High school teachers often encounter incorrect solutions from students, especially when teaching combinatorics. This study investigates the ability of prospective mathematics teachers to assess the correctness of solutions to combinatorial problems and to falsify incorrect ones. 39 second-year prospective teachers participated in the experiment,…

In the Hungarian "Guided Discovery" approach to teaching mathematics, teachers' planning work plays a crucial role. Teachers following the approach develop teaching trajectories based on "series of problems". This work includes the choice, creation, transformation, organization and networking of problems with regard to various…

We report on the results of a professional development programme involving four Hungarian teachers of mathematics. The programme aims to support teachers in integrating problem solving into their classes. The basic principle of the programme, as well as its novelty (at least compared to Hungarian practice), is that the development takes place in…

In Hungary, K-12 informatics/computer science education focuses on mostly surface-based methods. This approach can be observed in the teaching of several topics in the subject, of which we focus on spreadsheet management. This is further emphasized by regulatory documents -- the Hungarian National Core Curriculum and Hungarian Curriculum…

The purpose of this study is to examine cross-national differences in students' exploration strategies in a computer-simulated CPS (complex problem-solving) environment and to identify similarities and qualitative differences in the way Hungarian and Chinese students explore a CPS environment. In a sample of 187 Chinese and 835 Hungarian students…

This research addressed Hungarian pre-service and in-service (both elementary and lower secondary) teachers' pedagogical content knowledge concerning the teaching of word problem solving strategies. By means of a standardized interview protocol, participants (N = 30) were asked about their judgement on the difficulty of teaching word problems, the…

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a more student-centered approach to mathematics teaching that is recommended by many policy and curriculum documents across Europe. However, it is not easy for teachers to change from a more teacher-centered way of teaching to inquiry-based teaching as this involves a change of their role in class. Professional…

In the international literature, increasing numbers of articles and books are published about teaching and learning, with the brain in mind. For a long time, I have been sceptical about this question. However, seeing many unresolved issues in the teaching and learning of mathematics, I slowly started to study the relevant literature and have…

Teaching how to solve problems--from solving simple equations to solving difficult competition tasks--has been one of the greatest challenges for mathematics education for many years. Trying to find an effective method is an important educational task. Among others, the question arises as to whether a method in which students help each other might…

The present study aims to investigate the effects of a design experiment developed for third-grade students in the field of mathematics word problems. The main focus of the program was developing students' knowledge about word problem solving strategies with an emphasis on the role of visual representations in mathematical modeling. The experiment…

Student activities focused on discovering mathematics play an important role in the teaching and learning process. WebMathematics Interactive (WMI2) was developed to offer a fast and user-friendly on-line web interface to enhance the quality of both theoretical and applied mathematics courses. For the teacher, in the classroom, it provides…

Hungary is famous for its production of large numbers of highly talented mathematicians and physicists. This study explores the Hungarian system for educating mathematically talented secondary school students with the goal of identifying successful features that may be applicable to education in the United States. Highlights of the Hungarian…

The universities and faculties which educate teachers of mathematics for teaching pupils/students of any age group from pre-school age to higher education carefully monitor and compare valuable results of this research, detect the areas in which the mathematical achievements of pupils should be improved at the national level and propose the ways…

Research, from all around the world, has shown that teachers' actions are informed by a variety of factors, including long-held and frequently unarticulated traditions about teaching and learning, systemic expectations of the processes of schooling, available textbooks, traditions of teacher education, school cultures, assessment traditions and…

This study investigated obstacles to teaching civic education in the United States, a country whose government was established on democratic principles over 250 years ago, and Hungary, a European country presently making the transition to a government based on democratic principles. The purpose is to compare the obstacles within these two…