Overview

Summer@BSME is a six-week summer program in Budapest for those interested in the learning and teaching of secondary mathematics. Participants take a variety of courses in mathematics education and complete a week-long field experience. Come experience the Hungarian approach to learning and teaching of mathematics—which emphasizes problem solving, creativity, and communication—as well as the rich and vibrant culture of Hungary.

Dates for Summer 2019

Summer@BSME is a six-week program. We meet roughly four to five hours a day, four to five days a week. All courses (except for the field experience) are held at the BSME Building.

• Program begins on Monday, July 1. (Recommended arrival: Saturday, June 29.)
• Program ends on Saturday, August 10.

Academic Program

Summer@BSME has two academic components: (a) courses in mathematics education and (b) field experience at a mathematics camp for secondary students. Participants learn about the Hungarian approach in their course work; in the field experience, they obtain first-hand experience on how the methods learned in the courses are put into practice.

The syllabi for the courses below (including Practicum) will be available soon. In the meanwhile, the academic schedule from prior summers should give you a good sense of the program.

Mathematics Education Courses: Each of the following is a half-credit (0.5 credit) course that meets for about 20 contact hours. (Note: 1 contact hour equals 60 minutes.)

• Discovery Learning: The Pósa Method
• Problem Solving in Secondary School Mathematics
• Technology in Mathematical Problem Solving

In these courses, you will design mathematical tasks and will have the opportunity to teach some of these tasks to your fellow Summer@BSME participants.

Practicum: This full-credit (1.0 credit) course has an in-class component, and a field experience component during the program’s last week. In total, the course consists of about 40–45 contact hours.

• Practicum: Experiencing the Hungarian Approach through Observation and Teaching

St. Olaf College is the School of Record for Summer@BSME and provides the transcripts.
See this page for how credits from BSME courses typically transfer to participants’ home institutions.

Academic Schedule

Please see the Summer@BSME: Academic Schedule page for details.

BSME Instructors

The BSME instructors are Hungarian teacher scholars who follow their own mathematical upbringing in Hungary and bring a creative spirit to the program. They challenge our participants to take part in creating, rather than just learning, the material. All courses are taught in English, and BSME instructors have had experience teaching both at the secondary level and college level.

Tuition and Costs

Please see the Program Costs (Summer) page for details.

Health Services and Insurance

Please see the Health Services page for details.

Housing

Please see the Housing (Summer) page for details.