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Some thoughts on a student survey
41-59Views:9The 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. -
Concept systematization with concept maps in data modelling
149-166Views:14An important goal of concept learning is that students can allocate concepts in the hierarchical system of concepts. In the data modelling course, first, we supported concept systematization with worksheets in which the students had to fill in the blank hierarchical figures of classification of the concepts or blank Venn diagrams describing the relationships between concepts. The hierarchical systems, however, are somewhat restricted to the description of connections. The filling in Venn diagrams did not deliver the expected result, so our attention turned to concept maps. In this paper we introduce the concept maps we drew. Then we evaluate the results of concept mapping survey conducted among students. The survey was done in three courses. We compare the results of our survey with the result of an earlier concept systematising survey. -
E-learning in teacher training
277-294Views:5A research has been organised with three Colleges taking part during the academic year of 2002-03. These institutions were
• The Teacher's Training College of Baja
• Eszerházy Károly College of Eger
• The College of Nyíregyháza
The aim of the research was to reveal differences between results of students studying in the traditional way and of students using e-learning.
The survey has been carried out among students of PE (physical education). A distance educational programme (Basics of Gymnastics) developoed before launching the survey served as basis for the survey [5]. The results of the research were first presented at the Agria-Média Conference in 2004. After analysing the results the findings were presented at the 3rd International Conference on Education and Information Systems in Orlando, Florida in July 2005.
This paper tries to reveal the structure of the e-learning programme, the environment of the research and the latest results found after the final analyses of the research. -
Comparative survey on pupils' beliefs of mathematics teaching in Finland and Ukraine
13-33Views:6The focus of this comparative survey was the following research question: What are the differences and similarities in pupils' beliefs in mathematics between Finland and Ukraine? Data were gathered with the help of a questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of 32 structured statements about mathematics teaching for which the pupils were asked to rate their beliefs on a 5-step scale. The Finnish sample comprised 255 pupils, and the Ukrainian sample 200 pupils. Our data has been gathered with a non-probabilistic convenience sampling.
The main results of our survey are, as follows: Generally, pupils' beliefs of mathematics teaching and learning in Finland and Ukraine are rather far from similar. An investigation of the differences between pupils' answers across the two countries also showed beliefs that are characteristic for each country. For pupils in Finland, the characteristic beliefs seem to be, as follows: the value of strict discipline, working in small groups, and the idea that all understand. For pupils in Ukraine, the most characteristic might be the following beliefs: the use of learning games, the emphases of mathematical concepts, and teachers' explanations. -
Writing a textbook – as we do it
185-201Views:5Recent surveys studying mathematics teaching show that there is a great variety in the level of mathematics teaching in Hungary. To increase efficiency (and decrease differences between schools) it is essential to create textbooks with new attitudes. The experiment we started after the PISA survey of 2000, produced a textbook that is new, in some sense even unusual in its attitude and methods. This paper presents the experiences we gained in the course of this work. -
Solution of an open reality based word-problem in two secondary schools
143-156Views:95This survey through an open reality based word problem is intended to assess - in two secondary schools in Komárom (Hungary) and in Komarno (Slovakia, Hungarian name: Révkomárom) in grade 10 - the ability of students to realize openness of a task. The comparison is justified by the fact that the language of teaching is Hungarian in both secondary schools, but with different curricula. This survey is related to the Content Pedagogy Research Program by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. It is preceded by several surveys with a word problem (Pocket Money) of the third author and led by her between 2012 and 2015, and within that project in 2017 within a large sample test, among about 1500 students and university students in Hungary (?, ?) (?, ?). In our research we wanted first to assess how openly work students in two schools of the two cities mentioned in solving the same task. The answer to this question was similar to the large sample test results, so most of the students worked in a closed way, when solving this word problem. So we went on and tried to explore how students thought about their own solution given to this task, through mixed-type interviews.
