Why is it that this tiny country scores so high in mathematics? Is it their curriculum? Is it their superior approach to teaching math? Do Singapore students actually have superior ability?
Something they're doing is working and it sure would be nice to know just what is working. Other countries could certainly learn from and benefit from whatever it is that is working there, I would think.
Note: The Singapore Math Curriculum and the actual core math curriculum/program used in Singapore are NOT the same. As a result of Singapore's success, the Singapore Math Curriculum is getting a great deal of attention. However, even if it is their curriculum, every curriculum has its drawbacks. Curriculum tends to be implemented differently, sequenced differently and taught by teachers who have varying levels of expertise with math. It's also known that many districts have tried Singapore Math, only to drop it later. Why didn't it work for them? Singapore Math is a curriculum/framework that was developed based on some of the findings about how math is taught in Singapore. And, as I mention earlier, Singapore is doing something right. Here are some of the research articles about Singapore Math:
Singapore Math Research
Research in PDF
Be sure to post your experiences and/or opinions about Singapore Math, it's a popular topic.
Comments
There are many other countries in Asia doing very well in math but never got so much attention in the North America and I can think of one rason is language barrier. Singapore uses English so this small country got the most attention in Canada or the USA, but just take a look at other countries and areas: Chine, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong they all have high achievers in math competitions. Of course, high math competition scorers achievers do not mean or eaual to children’s math ability in general but there are many other reports showing these countries have higher math sores in general too.
Being in math teaching and tutoring for over 15 years in Canada and Asia, I have seen all sorts of background of parents, I can see one influential factor on math results is culture. You can study all kinds of math curriculum but if the culture factor does not go along with math curriculum then the results will be different.
The parents in North America just think differently from other countries (paricularily in Asia)regardlng the amount of hime work and how much time students shall spend on study.
The view from North America’s parents on if children shall contiue to study in summer vacation or weekends (even it means the result will improve children’s badly needed ability.) will be different from those parents in Asia.
So when implementing a “foreign” math method or math curriculum, we must consider the culture difference and local parents’ and local teachers’ attitudes towads study in general. It is because children’s attitude is very much influenced by their parents or teachers.
Hello good site…
Frank Ho is SO SO SO correct. If parents do not emphasize the importance of education, and support their children, our country will never excel. Many, many parents just do not want to be bothered with homework, parent conferences, or anything that takes their time. Educating a child involves, not just the child, but teachers and parents.
i like that.
webroyalty
I have taught high school and now teach elementary school in the US. I was born and raised in Singapore and went to a public school there. It is absolutely correct to say that the cultural difference is what makes the difference. For parents and children over there, education is very serious business. For many parents and kids here, it is not. Experiencing both cultures, it is very easy to see. Over there, kids want so badly to learn that they really pay attention. There are 40 kids per class and one teacher. All or most excel. There are few behavior problems. There are no lawsuits. There are few parent conferences. Parents trust the schools and they do the job. No need to meet. Schools and parents are on the same side. There are few cooks over there. All this is not the case here. For sure, there is more pressure on kids in Singapore to excel, and they don’t have as much time for fun. They still do, but not as much as here. In Singapore, kids are two to three years ahead of the kids over here. They are not born smarter, the system is smarter.
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