This chapter describes the main studies which have been carried out in the Singapore mathematics ... more This chapter describes the main studies which have been carried out in the Singapore mathematics classrooms to identify and address the learning needs of low attainers in mathematics at the primary and secondary levels. This chapter begins with describing two research projects on low attainers: the first is an exploratory study on low attainers at the primary level and the second a survey on teachers’ perception of low attainers from the Normal (Technical) stream at the secondary level. These two studies identified the characteristics of low attainers and their content knowledge, teachers’ perception about their motivation and competency in mathematics, and provide a preliminary knowledge of how teachers have attempted to facilitate them to learn mathematics better. The chapter further presents three intervention research projects that were conducted by researchers from the Singapore National Institute of Education (NIE) in collaboration with school teachers to facilitate the low attainers in learning mathematics. The first project was an action research proposed by a school to facilitate the mathematics learning of students from the Normal (Academic) stream through the use of cooperative learning strategies. The researchers proposed a framework of cooperative learning that was trialled in their school setting. The second project was another research project initiated by researchers from NIE on using comics and storytelling in teaching mathematics in the Normal (Technical) stream. The study shows that there was an overall positive impact of this approach on students’ motivation in learning mathematics and their performance in mathematics achievement test. In the third project, another team of researchers from NIE attempting to use the Concrete–Pictorial–Abstract heuristic to help Normal (Academic) students learn mathematics by assisting them to make abstract algebra meaningful and manageable. This chapter concludes with describing the projected initiated by the Ministry of Education at the national level on building teacher capacity to facilitate learning of mathematics among the low attainers in mathematics.
This document may be used for private study or research purpose only. This document or any part o... more This document may be used for private study or research purpose only. This document or any part of it may not be duplicated and/or distributed without permission of the copyright owner. The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document.
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2019
The “Enactment Project” is a Programmatic Research Project funded by the Ministry of Education, S... more The “Enactment Project” is a Programmatic Research Project funded by the Ministry of Education, Singapore, and administered through the Office of Educational Research, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. The project began in 2016 and its aim is to study the enactment of the Singapore mathematics curriculum across the whole spectrum of secondary schools within the jurisdiction. Under this overarching goal, there are two supporting studies: Study 1 examines the classroom enactment by teachers in relation to the curriculum framework as organised in the Pentagon (Skills, Concepts, Attitudes, Processes, Metacognition, with Problem Solving at its centre); Study 2 focuses on the enactment as seen through the instructional materials designed by the teachers.
This book serves the purpose of discussing the state of mathematics education in Singapore at the... more This book serves the purpose of discussing the state of mathematics education in Singapore at the time it is written, and an update of a previous edition of the book on Singapore mathematics education published about a decade ago. This chapter identifies the central message that runs across the chapters in this book: Singapore is striving for excellence in mathematics education while addressing her imperfections; Singapore is also learning from good practices of other countries and at the same time bases her practices on sound educational theory. In addition, Singapore places great emphasis on teacher professional development. Further, this chapter discusses the future trends of mathematics education in Singapore: an increasing emphasis on big ideas, big data and computational thinking.
This chapter contains short descriptions from contributors in ten countries (Chile, Denmark, Fran... more This chapter contains short descriptions from contributors in ten countries (Chile, Denmark, France, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Korea, Singapore, Spain and USA) about some ways in which the PISA Framework and results have influenced thinking and action about mathematics education. In many countries, the PISA results have been a call to action, and have stimulated diverse projects aimed at improving results, principally for teacher education but also some involving students. PISA resources, including the released items, have been used as a basis for assessment as well as for teacher development. Some countries have established national assessments with noticeable consistency with PISA ideas. In many countries, PISA’s concept of mathematical literacy, with its analysis of what makes mathematics education useful for most future citizens, has been extremely influential in curriculum review and also for improving teaching and learning. Countries have also incorporated or adopted the way that PISA describes mathematical competence through the fundamental mathematical capabilities.
Equity in mathematics education: influences of …, 1995
... The studies conducted by both Kaur (1987) and the Ministry of Education (1988; Yip and Sim, 1... more ... The studies conducted by both Kaur (1987) and the Ministry of Education (1988; Yip and Sim, 1990) utilized available national examinations, and therefore ... Khoo, PS, Chang, TH,, Foong, PY, Kaur, B. and Lim-teo, SK (1991) A State-of-theArt Review on Mathematics Education in ...
Mathematics assessment should involve more than just assessing students' knowledge of content. H... more Mathematics assessment should involve more than just assessing students' knowledge of content. How students understand the content is important and should also be a part of the assessment process. For robust knowledge, students need a multi-dimensional understanding of content, including a focus on skills, properties, uses, and representations related to the content under study. This paper discusses the importance of assessing students' understanding across various dimensions and illustrates how their understanding can vary by dimension. Specific examples of assessment items come from the International Project on Mathematical Attainment, a longitudinal study of primary students' achievement in which the United States of America and Singapore were participants. Achievement results from these two countries illustrate how a focus on overall results, without consideration of an analysis by dimension of understanding, can mask important similarities and differences in achievement.
