keynote lecture at usa national conference on singapore math strategies 13-16 july 2009 at las...

singaporemathwhere east meets west

Yeap Ban Har & Char Forsten

Keynote Session13 July 2009

www.banhar.blogspot.com


the contexts in which the

strategies are used are significant in producing

high-achievement


thingsaboutsingaporemath

sevenstuff you already know

plus further insights into these


emphasis onproblem solving

Reference: Singapore Ministry of Education 2006


emphasis onproblem solving

is not a rhetoric


emphasis onproblem solvingnationaltest

in the


Example of 1-point Items Example of 2-point Items

Which of the following numbers is the largest?(1)6.59(2)6.95(3)6.509(4)6.905

Adrian and Bala shared the total cost of a present. Adrian paid $15 more than 3/8 of the cost of the present. Bala paid $25. How much did the present cost?(1)$160 (2) $64 (3) $40 (4) $16

A movie started at 11.45 a.m. The movie was 2 hours 25 minutes long. What time did the movie end?

Prawns are sold at $1.35 per 100 g at a market. What is the price of 1.5 kg of prawns?

In the figure below, ABCD is a square, AED is an equilateral triangle and BFD is a straight line. Find <AFD

Reference: Singapore Examinations & Assessment Board 2004-2008

A B

CD

EF


Item Type Point Per Item Total Points

Multiple-Choice 1 20%

15 items 2

Short- Answer 1 30%

20 items 2

Long-Answer 3 50%

13 items 4

5

Reference: Singapore Examinations & Assessment Board


school programsincludeforall students

enrichment

Photos: Wellington Primary School. Singapore

A shop sells bicycles for adults and children. The adult bicycles come in 2 colour choices: black and white. The children bicycles come in 3 colour choices: red, blue and green. Mr Tan wants to buy a bicycle for himself and another one for his son. How many different colour choices does he have to buy both bicycles?

A shop sells bicycles for adults and children. The adult bicycles come in 2 colour choices: black and white. The children bicycles come in 4 colour choices: red, blue, green and purples. Mr Tan wants to buy a bicycle for himself and another one for his son. How many different colour choices does he have to buy both bicycles?

A shop sells bicycles for adults and children. The adult and children choose from any of these colours: red, blue, green, yellow and purple. bicycles come in 2 colour choices: black and white. The children bicycles come in 3 colour choices: red, blue and green. Mr Tan wants to buy a bicycle for himself and another one for his son. How many different colour choices does he have to buy both bicycles?


Materials that delve deeper into a basic topic are used as part of the regular program. For example, this school uses a textbook plus teacher-produced worksheets such as this to enrich students’ ideas about multiplication.

Source: Maris Stella High (Primary) School, Singapore

Source: Raffles Girls’ Primary School, Singapore

In twice-a-year tests designed by the schools, problems such as this one are given to challenge students. However, there is an expectation that every student makes significant effort to acquire the ability to solve such problems.

complex problem solving

is expected of every student


parentalexpectations

Photos: Seminar for Parents on Problem Solving


emphasis onconcrete topictorial to abstract

representations

Photo: Catholic High School (Primary) Singapore


especially onthe model method

Photo: mathz4kidz Learning Center, Malaysia

Photo: Telok Kurau Primary School, Singapore

A lion weighs 135 kg. A cow weigh 87 kg more than the lion. An elephant weighs 139 more than the cow. How heavy is the elephant? (Primary 2)


presence of‘safety nets’


learning support programat entry point

Photo: Princess Elizabeth Primary School, Singapore

Variation in kindergartensKindergarten is not part of formal schooling.

Pre-school education

varies in types and quality.

Teachers’ qualification ranges from O-Levels to masters degrees in early childhood. Monthly fees range from $65 to more than $1000.

Photo: PCF Kindergarten Telok Blangah, Singapore

Kindergartens that the majority of Singapore children attend are run by grass-root organizations and they struggle to provide a high-quality program due to lack of resources and qualified teachers.

One such provider of kindergarten education is the PCF Kindergartens which has 255 kindergartens out of 485 kindergartens in Singapore.

Variation in kindergartens

Also, 50% of first-graders in Singapore come from non-English speaking environment.

Photo: PCF Kindergarten Tanjong Pagar, Singapore


foundation mathematicsat halfway point



teacher-initiatedintervention

Photo: Telok Kurau Primary School, Singapore


teacher trainingpre-service

Photo: Princess National Institute of Education, Singapore


professional developmentin-service


Photo: Hougang Primary School, Singapore


teacher learningfrom textbooks

Catholic High School (Primary), Singapore

Advanced

Intermediate

Low

High

TIMSS 1995 to 2007

38 4138

70 7473

89 9291

96 9897

Grade 4

Catholic High School (Primary), Singapore

Advanced

Intermediate

Low

High

TIMSS 2007

24 4140

66 7481

92 9297

99 98100

Grade 4

Northlight School, Singapore

Advanced

Intermediate

Low

High

TIMSS 2007

2 402

15 7018

46 8850

75 9782

Grade 8


• emphasis on problem solving• high-stakes tests include problem solving• enrichment opportunities for all• high expectations of children by parents• pedagogies that facilitate learning• multi-pronged intervention strategies• professional development strategies


thank you

[email protected]

www.banhar.blogspot.comfor addresses of websites and blogs of various

aspects of singapore math

http://www.banhar.blogspot.com/

keynote lecture at usa national conference on singapore math strategies 13-16 july 2009 at las...

Education

west emphasis

west seventhings

west example

present cost

problem solvingis

problem solvingin

movie end

total cost