166Views:55This contribution is based on two major hypotheses: task design is the core of teachers’ work, and variation is the core of task design. Taking into account variation in task design has a profound theoretical foundation in China and France. Developing my PhD with two co-supervisors, in China and France, I wish to seize this opportunity for constructing an analytic model of “teaching mathematics through variation” making profit of this theoretical diversity. This model distinguishes between potential variation and practical variation and is based on the process of transforming potential variation into actual variation, and of using practical variation for rethinking potential variation. The design of this model is based both on theoretical networking, and on case studies, in France and China. In this contribution, we will focus on a critical aspect in the two cases, from potential to practical variation.
Subject Classification: 97-06
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Using the computer to visualise graph-oriented problems
15-32Views:9The computer, if used more effectively, could bring advances that would improve mathematical education dramatically, not least with its ability to calculate quickly and display moving graphics. There is a gap between research results of the enthusiastic innovators in the field of information technology and the current weak integration of the use of computers into mathematics teaching.
This paper examines what exactly the real potentials of using some mathematics computer software are to support mathematics teaching and learning in graph-oriented problems, more specifically we try to estimate the value added impact of computer use in the mathematics learning process.
While electronic computation has been used by mathematicians for five decades, it has been in the hands of teachers and learners for at most three decades but the real breakthrough of decentralised and personalised micro-computer-based computing has been widely available for less than two decades. And it is the latter facility that has brought the greatest promise for computers in mathematics education. That computational aids overall do a better job of holding students' mathematical interest and challenging them to use their intellectual power to mathematical achievement than do traditional static media is unquestionable. The real question needing investigation concerns the circumstances where each is appropriate.
A case study enabled a specification of advantages and obstacles of using computers in graph-oriented questions. Individual students' interviews revealed two less able students' reactions, difficulties and misinterpretations while using computers in mathematics learning.
Among research outcomes is that the mathematical achievement of the two students observed improved and this makes teaching with computers an overriding priority for each defined teaching method.
This paper may not have been realised without the valuable help of the Hungarian Eötvös State Grant. -
Experimentieren um einen Satz zu finden - vollständig separierbare Mosaike auf der Kugel und ihre Anwendungen
297-319Views:7This paper reports a case-study which took place within the project named "Inner differentiation and individualization by creating prototypes and analogies under consideration of motivational constraints (taking into account computer-based teaching and learning)" as a part of a pre-service teacher training at the University of Salzburg (Herber, H.-J. & Vásárhelyi, É.).
The goal of the experiment was to help students to learn the fundamental concepts and basic constructions of spherical geometry using the Lénárt Sphere (a transparent plastic ball with construction-tools) and some self-made interactive worksheets with the Windows version of the dynamical geometry software Cabri. -
Research studies in didactics of mathematics supported by the Operant Motive Test
153-173Views:9The present paper reports a case-study which took place within an EUsupported international program organized for research and development of multi-grade schools (NEMED, [16] [26]). One of the main goals of the research was to develop the connection between disadvantageous social situations and the efficiency (success or failure) in learning mathematics especially from the point of view of average and above-average (talented) students: Why does the talent of children with socially disadvantageous background remain undiscovered? How can we make school mathematics more aware of hidden talents?
The author was looking for a didactical solution that compensated for social disadvantages without restricting the development of "average" students by using sociological, educational, psychological and mathematical (experimental and theoretical) studies in interaction with a series of experimental (hypothesis testing and exploratory) investigations.
We constructed tools and methods for exploration and experimental teaching, adapted to Hungarian conditions (Curriculum Development, teacher training, materials, interviews, Kuhl's motivation test, Malara's "researchers and practicing teachers in cooperation" method, etc., see [18], [20]).
The teaching materials and methodological guidelines are based on Bruner's representation theory (see [5]). The empirical research took place in 16 multi-grade schools located in different parts of the country. The author co-operated with nearly 250 students and 25 teachers for 3 years. In this paper we try to demonstrate how an Operant Motive Test can be involved in this research (see [18]). -
Realizing the problem-solving phases of Pólya in classroom practice
219-232Views:106When teaching mathematical problem-solving is mentioned, the name of Pólya György inevitably comes to mind. Many problem-solving lessons are planned using Pólya's steps and helping questions, and teachers often rely on his heuristics even if their application happens unconsciously. In this article, we would like to examine how the two phases, Making a plan and Looking back, can be realized in a secondary school mathematics lesson. A case study was designed to observe and analyse a lesson delivered using cooperative work.
