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A two-day meeting at the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the University of West Bohemia offered high school teachers from the Pilsen, Karlovy Vary, Ústí nad Labem, and Central Bohemia regions, as well as Prague, practical tips, advice, and guidance on how to teach mathematics in a modern way. The lectures were led by university professors who not only specialize in the history of mathematics but also address current topics and track developments in the field.

Luboš Pick from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University presented the history of mathematics, classical Greek problems, and unsolvable problems. He also demonstrated that some of the insights from thousands of years ago remain relevant today. Miroslav Holeček from the NTC Research Center at the University of West Bohemia and Petr Tomiczek from the Department of Mathematics at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of West Bohemia, explained the current yet difficult-to-grasp topic of quantum computing in a clear and illustrative manner. Dana Kolářová and Stanislava Čečáková from the Faculty of Architecture at the Czech Technical University in Prague demonstrated how to use modular origami in geometry instruction.

“Most participants attend the seminar regularly. From the questionnaires, we know that they appreciate the intimate and friendly atmosphere, where they can share their experiences and feel free to ask questions if there’s something they don’t know or don’t understand. At the same time, we offer topics that are interesting to high school teachers, and they can apply the knowledge they gain in their teaching,” said lead organizer Světlana Tomiczková from the Department of Mathematics at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of West Bohemia.

Martina Litschmannová and Maria Čamborová demonstrated how to motivate students to practice mathematics through interactive tests, training games, and other new tools. As part of the workshop, they introduced the Math4U portal and showed how teachers can easily create their own tests and games, administer them online via the Test4U/Game4U platform, and use the results to improve their teaching. Mirko Rokyta from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University gave a presentation on Benford’s Law, which is used to detect fraud in areas such as banking transactions, election results, and scientific data.