Questions Posted at Singapore Math in Action Professional Development in Manila

These are some questions posted at the Singapore Math in Action by Keys Institute for Teaching & Learning.

Q: You said that Singapore Math does not focus on recalling procedures. But isn't math process procedural? Please explain the difference.
A: In the Singapore curriculum, procedural fluecy is important but must be learnt meaningfully. Thus, the long division algorithm is explained using base ten blocks. Or the division of a whole number by a fraction is explained using the grouping meaning of division (how many three-fourths are there in one whole?. Mathematical processes include the use of heuristics and thinking skills. They also include reasoning, communication and seeing connections. None of these are procedural in the sense that the invert-and-multiply strategy is procedural.Mathematics is about sense making rather than recalling procedures.

Q: Many schools in Manila have crowded curriculum. How do you suggest Singapore Math being implemented the way it should be implemented given that kind of national curriculum?
A: Some schools simply use the Singapore curriculum and make sure that by the end of six years their students have mastered all content in the Filipino curriculum. Others use it as a resource to help teachers teach whatever there are in the Filipino curriculum in a meaningful way and to give their students challenging problems to solve.

Q: How do you feel about supplementing the school's curriculum of U.S. Math with Singapore Math? Will it be confusing for the child or would it be helpful for the child to learn different ways of solving problems?
A: Mathematics is the same everywhere. Singapore mathematics textbooks use more visual approaches and can help students learn abstract ideas.

Q: How old are Grade 1 students in Singapore?
A: They turn seven during the school year. They start school in January.

Q: When do you recommend a school to introduce Singapore Math to their students?
A: Any program is best introduce right from the start - Grade 1.

Q: How do you feel about 4th Graders using finger-counting to arrive at addition facts?
A: This should not happen. First and maybe second graders may use finger counting to figure out addition. But these should soon become facts and be remembered. Games such as Salute! seen in the lesson conducted during the seminar should help students gain mastery and fluency in addition facts. See the photograph.

Q: How do you help kids adjust from traditional methods to Singapore Math method especially if they are already in a higher grade?
A: They will need to get use to the use of bar models to solve word problems and they need to get use to more challenging materials. Older students may need some closing of gap.

Singapore Math @ San Diego

This was the presentation made at Sheraton San Diego Mission Valley Hotel. Yeap Ban Har presented this in the afternoon. William Jackson presented the morning session.

Singapore math @ sheraton

View more presentations from guest009ebb.

Presentations at USA in April

I gave quite a few lectures in Boston and San Diego. The slides are available at www.mathz4kidz.com

On Lesson Study

I am a teacher in a primary school in Singapore, currently carrying out Lesson Study in our school. I would like to seek your advice on Research Themes.

I gather that to come up with the Research Theme, the team needs to look at the Ideal Profile of Students and the Actual Situation of Students. This, with the School's and Department's Vision and Mision, the team will construct the Research Theme or Research Focus. My question is once this is firmed up, it will form the basis of all future Research Lessons for Lesson Studies, is that right?

Do we need to come up with a different Research Theme for each cycle of Lesson Study or will the Research Theme be the one that all Lesson Studies be based on. For example, my team has discussed and came up with a Research Theme for Mathematics. Will another Research Theme need to be constructed for a different cycle for Mathematics or can we use this Research Theme we have decided on for all Research Lessons for Mathematics.

Ban Har writes: Based on the school's vision, focus of the curriculum and your students' profile, the research theme is constructed. You are on the right track. You will stick with the same reasearch theme for a while until your team feel that there are new areas that need attention.

Teaching Perpendicular Lines

Question: Should I get students to use set square to draw perpendicular lines in the first lesson or should I give them non-standard tools such as a right-angled triangle?

Hazel, a pre-service teacher in Singapore

This chapter comes after the chapter on angles where students have learnt about right angles. I think before students are taught how to draw perpendicular lines, they need to know what are perpendicular lines so that they are able to check if two lines are perpendicular. I am like to have given them two intersecting lines as well as lines joint at a point and ask them to measure the angles between the lines and to say that those that meet / intersect at right angles are called perpendicular lines. In my opinion, the chapter in the textbook starts too abruptly to get students to draw perpendicular lines without actually being taught what perpendicular lines are.

I like Hazel's idea of introducing other non-standard tools that can be used to draw perpendicular lines. I think a good lesson could involve the students being given some common objects such as ruler, protractor, set squares, triangle tangram set, an index card, ice-cream sticks and asked which of these they can use to draw lines that are perpendicular to each other.

The lesson can conclude with the whole class checking responses that they have generated using the criteria they have learnt.

Implementing Singapore Math & PD

Can you tell me more about the professional development programm for teachers?

This is an exciting year as far as PD is concerned. You may read about lesson study in Singapore at www.lessonstudyinsingapore.blogspot.com I will also write more on this in a separate entry on a later date.

Suffice to say Ministry of Education in Singapore place a lot of emphasis on professional development. There is a position (called staff developer) in schools where the person (head of department level) is in-charge of professional development of his / her colleagues. This person is one of the head teachers.

What are the things that we must me aware about when we're implementing the program at our schools?

Three things you may want to take note of:

It is best to start from the lower grades. Unless the students have a strong foundation, they may not cope well with the textbooks (which includes challenging problems) if they start in, say, grade five. The teachers also have an easier time adapting to the pedagogy.

Support from the principal and school leaders is very important.

Professional development of teachers must be considered.

Differentiation in Singapore Classrooms

A friend in another country who requested some information about what happens in Singapore schools. He wanted to know more about the differentiation process. How does this take place in the classrooms? He said that he read that there are lesson after schools for children who have extra needs.

Differentiation is a continuing issue in schools here. chools are always striving to best do this. No wonder there have been quite a few request to conduct in-house training on differentiated instruction.

I think there must be variations on how this is done. But as a system, there are at least two things that happens in every school. One, Learning Support Porgramme (LSM) is a differentiated instruction for primary one and two students who are not entirely ready for the regular instruction. In many schools, these pupils are pulled out from their regular classes and work with a teacher who works with fewer children (not more than 10). The regular class size is 30. The content is the same as the regular programme. However, pupils get more attention because of small class size and the teachers are in a better position to diagnose and remediate. They may also use slightly different pedagogy to enage these pupils - more concrete activities, perhaps.

Another is the Foundation Maths Programme at Primary 5 and Primary 6. This is content differentiation. The students review work from the first four years in an age appropriate way even as they learn a bit of new materials. This is to ensure that the students are ready to join one of the course of study in grade seven (secondary school). They use a different textbook and they are usually in one class. In some schools with very few students in the Foundation Maths programme, they will be pulled out to do maths with another teacher during the mathematics periods.

It is alos not uncommon for teachers to conducrt remedial lessons after 1 p.m. Most of our schools end formal curriculum around 1 p.m. The afternoon is reserved for other non-academic activities, field trips as well as remedial and enrichment lessons.