In research focused on self-efficacy it is usually teacher-related phenomena that are studied, while the main aspects related to pupils are rather neglected, although self-efficacy itself is perceived as a belief in one’s own abilities. Evidently, this strongly influences the behavior of individuals in terms of the goal and success in mathematical problem-solving. Considering that alternative teaching methods are based on the principle of belief in one’s own ability (mainly in the case of group work), higher self-efficacy can be expected in the pupils of teachers who use predominantly the well-working pupil-centered pedagogies. A total of 1133 pupils in grade 5 from 36 schools in the Czech Republic were involved in the testing of their ability to solve mathematical problems and their mathematical self-efficacy as well. Participants were divided according to the above criteria as follows: (i) 73 from Montessori primary schools, (ii) 332 pupils educated in mathematics according to the Hejný method, (iii) 510 pupils from an ordinary primary school, and (iv) 218 pupils completing the Dalton teaching plan. In the field of mathematical problem-solving the pupils from the Montessori primary schools clearly outperformed pupils from the Dalton Plan schools (p = 0.027) as well as pupils attending ordinary primary schools (p = 0.009), whereas the difference between the Montessori schools and Hejný classes was not significant (p = 0.764). There is no statistically significant difference in the level of self-efficacy of pupils with respect to the preferred strategies for managing learning activities (p = 0.781). On the other hand, correlation between mathematical problem-solving and self-efficacy was confirmed in all the examined types of schools. However, the correlation coefficient was lower in the case of the pupils from the classes applying the Hejný method in comparison with the pupils attending the Montessori schools (p = 0.073), Dalton Plan schools (p = 0.043), and ordinary primary schools (p = 0.002). Even though the results in mathematical problem-solving are not consistent across the studies, the presented results confirm better performance of pupils in some constructivist settings, particularly in the case of individual constructivism in the Montessori primary schools. The factors influencing lower correlation of self-efficacy and performance in mathematical problem-solving ought to be subject to further investigation.

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The paper focuses on the field of learning styles in e-learning. The study is structured in two main parts: (1) a brief overview of traditional approaches to learning styles is presented and their role in the process of instruction is set; this part results in the reflection of current state, when learning styles are considered within e-learning; (2) results of meta-analysis dealing with learning styles in the e-learning environment are introduced focusing on two periods (2001-2007, 2008-2014) and journals in selected databases ProQuest Central, Elsevier Science Direct and ERIC. Totally 5,361 papers were collected and structured according to three criteria: (1) time period, (2) relevancy of information sources and (3) relevant key words. Collected data underwent the chí-squared test for independence and the analysis of adjusted residuals on the significance level a=0.05. No statistically significant changes were discovered in the research sample, however, some shifts were detected in this field. Finally, the results were discussed and relating conclusions provided.

This article focuses on the smart approach applied in teaching two topics (referred to as learning contents) within English for Specific Purposes with regard to students’ motivation types. It introduces results of the research conducted in this field. The research is based on the definition of the term smart set by Silverio-Fernandez et al. (2018) and the theory of motivation types created by Plaminek (2010), who designed the standardised Motivation Type Inventory distinguishing four motivation types (accurators, coordinators, directors, explorers). Data were collected via didactic tests; quantitative methods were applied to calculate the potential increase in students’ knowledge as a difference between pre-test and post-test scores in the didactic tests. In total, 119 prospective teachers from the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Science at Jan Evangelista Purkyne University participated in this research conducted via quasi-experimental ex-post-facto method for 12 weeks. The smart approach included the exploitation of smart devices and technologies (applications) in face-to-face instruction and in-home preparation for lessons. Three main hypotheses were set to prove whether the smart approach to ESP instruction can be applied to learners of all motivation types. According to the findings, the smart approach suited students of all motivation types; however, coordinators’ increase in knowledge was significantly higher compared to explorers and directors in one of the learning contents.

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