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• The application of modelling tasks in the classroom – why and how? with reflections on an EU teacher training course

  231-244

  Gabriella Ambrus

  Ödön Vancsó

  Balázs Koren

  Views:

  36

  The aim of the article is to present the concept of mathematical modelling in the classroom. LEMA (Learning and Education in and through Modelling and Applications) was an EU Comenius funded project in which mathematics educators from six countries worked to produce materials to support teachers' professional development. A group of voluntary Hungarian mathematics teachers were taught modelling for a year and we were and still are given feedback continously. The article leads us from the general concept of mathematical modelling to its practice in the classroom. It presents difficulties that teachers have to face when doing modelling lessons and their students' reactions are also mentioned. We present sample tasks from the material of the teacher training course as well as tasks that were created by the participants.

• Shall we use one more representation? Suggestions about establishing the notion of recursion in teaching informatics in primary schools

  209-229

  Cecília Sitkuné Görömbei

  Views:

  28

  Among the most prominent developmental tasks of primary school education one finds increasing pupils' cognitive capacity with especial regard to observing, interpreting, coding and proving skills, which form an integral part of information and communication culture.
  Info-technology (problem solving with the tools and methods of informatics), a subject matter within informatics, provides outstanding opportunities to reach the aims outlined above.
  This study presents methodological ideas related to the subfield Algorithmization and data modelling of Info-technology. More specifically, it presents teaching methods to be applied while establishing the notion of recursion in grades 3–8 of primary education, and at the same time it also focuses on various realization possibilities of the prominent developmental tasks mentioned above.

• Ist eine schnelle tiefgehende (und nachhaltige) Änderung in der Vorstellung von Mathematiklehrern möglich? - Reflexion der Erfahrungen eines Fortbildungskurses im Bereich der mathematischen Modellierung

  1-20

  Gabriella Ambrus

  Ödön Vancsó

  Views:

  20

  Based on the material which was worked out within the project LEMA (2006-2009) pilot-teacher training courses were organized in the six partner countries, so in Hungary as well in the subject: Practice of Modelling tasks in the classroom. According to the tests which were filled out by the participants the conclusion was formulated that they achieved some changes in their pedagogical knowledge and in their estimation concerning their self-efficacy, but they didn't have shown any changes in their beliefs of mathematics and mathematics education. However according to their experience as project partners and leaders of the Hungarian course the authors have the idea that despite of the international results there are changes in this subject in the case of the Hungarian participants. This way can formulated the question:
  Which changes can be observed in the case of the participants concerning belief towards mathematics and mathematics education after the course and how long-lasting these changes are?
  The question is examined on the example of two teachers who were participants of the course.

• Teaching reliability theory with the Computer Algebra System Maxima

  45-75

  Attila Csenki

  Views:

  40

  The use of the Computer Algebra System Maxima as a teaching aid in an MSc module in Reliability Theory is described here. Extracts from student handouts are used to show how the ideas in Reliability Theory are developed and how they are intertwined with their applications implemented in Maxima. Three themes from the lectures are used to illustrate this: (1) Normal Approximations, (2) Markov Modelling, (3) Laplace Transform Techniques.
  It is argued that Maxima is a good tool for the task, since: it is fairly easy to learn & use; it is well documented; it has extensive facilities; it is available for any operating system; and, finally, it can be freely downloaded from the Web. Maxima proves to be a useful tool even for Reliability research for certain tasks. This latter feature provides a seamless link from teaching to research – an important feature in postgraduate education.