Mathematics for Education

During their studies, the students are acquainted with the elements of contemporary mathematical disciplines (geometry, algebra, differential and integral calculus) and of the disciplines related to them. The teaching material is presented in such a way that it provides an understanding of the architecture of the individual mathematical disciplines on one hand and also an understanding of the relationship between mathematics as science and the school subject called mathematics.

The objective of the study is especially the preparation for the master track of teacher training for mathematics teachers. In the part of the studies common for mathematics and the other subject, the students receive training in psychology, pedagogy, and general didactics. The graduates are thus sufficiently qualified to become teaching assistants.

Through studying for the Bachelor’s degree graduates gain the necessary competences that allow them to critically apply the use of their pedagogical and psychological knowledge in practice as a teaching assistant or other educational worker (e.g. free-time instructor in youth centres or after-school clubs, in various civic associations engaged in pedagogical activities) in an appropriate manner.

The degree develops students’ analytical and comparative skills, which enable them to understand the diverse pedagogical reality and to use subject-specific, pedagogical, and psychological publications in their work for planning, implementing and reflecting on educational activities. They develop communication skills important for communication and collaboration with pupils/clients, colleagues in the workplace, with parents of pupils/clients and with practitioners. An important benefit of the degree is the development of self-reflective skills that provide space for the development of attitudes towards one another, to educated individuals and to the profession: perception of the responsibility of the teaching profession, the acceptance of the moral obligations of a helping profession and its ethics.

The studies emphasise the principle of interdisciplinarity (interconnection of some pedagogical and psychological subjects); the principle of sequence and gradation of themes and courses, from the more general to the more specific. The concept is also characterized by the interdependence of theory and practice. An important part of the concept is the reflective teaching practice. The principles of reflection on teaching practice and self-reflection are related both to practice and to other experience-oriented subjects. An important part of the concept is also the promotion of inclusion, which is perceived as a cross-curricular theme (also supported by a separate course).

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• Develop their theoretical knowledge and apply them in practice.
• Communicate in a foreign language on a basic level and thus contribute to the international character of education.
• Develop further the theoretical knowledge in mathematical disciplines through self-study and through courses for further education of teachers.
• Fruitfully use the acquired knowledge in the common pedagogical disciplines(pedagogy and psychology) when working as a warden in a hall of residence or after school clubs.
• Describe and analyse an educational situation using specialised terminology and rules of effective pedagogical communication and to propose a change; use their knowledge and skills in communication with pupils, parents, teachers in the school context
• Cooperate with various teachers at school and under their leadership to plan, implement and reflect on the sequence of teaching and activities in relation to the appropriate school curriculum.
• Use self-reflective skills to reflect on their actions: for example, to better justify and evaluate their arguments, to give voice to their emotions and their connection to some behaviour or to critically review their own attitudes towards education.
• Use basic methods and tools of pedagogical diagnostics in teaching to support differentiation and individualization in teaching, gaining data which is available for the support of an individual pupil. The results can be communicated appropriately.
• Explain the basic principles of inclusive and special education; to reflect on their attitude towards diversity and its influence on their own teaching
• Explain the basic concepts of developmental and social psychology and identify potential development difficulties or difficulties in social competences or pupil adaptation at school based on the dynamics of developmental and psycho-social aspects.

The graduate is trained at the basic level of professional education with a didactic component and is ready for Master's level studies in teaching mathematics. According to the law about employees in the education sector, the graduate may work as a teaching assistant, instructor in free-time centres, as a warden in a hall of residence, as an instructor in after-school clubs, or in various civic centres devoted to education and mentoring. The graduate can also be employed anywhere where mathematical thinking is required.

• Teacher´s assistant

The system of compulsory teaching practice is aimed at developing the students’ professional competences and preparing them for the full-fledged role of a teaching assistant. The aim of the teaching assistant practice is to acquire the necessary skills for individual work with a pupil outside the process of teaching (tutoring at school in the pupils’ homes) and also when working with a teacher during lessons.

The teaching practice consists of a coherent system of consecutive subjects, which are taken from the third to the fifth semester of the degree. These are the subjects teaching assistant practice - tutoring 1, teaching assistant practice - tutoring 2, consisting of individual tutoring (60 hours), teaching assistant practice - teaching assistant 1 (60 hours) and teaching assistant practice - teaching assistant 2 (60 hours) and teaching assistant practice – teaching assistant 3. Overall, there 180 hours of teaching practice.

In the third and fourth semesters, the teaching practice is followed by the subjects self-experiential preparation for the profession 1 and self- experiential preparation for the profession 2, in which the students of the teaching assistant practice reflect (24 hours). Their aim is to enable students to have real experience with selected themes (see seminar topics) regarding personal and professional development through experiential learning with an emphasis on reflection; to encourage students to gradually take responsibility for their own learning process (self-directed learning); to enable students to become aware of and, if necessary, to revise their attitudes towards their future profession.

The system of teaching practice is regularly evaluated both through closed and open questions, both by students and the mentor teachers. The reflective seminars are also evaluated.

In the final thesis, the students will show that they are familiar with the literature relevant for the particular area of mathematics or didactics of mathematics, they can adequately determine starting point of the thesis and can suggest methods of approaching the problem in question. In the theses in didactics of mathematics, the students can design adequate qualitative or quantitative research. In the case of quantitative study, they will adequately analyse it using statistical methods and will draw conclusions from that analysis.

Students will show they are able to work with sources. All the information used in the text must be cited according to the current norm. Apart from the work with the sources, the students must also be able to formulate their own ideas. In the final thesis, the students will also prove their stylistic competence necessary for preparing such a text. The text of the thesis should not contain grammatical mistakes.

The final work of the student demonstrates the ability to apply the knowledge and skills acquired during the course of study in working on a specific professional-pedagogical problem. The type of final thesis corresponds to the content and level of the given degree of study. The student chooses from the following types of works: a) theoretical-applied, b) theoretical-empirical (research), c) theoretical. The types of work and recommendations for their implementation are further guided by the APA manual. The length of the final thesis ranges from 117,000 to 200,000 characters, including gaps, i. e. 65-80 standard pages.

The standards for the implementation of the final theses at different departments are in accordance with the Dean's Instructions No. 1/2015 on implementation of the final work (Bachelor's, Master’s, post-graduate non-PhD and final works for Life-long Education) in the version effective from 1.11.2015.

The thesis follows the following goals based on the profile of the graduate of the Faculty of Education of MU. Students:

- demonstrate an awareness of the current issues of their field of study, they can clearly and comprehensibly define the topic of the final thesis and its objectives, describe the initial state of knowledge and propose appropriate methods of achieving their stated goals;

- work with appropriate primary and secondary sources of information, cite them according to a valid standard (APA) and in accordance with the ethics of academic work;

- through the creation of their own text they demonstrate stylistic competence, and the ability to create an academic text;

- demonstrate the ability to ask questions and solve problems, to formulate new ideas and conclusions that bring at least some new knowledge about the phenomenon being studied, or enrich the methodological (in the area of research) or methodical (in the area of education) procedures in relation to clearly defined target groups (pupils at primary and secondary school, groups with specific educational needs, etc.).

The graduate of the Bachelor's track may theoretically (when complying with the conditions) continue in studying any Master's track. The Bachelor's track combining two fields with a view to education may be continued especially in the Master's track Teacher training for primary and lower secondary schools, combining two school subjects.