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10 Things I Have Learned as a Teacher of Singapore’s Math Curriculum

A guide for parents

by Dr Kevin Mahoney

1. Don’t fret! It is still elementary math.

Singapore’s Math curriculum is from half way around the world, but the program is still just elementary mathematics. The fundamental concepts, procedures and habits of mind do not differ radically from the elementary mathematics curriculum currently taught in the United States. Your child will still learn to work fluently with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division – often in ways that you would recognize from your own elementary math education. Measurement, geometry, graphing and statistics, fractions and decimals and ratios and proportions are all addressed through Singapore’s math curriculum.

2. The curriculum relies on helpful and meaningful visuals.

Where Singapore’s math curriculum will probably look different to you is in the strategies used to teach that elementary level math. In Singapore, there are multiple languages spoken at home, but English is the language of instruction. This fact forced Singaporean educators to develop their curriculum with less text and more visuals to accommodate a student body that is learning English at the same time as it learns mathematics. The unique toolbox of visual teaching strategies is where most observers first notice differences between Singaporean and American approaches to teaching math. A great number of the parents that I have introduced these visuals to have remarked that elementary mathematics makes more sense to them when taught using these visuals. They wish that they had been taught math in this way.

3. Some teaching approaches will look different to you.

While the math is still just elementary math, Singapore’s curriculum is based on a fundamental model of teaching mathematics widely known as the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) approach. This approach is different from what you would see in many elementary classrooms. What would typically happen in these classrooms is that the teacher, like the Singaporean teacher, would introduce a new math concept or skill with a concrete experience, usually introducing an object or counter that is a concrete, physical representation of the math idea at hand. Blocks and “manipulatives” help students physically move and experience the relationships between quantities, for example. I am sure you have seen this in classrooms. What usually happens after this concrete experience is that the child is then asked to move to an abstraction of that physical experience. For example, a second grader might be asked to act out an addition problem using special blocks. Then, she would be asked to use what she understands from using the blocks to using the column addition procedure that so many of us learned in elementary school. Do you see the move from the concrete to the abstract? Now, in Singaporean teaching, the approach adds a new pictorial component. After concrete experiences, children are taught to model the concept or procedure with a drawing or diagram. These diagrams act as a bridge between the concrete and the abstract and help the child solidify the concrete experience and connect that experience to the abstraction of the mathematical procedure. Bar models and diagrams for mental arithmetic are particularly powerful demonstrations of this pictorial phase of learning.

4. Problem solving is a core activity.

Majority of American math curricula require children to solve problems. I am quite sure that you solved a plethora of them yourself in your elementary math career. The difference you may notice with Singapore’s math curriculum is that problem solving is a core activity. In many classrooms using Singapore’s curriculum, your child will be solving problems on an almost daily basis. This is particularly interesting because all over the world, problem-solving is seen as quite a challenge for young children and one of the most difficult aspects of teaching elementary mathematics. In Singapore’s curriculum, it is no surprise that children are asked to draw diagrams (C-P-A approach in action!) that help them model the mathematical relationships in a problem. Proficiency with this technique enables children to tackle far more complex and challenging problems than typically presented to American children. I know this first hand through my own original academic research. These diagrams, referred to as bar models or model drawings, are one teaching tool that will seem very different to you. Most American teachers have to be trained in using these pictorial techniques before they can teach Singapore’s curriculum. While the diagrams may seem complex and confusing to you at first, take the time to talk with your child and your child’s teacher about the technique before you judge their effectiveness.

5. Mental math is used to build number sense.

Your child is going to be working with mental arithmetic in a direct way. Let me define my terms here. Mental arithmetic is the application of strategies for breaking down numbers into easier parts to make mental computation easier. Most of us use some collection of strategies for working with numbers when we have to make quick mental calculations. Some U.S. programs emphasize this kind of work, such as TERC Investigations or Everyday Math, but many other programs do not. I used to think that mental math was a good thing for children to learn because it is so useful for all of us in everyday life. I have since learned from experience that Singapore’s emphasis on mental math strategies is not just for grocery store estimations. In fact, through teaching with Singapore’s curriculum I have come to see that mental math work with children is how number sense is built. Number sense is not some innate trait genetically passed down to only a few children. Number sense is an absolutely key ingredient for success in elementary mathematics, and this facility with numbers is built through work with mental arithmetic. This is why there is a greater emphasis on mental math strategies than with typical U.S. math curricula.

