MIDK 2026 | Conferences Website

Julianna Zsoldos-Marchis – Professor, Department of Pedagogy and Applied Didactics, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca
Teaching Mathematics through Play – Experiences and Design Principles in Preschool and Primary Teacher Training The presentation highlights game-based learning and gamification as applied in mathematics courses for future preschool and primary school teachers, as one possible approach to effectively teaching groups that are heterogeneous in terms of attitudes and abilities. Several game-based learning activities aimed at developing logical thinking are presented, along with two board games designed by the author to support the practice of mental arithmetic. The effects of using these games were identified through classroom observations and experimental research. In addition, a set of principles was formulated to support the design of engaging and effective mathematical board games that foster the development of targeted skills. Beyond the use of games, the gamification of practice and assessment has also proven to be highly effective in motivating university students and encouraging their active participation. The effects of gamification were examined through multiple experimental studies using various implementations, with the advantages, as well as the potential shortcomings and limitations, of each approach being identified.

Julianna Zsoldos-Marchis – Professor, Department of Pedagogy and Applied Didactics, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca

Teaching Mathematics through Play – Experiences and Design Principles in Preschool and Primary Teacher Training

The presentation highlights game-based learning and gamification as applied in mathematics courses for future preschool and primary school teachers, as one possible approach to effectively teaching groups that are heterogeneous in terms of attitudes and abilities. Several game-based learning activities aimed at developing logical thinking are presented, along with two board games designed by the author to support the practice of mental arithmetic. The effects of using these games were identified through classroom observations and experimental research. In addition, a set of principles was formulated to support the design of engaging and effective mathematical board games that foster the development of targeted skills. Beyond the use of games, the gamification of practice and assessment has also proven to be highly effective in motivating university students and encouraging their active participation. The effects of gamification were examined through multiple experimental studies using various implementations, with the advantages, as well as the potential shortcomings and limitations, of each approach being identified.

Zoltán Kovács (Associate Professor, Eszterházy Károly Catholic University), Csaba Csapodi (Director General, ELTE Centre of Teacher Training), and Lilla Koreňová (Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Comenius University in Bratislava)
Artificial Intelligence in Research, Teacher Education, and School Practice Panel discussion, Moderator: Eszter Kónya The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) represents not merely the introduction of new tools into education and research but the development of a changing technological environment that raises fundamental professional, methodological, and ethical questions. This panel discussion aims to invite collective reflection on how AI can be interpreted and responsibly shaped within fields related to mathematics education. In the context of research, a key issue concerns the role AI may assume across different stages of the research process. Where is the boundary between technical assistance and substantive intellectual contribution? The discussion will address expectations formulated by leading international journals regarding AI use, as well as current institutional regulations in higher education, particularly in light of the increasing automation of text formulation and data analysis. In higher education—especially in teacher education—AI presents a dual challenge. On the one hand, it functions as a tool increasingly integrated into students’ everyday academic work. On the other hand, it becomes an object of pedagogical reflection: which competencies will be essential for future teachers operating within this evolving learning environment? In public education, the issue can be approached from two directions. AI may serve as a resource to support teachers’ professional work, while also functioning as a methodological tool within mathematics instruction. As mathematics aims to develop students’ thinking, questions concerning the potential benefits and risks of AI use are already present—and will become increasingly significant—within the community of mathematics teachers. Rather than offering definitive answers, this panel seeks to initiate dialogue. At the threshold of a new technological era, sharing good practices, confronting diverse perspectives, and developing a shared framework for reflection are essential to navigating both the opportunities and risks AI presents.

Zoltán Kovács (Associate Professor, Eszterházy Károly Catholic University), Csaba Csapodi (Director General, ELTE Centre of Teacher Training), and Lilla Koreňová (Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Comenius University in Bratislava)

Artificial Intelligence in Research, Teacher Education, and School Practice

Panel discussion, Moderator: Eszter Kónya

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) represents not merely the introduction of new tools into education and research but the development of a changing technological environment that raises fundamental professional, methodological, and ethical questions. This panel discussion aims to invite collective reflection on how AI can be interpreted and responsibly shaped within fields related to mathematics education.
In the context of research, a key issue concerns the role AI may assume across different stages of the research process. Where is the boundary between technical assistance and substantive intellectual contribution? The discussion will address expectations formulated by leading international journals regarding AI use, as well as current institutional regulations in higher education, particularly in light of the increasing automation of text formulation and data analysis.
In higher education—especially in teacher education—AI presents a dual challenge. On the one hand, it functions as a tool increasingly integrated into students’ everyday academic work. On the other hand, it becomes an object of pedagogical reflection: which competencies will be essential for future teachers operating within this evolving learning environment?
In public education, the issue can be approached from two directions. AI may serve as a resource to support teachers’ professional work, while also functioning as a methodological tool within mathematics instruction. As mathematics aims to develop students’ thinking, questions concerning the potential benefits and risks of AI use are already present—and will become increasingly significant—within the community of mathematics teachers.
Rather than offering definitive answers, this panel seeks to initiate dialogue. At the threshold of a new technological era, sharing good practices, confronting diverse perspectives, and developing a shared framework for reflection are essential to navigating both the opportunities and risks AI presents.

Zoltán Kondé - Assistant Professor, University of Debrecen, Institute of Psychology, Department of General Psychology
The interaction of ability beliefs, anxiety, and effort in mathematical performance Mathematics is a field of knowledge that is relatively independent of other domains. For this reason, we might assume that success in mathematics depends primarily on students’ specific mathematical knowledge and skills, as well as on their general cognitive abilities, such as problem solving and logical reasoning. The aim of this presentation is to emphasize that mathematical performance is not merely a matter of cognitive capacity, but rather the result of a self-reinforcing or self-defeating psychological system in which beliefs, emotions, and motivated effort continuously interact and shape one another. Drawing on our own empirical work, I will outline relevant methodological approaches and highlight some of the more intriguing patterns revealed by our analyses.

Zoltán Kondé - Assistant Professor, University of Debrecen, Institute of Psychology, Department of General Psychology

The interaction of ability beliefs, anxiety, and effort in mathematical performance

Mathematics is a field of knowledge that is relatively independent of other domains. For this reason, we might assume that success in mathematics depends primarily on students’ specific mathematical knowledge and skills, as well as on their general cognitive abilities, such as problem solving and logical reasoning.
The aim of this presentation is to emphasize that mathematical performance is not merely a matter of cognitive capacity, but rather the result of a self-reinforcing or self-defeating psychological system in which beliefs, emotions, and motivated effort continuously interact and shape one another.
Drawing on our own empirical work, I will outline relevant methodological approaches and highlight some of the more intriguing patterns revealed by our analyses.