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• Guided Discovery in Hungarian Education Using Problem Threads: The Pósa Method in Secondary Mathematics Classrooms

  51-67

  Charlotte Matzal

  Kirsten Manahan

  Bridget Galaty

  Haoyi Wang

  Marta Barbarics

  Views:

  72

  In Hungary, ‘guided discovery’ refers to instruction in which students learn mathematical concepts through task sequences that foster mathematical thinking. A prominent figure of guided discovery is Lajos Pósa, who developed his method to teach gifted students. Rather than teaching mathematics through thematic blocks, the Pósa Method employs webs of interconnected problem threads in which problems are built on each other, and different threads are presented simultaneously, so that students work on problems from multiple threads at the same time. It was found that this method has been successful as extracurricular training for gifted students since the 1980s; however since 2017, as part of an ongoing research, the method has been applied to mainstream curriculum in two public secondary school classrooms. The present paper examines the design and implementation processes of problem threads in this public secondary school context.

  Subject Classification: 97D40

• Square root in secondary school

  59-72

  Zoltán Matos

  Views:

  72

  Although in Hungary, for decades, the calculation method of the square root of a real number is not in the mathematics curriculum, many of the taught concepts and procedures can be carried out using different square root finding methods. These provide an opportunity for students in secondary school to practice and deepen understand the compulsory curriculum. This article presents seven square-root- nding methods, currently teachable in secondary schools.

  Subject Classification: A33, A34, F53, F54