Discover a new dimension of playful learning

2024

Oct

31

Explore the world of logic and mathematics like never before! Visit the land of AbrakaDabra or find out if the pearls are true with the help of the latest innovative Dienes games from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Education and Regional Development (KPVK) of the University of Pécs (PTE). At a press conference on 30 October, Dr Katalin Szili, the curator of the Universitas Quinqueecclesiensis Foundation ( UQA), which supports the university, and Dr Gábor Szécsi, Dean of the KPVK, presented two brand new games that offer exciting new opportunities for learning mathematics.

Dienes games are innovative tools for teaching mathematics and developing logical thinking, created by Zoltán Dienes, a Hungarian-born mathematician-educator.

The games are designed to help children develop their logical, problem-solving and mathematical skills in a playful way that can be easily integrated into the educational process.

PTE has now introduced two new games based on these principles, brought to life by KPVK staff:

True?pearls: the game includes seven variations, where you have to identify the relationships between discs and property cards and tell if a statement is true.

AbrakaDabra: in this game we visit the land of AbrakaDabra, where everything has two sides: one is Abraka , the other is Dabra.

The newly developed games have also attracted international interest and have been presented in Canada and the United States.

Dr. Gábor Szécsi, Dean of the KPVK, said, "Children cannot be educated today as they used to be. In the digital culture, our concept of learning and teaching is changing completely. Children want experiences and cooperative learning where they can actively participate in problem-solving."

Dr. Katalin Szili, UQA's curator, said that the Consistory's strategic goals include increasing university innovation and international visibility: "The Consistary has formulated a strategy to be implemented by 2030, and in this

innovation was one of the important elements of this strategy. The innovation hub created by the university's research, entrepreneurship and start-ups is not only a major asset in the region, but also competitive asset in the global world.

This approach will not only strengthen Hungary's competitiveness in the region, but also on the global stage, enabling market-oriented developments. One of the pleasing results of this is this set of games," he said, and then praised Dienes' legacy, on which the faculty is proud to build: "Professor Dienes developed game theories that are excellent tools for children to develop their thinking."

This new educational approach combines the principles of reform pedagogy and gamified learning. At the heart of the new learning techniques is the role of experiential pedagogy and games, which the CPTI is now integrating into education. "The fourth age of universities has arrived. We are not only educating, teaching and giving ideas to the world, but we are also involved in shaping things ourselves." - stressed Dr Gábor Szécsi.

PTE's game pack is the first to appear with a university logo on the shelves of national and international stores.

This is a revolutionary step in university branding that we are really proud of - the meeting of science and play is now taken to a new level.

As Dr. Katalin Szili summarized, "These games have started an international success story, which is not only significant in terms of internationalization, but also

reflects the implementation of the Foundation's strategy.

The development of the educational methodology plays a prominent role, as in addition to the logical challenges, we have incorporated content elements into the games that contribute to nature conservation, sustainable development and environmental protection. So we are killing two birds with one stone: not only are we developing logical thinking, but we are also imparting other important knowledge. In addition, a fourth important element of the strategy is that PTE is one of the greenest universities in Hungary, which also supports an environmentally conscious approach and a sustainable future."