As part of the Leaner's Perspective Study (LPS), th ree grade eight mathematics classrooms of... more As part of the Leaner's Perspective Study (LPS), th ree grade eight mathematics classrooms of competent teachers, in Singapore, were studied for periods of ten lessons each. Data were collected using the complimentary accounts methodology and data on several aspects of the teaching and learning in the three classrooms have been analysed. In this paper, three main aspects of the
This chapter describes the main studies which have been carried out in the Singapore mathematics ... more This chapter describes the main studies which have been carried out in the Singapore mathematics classrooms to identify and address the learning needs of low attainers in mathematics at the primary and secondary levels. This chapter begins with describing two research projects on low attainers: the first is an exploratory study on low attainers at the primary level and the second a survey on teachers’ perception of low attainers from the Normal (Technical) stream at the secondary level. These two studies identified the characteristics of low attainers and their content knowledge, teachers’ perception about their motivation and competency in mathematics, and provide a preliminary knowledge of how teachers have attempted to facilitate them to learn mathematics better. The chapter further presents three intervention research projects that were conducted by researchers from the Singapore National Institute of Education (NIE) in collaboration with school teachers to facilitate the low attainers in learning mathematics. The first project was an action research proposed by a school to facilitate the mathematics learning of students from the Normal (Academic) stream through the use of cooperative learning strategies. The researchers proposed a framework of cooperative learning that was trialled in their school setting. The second project was another research project initiated by researchers from NIE on using comics and storytelling in teaching mathematics in the Normal (Technical) stream. The study shows that there was an overall positive impact of this approach on students’ motivation in learning mathematics and their performance in mathematics achievement test. In the third project, another team of researchers from NIE attempting to use the Concrete–Pictorial–Abstract heuristic to help Normal (Academic) students learn mathematics by assisting them to make abstract algebra meaningful and manageable. This chapter concludes with describing the projected initiated by the Ministry of Education at the national level on building teacher capacity to facilitate learning of mathematics among the low attainers in mathematics.
This document may be used for private study or research purpose only. This document or any part o... more This document may be used for private study or research purpose only. This document or any part of it may not be duplicated and/or distributed without permission of the copyright owner. The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document.
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2019
The “Enactment Project” is a Programmatic Research Project funded by the Ministry of Education, S... more The “Enactment Project” is a Programmatic Research Project funded by the Ministry of Education, Singapore, and administered through the Office of Educational Research, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. The project began in 2016 and its aim is to study the enactment of the Singapore mathematics curriculum across the whole spectrum of secondary schools within the jurisdiction. Under this overarching goal, there are two supporting studies: Study 1 examines the classroom enactment by teachers in relation to the curriculum framework as organised in the Pentagon (Skills, Concepts, Attitudes, Processes, Metacognition, with Problem Solving at its centre); Study 2 focuses on the enactment as seen through the instructional materials designed by the teachers.
This book serves the purpose of discussing the state of mathematics education in Singapore at the... more This book serves the purpose of discussing the state of mathematics education in Singapore at the time it is written, and an update of a previous edition of the book on Singapore mathematics education published about a decade ago. This chapter identifies the central message that runs across the chapters in this book: Singapore is striving for excellence in mathematics education while addressing her imperfections; Singapore is also learning from good practices of other countries and at the same time bases her practices on sound educational theory. In addition, Singapore places great emphasis on teacher professional development. Further, this chapter discusses the future trends of mathematics education in Singapore: an increasing emphasis on big ideas, big data and computational thinking.
This chapter contains short descriptions from contributors in ten countries (Chile, Denmark, Fran... more This chapter contains short descriptions from contributors in ten countries (Chile, Denmark, France, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Korea, Singapore, Spain and USA) about some ways in which the PISA Framework and results have influenced thinking and action about mathematics education. In many countries, the PISA results have been a call to action, and have stimulated diverse projects aimed at improving results, principally for teacher education but also some involving students. PISA resources, including the released items, have been used as a basis for assessment as well as for teacher development. Some countries have established national assessments with noticeable consistency with PISA ideas. In many countries, PISA’s concept of mathematical literacy, with its analysis of what makes mathematics education useful for most future citizens, has been extremely influential in curriculum review and also for improving teaching and learning. Countries have also incorporated or adopted the way that PISA describes mathematical competence through the fundamental mathematical capabilities.
Equity in mathematics education: influences of …, 1995
... The studies conducted by both Kaur (1987) and the Ministry of Education (1988; Yip and Sim, 1... more ... The studies conducted by both Kaur (1987) and the Ministry of Education (1988; Yip and Sim, 1990) utilized available national examinations, and therefore ... Khoo, PS, Chang, TH,, Foong, PY, Kaur, B. and Lim-teo, SK (1991) A State-of-theArt Review on Mathematics Education in ...
Mathematics assessment should involve more than just assessing students' knowledge of content. H... more Mathematics assessment should involve more than just assessing students' knowledge of content. How students understand the content is important and should also be a part of the assessment process. For robust knowledge, students need a multi-dimensional understanding of content, including a focus on skills, properties, uses, and representations related to the content under study. This paper discusses the importance of assessing students' understanding across various dimensions and illustrates how their understanding can vary by dimension. Specific examples of assessment items come from the International Project on Mathematical Attainment, a longitudinal study of primary students' achievement in which the United States of America and Singapore were participants. Achievement results from these two countries illustrate how a focus on overall results, without consideration of an analysis by dimension of understanding, can mask important similarities and differences in achievement.
As part of the Leaner's Perspective Study (LPS), th ree grade eight mathematics classrooms of... more As part of the Leaner's Perspective Study (LPS), th ree grade eight mathematics classrooms of competent teachers, in Singapore, were studied for periods of ten lessons each. Data were collected using the complimentary accounts methodology and data on several aspects of the teaching and learning in the three classrooms have been analysed. In this paper, three main aspects of the
Uploads
Papers