Cache county thsrc

The Average Student on Top
The High School Renewal Committee
27 October 2010
Yeap Ban Har
Marshall Cavendish Institute
Singapore
banhar@sg.marshallcavendish.com
Slides are available at www.banhar.com

vision and focus

Singapore mathematics curriculum has its focus mathematical problem solving and it is set within an education system that emphasizes thinking.

mathematical problem solving

Beliefs
Interest
Appreciation
Confidence
Perseverance
Monitoring of one’s own thinking
Self-regulation of learning
Attitudes
Metacognition
Numerical calculation
Algebraic manipulation
Spatial visualization
Data analysis
Measurement
Use of mathematical tools
Estimation
Mathematical Problem Solving
Reasoning, communication & connections
Thinking skills & heuristics
Application & modelling
Skills
Processes
Concepts
Numerical
Algebraic
Geometrical
Statistical
Probabilistic
Analytical
In Singapore, a curriculum that focuses on mathematical problem solving was introduced in 1992.

thinking

thinking schools
learning nation
The emphasis on thinking continues in the late 1990s with the introduction of Thinking School, Learning Nation philosophy to the entire education system in 1997.

strong fundamentals

2
4
3
5
6
Princess Elizabeth Primary School, Singapore

pedagogy

Pedagogy that focuses on visuals, patterning and number sense.

The CPA Approach – the progression from concrete to pictures to abstract symbols is recommended for concept development. This is based on the work of Jerome Bruner.
Fuchun Primary School, Singapore

For example, students learn the idea of division by sharing 12 cookies among 4 persons as well as by putting 12 eggs in groups of 4 before progressing to using drawings to solve division problems. Later they learn to use division sentence 12 ÷ 4 = 3.

For example, students learn to do division of discrete quantities without the need to write division sentence in Grade 1.

The Spiral Approach – students get to revisit core ideas as they deepen their understanding of those ideas. This is also one of Jerome Bruner’s ideas.

Singapore Math in the Netherlands

In Grade 2, the revisit this idea and use division sentences to represent the situations. In Grade 3, the idea is extended to include the idea of a remainder. They also learn to regroup before dividing for 2-digit and 3-digit numbers.
Singapore Math in USA

In Grade 4, 4-digit numbers are used. In Grade 5, division of continuous quantities are dealt with where 13 ÷ 4 = 3.25 rather than 3 remainder 1.
Singapore Math
in
The Philippines

assessment

Source
PSLE Mathematics Singapore Examination and Assessment Board

Angela, Bala, and Cheng Hao have 872 marbles altogether. Angela has 4 times as many marbles as Bala. Cheng Hao has 50 more marbles than Bala. How many marbles does Bala have?
Source
Primary Three Examination Item from Henry Park Primary School, Singapore

Angela
Bala
872
Cheng Hao
50
Source

1 unit = 822 ÷ 6
1 unit = 137
Bala has 137 marbles.
Angela
Bala
822
Cheng Hao
600
42
180
Source

4y + y + (y + 50) = 872
6y + 50 = 872
6y = 872 – 50
y = 822 ÷ 6
y = 137
Angela
y
y
y
y
Bala
y
872
Cheng Hao
50
y
Source

outcomes

Students in Singapore have demonstrated high achievement and positive attitude towards mathematics.
In Trends in Mathematics and Science Study, more than 40% of Singapore’s 4th and 8th graders are in the Advanced International Benchmark (the international average is 5% and 2% respectively).
1995
2003
2007
International
5
Advanced
38
41
38
Grade 4
26
High
70
74
73
67
Intermediate
89
92
91
90
Low
96
98
97

TIMSS 2007
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies
Indonesia
Thailand
Malaysia
Singapore
International
Grade 8
Advanced
2
3
0
40
2
High
15
12
4
70
18
Intermediate
46
44
14
88
50
Low
75
66
48
97
82
Method Used in Singapore Textbooks

TIMSS 2007
Average
Hong Kong
Singapore
S. Korea
Taiwan
Grade 8
Advanced
2
40
31
45
40
High
15
70
64
71
71
Intermediate
46
88
85
86
90
Low
75
97
94
95
98
Singapore Math in Indonesia

TIMSS
Grade 4 2003
Grade 8 2007
Grade 4 1995
Grade 8 1999
38
40
Advanced
38
42
73
70
High
70
77
91
88
Intermediate
89
94
97
97
Low
96
99

In the PSLE, the national average for students who are capable of completing the most challenging items in the examination is between 40% and 45%. We saw one such challenging items earlier.
Mrs Hoon made some cookies to sell. 3/4 of them were chocolate cookies and the rest were almond cookies. After selling 210 almond cookies and 5/6 of the chocolate cookies, she had 1/5 of the cookies left.
How many cookies did Mrs Hoon sell?

The attitude index for Singapore students in TIMSS is also relatively high compared to other high-performing countries.
Also, the majority of students in Singapore opt to study mathematics in Grades 11 and 12 when they are no longer required to.

Attitude
Achievement
Taiwan
37
45
Grade 8
S Korea
33
40
Singapore
60
40
Hong Kong
47
31
Japan
30
26
Hungary
30
10
England
40
8
International
54
2

Making the Average Student on Top
Thinking-oriented Curriculum
Theoretically-sound Pedagogy
Assessment that is coherent with the curriculum
Teacher professional development
Changing mindset about what mathematics is
Constructing knowledge
Enhancing capacity to learn

http://www.mathz4kidz.com	2554
http://mathz4kidz.com	461
http://www.google.com	4
http://www.mathz4kidz.com.	2
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	1
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com	1
http://www.mathz4kidz.com} {821249551\|\|\|pingback	1
http://www.mathz4kidz.com} {821249551\|\|\|pingback	1

Cache county thsrc

by Jimmy Keng on Oct 28, 2010

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

8 Embeds 3,025

Statistics

Cache county thsrc — Presentation Transcript