Subject Classification: 97D70, 97F90, 97D50, 97M10
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An examination of descriptive statistical knowledge of 12th-grade secondary school students - comparing and analysing their answers to closed and open questions
63-81Views:60In this article, we examine the conceptual knowledge of 12th-grade students in the field of descriptive statistics (hereafter statistics), how their knowledge is aligned with the output requirements, and how they can apply their conceptual knowledge in terms of means, graphs, and dispersion indicators. What is the proportion and the result of their answers to (semi-)open questions for which they have the necessary conceptual knowledge, but which they encounter less frequently (or not at all) in the classroom and during questioning? In spring 2020, before the outbreak of the pandemic in Hungary, a traditional-classroom, “paper-based” survey was conducted with 159 graduating students and their teachers from 3 secondary schools. According to the results of the survey, the majority of students have no difficulties in solving the type of tasks included in the final exam. Solving more complex, open-ended tasks with longer texts is more challenging, despite having all the tools to solve them, based on their conceptual knowledge and comprehension skills. A valuable supplement to the analysis and interpretation of the results is the student attitudes test, also included in the questionnaire.
Subject Classification: 97K40, 97-11, 97D60
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Smartphones and QR-codes in education - a QR-code learning path for Boolean operations
111-120Views:10During the last few years new technologies have become more and more an integrative part of everyday life. The increase of the possession rate of smartphones by young people is especially impressive. This fact asks us educators to think about a didactically and pedagogically well designed integration of smartphones into our lessons and to bring in ideas and concepts. This paper describes a specific learning path where learners can work step by step on the topic Boolean Operations with QR-Code scanners which have been installed on their smartphones. Student teachers for mathematics who completed the learning path took part in a survey where they were asked questions about their willingness to integrate smartphones into their lessons. The results of the survey are presented in the second part of the paper. -
Teaching word processing – the practice
247-262Views:6I compared two surveys, which were aimed to check the word processing ability of students in high schools and universities. The surveys were carried out ten years apart from one another, in 1997 and 2006. The results clearly show that most of the students are not able to use word processors properly. In the survey of 1997 I found explanation for this underperformance in the lack of computers and teachers. However, the results of the second survey did not prove any better than the results of the first, and in 2006 neither the number of computers nor the number of teachers can be blamed. What else then? I suggest that the reason for this general ignorance, for this `modern illiteracy' is the ignorance of the teachers. Until the teachers are not prepared and the senior students of the universities leave the education system without a proper knowledge of the required subjects, there is little chance that they would be able to teach word processing at a satisfactory level. -
Mobile devices in Hungarian university statistical education
19-48Views:67The methodological renewal of university statistics education has been continuous for the last 30 years. During this time, the involvement of technology tools in learning statistics played an important role. In the Introduction, we emphasize the importance of using technological tools in learning statistics, also referring to international research. After that, we firstly examine the methodological development of university statistical education over the past three decades. To do this, we analyze the writings of statistics teachers teaching at various universities in the country. To assess the use of innovative tools, in the second half of the study, we briefly present an online questionnaire survey of students in tertiary economics and an interview survey conducted with statistics teachers.
Subject Classification: 97-01, 97U70, 87K80
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Normalization based on dependency diagram
121-132Views:8Normalization is an important database planning method, although the understanding and application of this method brings up the utmost problem during data modelling. That is why we were looking for alternative normalization methods, from which the normalization with dependency diagram proved to be the most efficient. This was also confirmed by the statistical estimation of the carried out survey. -
Radio Frequency Identification from the viewpoint of students of computer science
241-250Views:1This 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:199The 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:6This 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. -
Taking learning styles into consideration in e-learning based education
385-396Views:13In improving electronic teaching material processes we should take the student's learning styles or methods into consideration. The ways learners receive information may be shared into three categories (modalities): visual, auditory, kinesthetic (tactile). In this paper I present some pedagogical questions of the electronic teaching-learning environment, offer a brief survey of the different learning style theories and emphasise the importance of the modalities in encoding information. The electronic teaching material should encourage the learner to choose an appropriate form of syllabus by which his knowledge can become more efficient. -
Summe einer unendlichen geometrischen Reihe im Mathematikunterricht
229-240Views:8This article deals with sums of infinite geometric series. We focus on the understanding of the notion by pupils at secondary school through generic and universal models. In the first part we survey this notion in the Czech and Slovak curriculum. We describe the process of gaining knowledge as a sequence of five stages. In the second part we show one possible approach how to introduce the notion "sum of the infinite geometric series" through this process. We illustrate this on some examples for pupils. At the end we formulate some pedagogical recommendation for teachers. -
Teaching agile operation and leadership through linked university courses
1-32Views:91Agile software development methods, especially Scrum, are commonly used in software development companies. For this reason, our goal was that our undergraduate students gain experience as Scrum development team members and our master's students as agile leaders. To this end, we had redesigned and linked an undergraduate and a master's course, and launched the new course in the spring of 2021. The success of our approach was confirmed by a questionnaire survey of 86 undergraduate and 27 master's students. A/B testing was also performed. Our approach is a novelty compared to solutions where the Scrum Master is a course member, an instructor, or a university employee. In addition to being resource-efficient, it also offers master's students an unparalleled opportunity to develop agile leadership skills.