Subject Classification: 97B10, 97C70, 97D40, 97D50
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Pupils' meta-discursive reflection on their cooperation in mathematics: a case study
147-169Views:9This article addresses the issue of how 10–11 year old pupils in pairs can actively get involved in reforming their behavior as they reflect on their interaction in order to solve mathematical problems. We studied the opportunities offered for the development of meta-discursive reflection in a pair of pupils in two alternative environments: (1) pupils' observations and discussions on their video-recorded cooperation and (2) pupils' participation in playing and acting in a drama. The results of the research revealed three levels of the pupils' meta-discursive reflection on their interaction: (1) focusing on the achievement of personal goals, (2) focusing on partners' responsibility and (3) focusing on mutual responsibility. Both environments helped the pupils to improve their socio-mathematical interaction. -
Integrating Didactic Games in Higher Education: Benefits and Challenges
1-15Views:368In our paper, we study the reasons for the introduction of didactic games and the way of their application in higher education, especially in teaching mathematics. After describing the main characteristics and needs of Generation Z students, we outline the advantages and drawbacks of gamification and game-based learning, followed by some new aspects to their classification. The idea of device-based grouping arose because the most commonly used methods require IC tools. Gen Zs naturally accept gamified learning materials available on digital and mobile platforms, but we must not forget about traditional games either. In higher education, especially in the case of small-group teaching there should also be room for traditional, specialized didactic games, of which we focus on the benefits of card games.
Subject Classification: 97C70, 97D20, 97D40, 97U70
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Implementation opportunities of the Moodle learning management system in virtual environment the Sloodle project
275-293Views:9Using e-learning was firstly appeared in companies' sphere. It should be very useful if learning management systems were applied. Nowadays e-learning is used in different fields and gives useful informations in case of basics and its knowledge. It is essential to know the arranging technics and applicated handling methods of some supporting learning management systems of e-learning. The Moodle is the best-known learning management system.
The Second Life is one of the virtual environments which is useful in learning-teaching methods that is used in most educational institute all over the world. Sloodle is an open source project which connects the Second Life with Moodle learning management system. Sloodle is a kind of "bridge" in which different kind of activities and registering and provided in both Moodle and Second Life.
In our department, University of Debrecen Health Faculty of Nyíregyháza ILIAS learning management system has operated since February, 2008. In the interest of higher level education we decided to use and made available some courses through Moodle learning management system.
Some tools of Sloodle will be presented in our article. It will be the first study for our research in which we would use the Moodle learning management system, the virtual environment of Second Life and the project of Sloodle itself. Our article will contain the starting details and its statistical confirmation of our Sloodle project. We like to demonstrate that the results of the Sloodle-aided group are significantly better than the results of the control group in the most cases. -
How to teach testing?
215-232Views:11Testing methodology is an important part of IT education. It is desired to show the beginner programmer students the advantage of testing by having them do only a small amount of work. In this paper, we will show how to make testing as a part of programming in simple exercises. These exercises are solved with the analogous programming technique, which is based on programming theorems over enumerators. We have elaborated grey-box test cases for the programs which have been developed based on programming theorems. These test cases can be taught together with the programming theorems, and they can serve as a standard testing procedure for programmers. We also suggest a test tool to automatize test runs, and we will discuss its usage in a short case study. -
A mathematical and didactical analysis of the concept of orientation
111-130Views:11The 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. -
14 to 18-year-old Hungarian high-school students' view of mathematicians appearing in the media - a case study
183-194Views:1One way to develop positive attitude toward STEM subjects that popular media, including movies and films can be engaged to promote more positive and inclusive STEM images. The movie Hidden numbers offers an opportunity to explore the representations of scholars, especially mathematicians within a biographical drama. Focusing on 5 characters, this article first discusses whether these characters fit into stereotypical scientist image or not. Secondly, we examine how high school students evaluate these characters. We argue that this movie is suitable to promote positive attitude toward STEM subjects. -
Increasing the popularity and efficiency of distance education by old-new methods
211-228Views:15In our essay we aim to provide suggestions to develop distance education and we decisively focus on programmed education that is supported by e-learning environment. We both think that the shortage of programmed educational methods is causeless in Hungary's distance education. The widespread usage of info-communication devices and of the Internet makes the programmed educational methods (not as an exclusive method) possible to use in distance education together with e-learning environment. In our work we summarize the possible solutions and at the same time we also provide a case study, as an insight into our e-learning project (called Logical Programming) by Moodle.