@article {693, title = {THE RELEVANCE OF EVOCATION AND REFLECTION CARDS IN THE LEARNING PROCESS}, journal = {Problems of Education in the 21st Century}, volume = {41}, year = {2012}, month = {April/2012}, type = {Original article}, chapter = {61-74}, abstract = {When starting school, most students have a desire to learn and are motivated to participate actively in the learning process. Lack of interest is what undermines learning. Research on children{\textquoteright}s well-being in the European Union (EU), conducted at York University in 2006, indicated that Estonia stands out among 25 EU countries with the lowest level of students who enjoy school and have a feeling of well-being. However, the results of 2006 and 2009 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) research indicate that Estonian students do have good subject knowledge and study skills. The Estonian Human Development Report 2009 states that 70\% of Estonian students consider their study load too heavy, 67\% feel fatigue and 33\% do not want to go to school at all. The report indicates that schools do not pay enough attention to personality development, analysis and discussion (Eesti Koost{\"o}{\"o} Kogu, 2010). Based on the results of the above-mentioned research, it can be said that Estonian students have good subject knowledge, but learning offers them neither pleasure nor interest (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], 2007; Puksand, Lepmann \& Henno, 2010). The key question for this research was how learner-centered goal setting and reflection support the learners{\textasciiacute} skills to set their own goals for the learning process and to analyze it. Learners are interested in the learning process in case they understand the goals, are actively involved, and take responsibility for their actions. Learners should experience success and get immediate feedback on their activities. Ninety-six different evocation and reflection cards were tested by 24 Estonian teachers in the spring of 2011. The purpose of testing was to clarify how effective the usage of evocation and reflection cards is in supporting students in setting goals and analysing their activities. The quantitative research method (in the form of a questionnaire) was used in order to discover teachers{\textquoteleft} personal opinions, attitudes and approach to the cards and make conclusions about the relevance of the cards in supporting students{\textquoteleft} involvement in the evocation and reflection phase of learning.}, keywords = {evocation, learning motivation}, issn = {1822-7864}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.33225/pec/12.41.61}, url = {http://oaji.net/articles/2014/457-1409840188.pdf}, author = {Sirje Piht and Piret Lehiste and Rea Raus and Mariliis Lazarev} } @article {458, title = {MENTAL ARITHMETIC SKILLS: COMPARATIVE RESEARCH BASED ON ESTONIAN AND FINNISH PUPILS}, journal = {Problems of Education in the 21st Century}, volume = {25}, year = {2010}, month = {November/2010}, type = {Original article}, chapter = {99-108}, abstract = {Estonian pupils achieved good results in international tests like TIMSS and PISA (IEA{\textquoteright}s TIMSS 2003 International Report on Achievement in the Mathematics Cognitive Domains, 2005; Assessing Scientific, Reading and Mathematical Literacy, 2006). Despite the high results of Estonian pupils, annual official tests showed that there were problems in subtraction, multiplication and time calculations at primary school level (The National Examinations and Qualifications Centre, 2009). The key question this research poses is what kind of mental arithmetic skills do children in the first three forms of primary school possess? The aim is to analyze what kind of changes should be implemented in the national curriculum in order to improve the maths studies of Estonian pupils. Mental arithmetic tests were carried out in late April and early May 2006 both in Estonia and in Finland. Two groups of pupils participated in the tests, one of which consisted of pupils from seven Estonian schools from different parts of Estonia, and the other consisted of the first, second and third form pupils at Turku University Practice School which is the training school for teacher trainees studying at the Turku University, Finland. In this research, mental arithmetic is studied among children attending the first, second and third forms of primary school. Differences between the sexes are studied and, in addition, differences between Finnish and Estonian pupils are examined by comparing the Estonian results with those of the Finnish group. On the basis of the test, Estonian pupils received higher results in mental arithmetic exercises. Both Estonian and Finnish boys performed better than girls in mental arithmetic exercises in the second and third forms. The results confirm a good level of skills amongst the Estonian pupils, but also show in which tasks the most mistakes occurred. The exercises which acquired the use of working memory caused more mistakes. Further, the results indicate a difference between the mastery of boys and girls in mental arithmetic which highlights a need for the differentiation of teaching strategies according the sex of pupils. }, keywords = {long-term memory, mental arithmetic, teaching mathematics}, issn = {1822-7864}, url = {http://journals.indexcopernicus.com/abstract.php?icid=924386}, author = {Sirje Piht and Eve Eisenschmidt} } @article {182, title = {PUPILS{\textquoteright} ATTITUDES TOWARD MATHEMATICS: COMPARATIVE RESEARCH BETWEEN ESTONIAN AND FINNISH PRACTICE SCHOOLS}, journal = {Problems of Education in the 21st Century }, volume = {9}, year = {2008}, month = {November/2008}, type = {Original article}, chapter = {97-106}, abstract = {In initial teacher education we have put a lot of effort into improving student teachers{\textquoteright} readiness to support learners{\textquoteright} motivation and use diverse teaching methods. The objective of this paper is to research the motivation to learn mathematics and mental arithmetic among primary school pupils in student teachers{\textquoteright} practice schools. In Estonia, the problem is that most pupils don{\textquoteright}t like science studies, and most university students prefer social sciences. Mental arithmetic strategies and arithmetic skills used by pupils are important in mathematics, as well as in everyday life. Teachers{\textquoteright} skills in teaching mathematics are poor and there is a little variability. A survey was conducted in April and May 2006 among the 1st to 3rd form pupils of 7 student teachers{\textquoteright} practice schools in Estonia. Research results were then compared to the results of research conducted simultaneously in Finland, and also among 1st to 3rd form pupils in practice school. The present article focuses on pupils{\textquoteright} attitudes toward mathematics and mental arithmetic. The main results of the research show that the attitude toward mathematics among pupils is positive. The comparison showed that Finnish pupils{\textquoteright} attitudes are more positive toward mathematics than Estonian pupils{\textquoteright} and boys have a more positive attitude than girls. In teaching methodologies and teacher training, the emphasis has to be put on the problems girls are having. This is because girls are the ones who don{\textquoteright}t like mathematics and mental arithmetic.}, keywords = {learning motivation, mental arithmetic, teaching mathematics}, issn = {1822-7864}, url = {http://oaji.net/articles/2014/457-1392298560.pdf}, author = {Sirje Piht and Eve Eisenschmidt} }