Subject Classification: 97U50
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Levels of students' understanding on infinity
317-337Views:4Here we report some results of a two-year study for grades 5-6 and 7-8 (during the academic years 2001-03). The study included a quantitative survey for approximately 150 Finnish mathematics classes out of which 10 classes were selected to a longitudinal part of the study. Additionally, 40 students from these classes participated also a qualitative study. This paper will focus on students' understanding of infinity and the development of that understanding. The results show that most of the students did not have a proper view of infinity but that the share of able students grew, as the students got older. -
Is it possible to develop some elements of metacognition in a Mathematics classroom environment?
123-132Views:78In an earlier exploratory survey, we investigated the metacognitive activities of 9th grade students, and found that they have only limited experience in the “looking back” phase of the problem solving process. This paper presents the results of a teaching experiment focusing on ninth-grade students’ metacognitive activities in the process of solving several open-ended geometry problems. We conclude that promoting students’ metacognitive abilities makes their problem solving process more effective.
Subject Classification: 97D50, 97G40
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Development of spatial perception in high school with GeoGebra
211-230Views:21In everyday life, on numerous occasions we need to project 3D space onto a plane in order to activate our spatial perception. While our ability in this area can be improved, and considering several national and international research results, the development is even necessary on all levels of education. GeoGebra, as a supplement to previously used tools, has proven to be very useful respective to the development. We have many possibilities to display spatial elements in GeoGebra and to apply such kind of worksheets among 15-18 year old students. I show the results of the 2011/2012 school years connected to the development of spatial perception and the results of an input case survey, which also justifies the need for development. -
Two centuries of the equations of commutativity and associativity of exponentiation
219-233Views:8In this survey article we guide the reader through the solution of the commutative equation of exponentiation x^y = y^x and that of the associative equation of exponentiation x^(y^z) = (x^y)^z. Various characterizations of the integer, rational, real and complex solutions are discussed together with some new results and open directions. The article is supplemented by a detailed and commented bibliography on the history of these equations. -
Overview of the accessibility of webpages, related research, advantages, guidelines and recommendation
233-262Views:2The essay aims to provide a survey of web accessibility, introduce the relevant research results along with describing the advantages of obstacle free webpages. Furthermore, I will attempt to promote the awareness of the significance of accessibility and equal access to information in case of educational webpages especially in the higher education sphere. My primary audience are educational policy makers and leaders of higher education institutions along with in-service teachers who regularly use webpages during their daily work with students struggling with various impairments. The article's focus is expanded onto the relevant professional and legal background, the most important accessibility principles in addition to discussing the tools assuring accessibility and the presentation of best practices for web developers elaborating the electronic learning environments for higher education institutions. -
Probabilistic thinking, characteristic features
13-36Views:9This paper is the first step in a series of a general research project on possible development in probability approach. Our goal is to check with quantitative methods how correct our presumptions formulated during our teaching experience were. In order to get an answer to this question, we conducted a survey among third-year students at our college about their general and scientific concepts as well as about the way they typically think. -
A survey on how students seek information on the internet
153-165Views:6Navigating 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. -
Maximum and minimum problems in secondary school education
81-98Views:12The 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.