6. Algebraic reasoning is baked into the program.

In Singapore, most children are prepared to take the equivalent of an Algebra 1 course in grade 7. We typically teach this course in grade 8. Thus, Singapore’s program must develop algebraic reasoning, without formal abstraction in algebra, from the earliest grades. This is achieved in the curriculum through work with problem solving, bar models, mental arithmetic, and the visual representations I have been talking about here. Like mental math work, algebraic reasoning is a topic that is considered important in most elementary math programs worldwide. However, in U.S. textbooks the emphasis placed on algebraic reasoning varies greatly.

7. It is about a year ahead of typical U.S. curricula.

Here is another difference you may notice with Singapore’s curriculum; the math content taught is typically about a year ahead of standard American math programs. Of course, this may not be true of your child’s particular math program or school, but in general, more complex mathematics is being taught at each grade level than in typical U.S. classrooms. How is this possible? I asked the same question myself as I began to investigate Singapore’s curriculum for the first time. These results are achieved through some of the features I have already mentioned here. Visual representations, the C-P-A approach, and consistent and coherent focus on only the most important mathematics that elementary students need to learn. Why would U.S. textbooks appear to be about a year behind? This difference comes, at least in part, from the fact that the U.S. education system is founded on local control. In math education terms, that translates to elementary math textbooks being written to meet 50 different sets of state standards. Topics are not treated with enough depth and focus because there simply are too many topics to deal with in a typical U.S. elementary textbook. What you get is something that will please everybody, or a math curriculum that is often criticized as “a mile wide and an inch deep”.

8. You have to help out with math facts.

You might think that this list of lessons learned is an advertisement for Singapore’s math curriculum. Well, here is where we get into my criticisms of the program; gaps I have discovered through years of research and practical experience teaching the program to children. One thing you will need to know as a parent is that you will have to help. Singapore’s curriculum is quite rigorous and rich, but it was developed in a country where many parents have their children practicing mathematics outside of school. The memorization of math facts, those basic tables of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division that we were all asked to memorize as kids, is essential for success in this curriculum. That task begins in the classroom, but you should know that helping out with this task will be one of the best ways that you can help your child feel competent and comfortable in math class. Start early and practice often, working in partnership with your child to discover the most effective ways to practice and complete this memorization task. I often ask families to prepare good old-fashioned flash cards and stuff them in the pockets of the family car for 5 minutes of practice during a drive to school. Of course, family discussions around mathematics is another essential home-school connection, but that is an entirely different article right there.

9. The program lacks applications to science.

Singapore’s math curriculum is not taught in an integrative way. Sure it is world class, sure it is focused, coherent and powerful. But mathematics is the language of science, and almost no connections are made between science and mathematics in this curriculum. These connections are vitally important to make with children so that they grow up understanding that these two disciplines are interwoven and that mathematics is a way of thinking that we can use to powerful purpose. At my school, we are developing integrated STEM units and projects to illuminate these connections and help children see how mathematics is applied in meaningful ways. I wish that the curriculum had more of this important theme written into it.

10. The program lacks application projects.

One way that science and other disciplines could be integrated into Singapore’s math curriculum would be to develop more open-ended problems to solve or projects to complete that ask children to apply mathematics to real-world situations. As I stated above, problem solving is a core activity, but most of the problems presented have only one answer. Children absolutely need to be exposed to open-ended problems because the real world is a messy place, and there is much joy to be found in discussing and understanding the grey areas of real-world problems and math solution paths of others. Projects also give children a chance to demonstrate their understanding in more diverse ways, and thus engage the creativity of diverse learners.

So, there you have it, a collection of lessons learned from years of teaching Singapore’s elementary math curriculum. It is abridged and condensed for easy digestion, but these are the big ones out there for me. If you child’s school is using the program, or considering adoption, perhaps these lessons will help you see the nature of this world-class curriculum from an American educator’s perspective.

Dr. Kevin Mahoney is an academic researcher and Math Curriculum Coordinator for an independent school outside of Boston, MA. With over 20 years of elementary teaching experience Dr. Mahoney also works as a consultant and trainer to schools and teachers implementing Singapore Math Curricula.