Singapore Math K - 6 P a r e n t P r o g r a m

Yeap Ban Har

Marshall Cavendish Institute Singapore

yeapbanhar@gmail.com

Slides are available at

www.banhar.blogspot.com

Singapore

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Land 270 sq miles

700 sq km

People 5.3 million

GDP per capita 1965 USD500

2011 USD50 000 in current USD

Junyuan Secondary School, Singapore

introduction

High achievement was not a given. In 1960,

among 30 615 candidates who sat for the

first Primary School Leaving Examination,

45% of the candidates passed.

Keon Ming Public School, Singapore

Today, about the

same proportion

achieve the

highest grade in

each of the four

subjects tested.

Score 1960-1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s

500 Japan Japan Korea

Hong Kong

Japan Korea

Singapore Hong Kong

Japan Korea

Hong Kong Singapore

400 Thailand Singapore Thailand

The Philippines

Malaysia Thailand

Malaysia Thailand

300 Indonesia The Philippines

Indonesia The Philippines

Reference: E. Hanusek, D. Jamison, E. Jamison & L. Woessmann (2008)

All major international tests (literacy, science and mathematics) between 1964 and 2003 were placed on a common scale. Selected countries shown in the table.

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1992 Introduction of Problem-

Solving Curriculum

1997 Thinking Schools Learning Nation

1982 Introduction of Singapore mathematics

textbooks as they are known today.

Mathematics is “an excellent

vehicle for the development and

improvement of a person’s

intellectual competence”. Ministry of Education Singapore 2006

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We started off badly but we

have managed to help our

students in learning math.

Singapore

Taiwan

Japan

Hong Kong

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itu

de

Ac

hie

ve

me

nt

71 41

67 40

50 24

62 23

Gra

de

4

Kazakhstan

Russia

International

England

89 19

62 16

80 16

72 5

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TIMSS Boston College

Taiwan

Singapore

Hong Kong

S Korea

Att

itu

de

Ac

hie

ve

me

nt

37 45

33 40

60 40

47 31

Gra

de

8

Japan

England

International

Hungary

30 26

30 10

40 8

54 2

TIMSS Boston College

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Shanghai

Hong Kong

S Korea

Singapore

Me

an

600

562

555

546

15

ye

ar-

old

s

Taiwan

Liechtenstein

International

Finland

543

541

536

496

PISA OECD

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Singapore Math focuses on

the use of visuals and initial

concrete experiences..

Archipel Basisschool Tweemaster-Kameleon, The Netherlands

Archipel Basisschool Tweemaster-Kameleon, The Netherlands

28

62

4

3

Let the piece of paper

represents a cake.

3 fourths 3 =

4

13

4

3

Let the piece of paper

represents a cake.

3 fourths 2 =

8

32

8

62

4

3

Let the piece of paper

represents a cake.

3 fourths 2 =

4

3

2

12

4

3

Let the piece of paper

represents a cake.

3 fourths 2 =

8

3

4

3

2

12

4

3

Let the piece of paper

represents a cake.

3 fourths 2 =

8

3

8

1

4

12

4

3

2 fourths 2 =

1 fourths 2 =

Archipel Basisschool Tweemaster-Kameleon, The Netherlands

King Solomon Academy, London UK

A number is of a second number.

The sum of the two numbers is 120. 5

3

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A number is of a second number.

The sum of the two numbers is 120. 5

3

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8 units = 120

1 units = 120 8

1 units = 15

120

80 40

The smaller number is 3 x 15 = 45.

The larger number is 5 x 15 = 75.

Edgewood Elementary School, New York

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Box B contains twice as many

books as Box A. Box C

contains 20 more books than

Box A. Together, the three

boxes contains 116 books.

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Box B contains twice as many

books as Box A. Box C

contains 20 more books than

Box A. Together, the three

boxes contains 116 books.

20 Box C

Box A

Box B

116

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Box B contains twice as many

books as Box A. Box C

contains 20 more books than

Box A. Together, the three

boxes contains 116 books.

20 Box C

Box A

Box B

116 – 20 = 116 – 16 – 4 = 96

4 units = 96

4 units = 80 + 16

1 units = 96 4 =

24

24 24

24

Box A ….

We end the evening with a

few questions.

The following are a few

more examples for you to

look at after the seminar.

Learning multiplication facts

Escuela de Guetamala, Chile

Math in Focus

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Math in Focus

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Math in Focus

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Math in Focus

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Math in Focus

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See Ho, S. Y. & Yeap, B. H. (2011). Development of Visualization Skills in Singapore Primary

School Mathematics Textbooks. Paper presented at PME-35 Angkara, Turkey.

See also Yeap, B. H. (2011). The Emphasis of Primary-Level Textbooks in Singapore on

Higher-Order Thinking Skills. Paper presented at International Conference on School

Mathematics Textbooks Shanghai, China.

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Primary Mathematics (Third Edition)

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Primary Mathematics (Third Edition)

Using number bonds to

divide large numbers

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Breaking 51 into 30 and 21 in

dividing 51 by 3.

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Breaking 51 into 30 and 21 in

dividing 51 by 3.

An example of a challenging

word problem from

Singapore’s state test for

Grade 6

PSLE State Test for Grade 6

Peili

Nurul

After …

Peili

Nurul

Before …

7

7

7

PSLE

A story to remind us to not

simply teach rote

procedures, no matter how

tempting it is

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erie

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re M

ath