Issue link: http://latinschool.uberflip.com/i/615432
23 Science Studies, nearly half of Singaporean eighth graders were able to solve advanced math problems compared with the international average of 3 percent. Singapore teaches fewer topics at each grade level (for example, 13 in fourth grade, compared to 33 topics in the current Every Day Math curriculum), but explores them in depth, taking students from the concrete to the pictorial using a bar model, and then to the abstract. "Much of the power of the Singapore program lies in the careful scaffolding and instruction of pictorial techniques to bridge the concrete and abstract," said Chan. Sixth grade math teacher Eve Bonneau began talking to colleagues about Singapore Math several years ago after participating in a workshop. She and fifth grade math teacher Jeff Newmark had been noticing a disconnect for their students once they started making the transition to pre-algebra. Strong math students had no problem with algebraic concepts, but weaker math students didn't seem to have a strong enough grasp of the fundamentals to make a smooth jump to more advanced math. anks to the Teacher Excellence Grant, resources were available to provide teachers with extensive Singapore Math training over the last year. e school was able to host international Singapore Math expert Yeap Ban Har, who has been called Singapore Math's Michael Jordan. Dr. Yeap worked with faculty last spring for two days and will do so again this school year for three days in December and three days in April. Twelve teachers from grades one to six also trained with him at various conferences over the summer. "We are really so lucky to have access to his knowledge and continued support," said Johnson, explaining that these opportunities greatly eased any anxiety about the transition for the second grade team. While the new program has not yet been adopted at every grade level, teachers are starting to introduce Singapore Math ideas where they fit with what they are teaching currently. Over the summer, middle school teachers Bonneau and Newmark worked on strategizing how they could modify their curriculum to incorporate more of Singapore Math, including anchor tasks and the use of more visuals and manipulatives. Even without making the full shift, they are already able to take advantage of some of the benefits. "Once kids get to thinking about problems in the visual way that Singapore Math models, everything kind of falls into place," Bonneau said. So, five years after the initial conversations, and after countless hours of research, school visits and training, teachers are ready to embrace change. Students work together to solve a problem in Annie Johnson's second grade classroom. Latin Magazine ยป Fall 2015