Some individuals in the U.S. may be unwilling to consider the Singapore Primary Mathematics curriculum due to their perception of 'cultural' differences. However, the mathematics scope and sequence (what Scott Baldridge calls its storyline) has no cultural boundaries. This statement is supported by the common mathematics scope and sequence in grades 1-8 shared by Belgium, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, and Singapore, which is summarized in a table originally developed by Schmidt et al. This particular table includes the scope and sequence of NCTM's Focal Points (FP), released in September, 2006 [Table key: blue = topics shared by A+ countries and FP; magenta = A+ countries' topics; open ovals = FP topics.].
Please note in the table at what grade topics are introduced and their duration in the curriculum. How does your curriculum compare? How familiar are teachers with the district's mathematics scope and sequence? Do they know what (and how) students are taught in earlier grades? Do they know for what future mathematics learning they are preparing the students in their class(es)?
Is there vertical articulation (communication among teachers across grades, and do teachers share a common mathematical language as well as expectations for student work?
Do answers to the above questions reflect differences in culture, or should they embody effective mathematics knowledge and instruction?
Cultural differences, however, can be found in:
1. pedagogy
2. teachers' mathematics background and knowledge
3. professional development support for teachers (its nature and duration)
4. opportunities for teachers to collaborate and observe each others' classes
5. beliefs about students' ability to learn mathematics
6. access to quality learning environments
7. parental roles in children's education
Others can add to the list by responding to this post.
This one week summer mathematics program was stimulated in part by our desire to see for ourselves what actually occurs in Singapore mathematics classrooms.
Readers of this blog are invited to submit questions you would like answered during our week in Singapore.
Glimpses into mathematics classrooms in other countries
The 28 public release lessons from the TIMSS 1999 Mathematics Video Study allow a glimpse into eighth grade mathematics classrooms representative of each country (Australia, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, U.S.). These lessons provide insight into the level of mathematics eighth graders in these countries are expected to learn as well as cultural differences, which hopefully can help us in the U.S. re-examine our own practices through an international lens.
The TIMSS four-CD set for mathematics (and five-CD set for science) are available from LessonLab. A TIMSS Resource Guide for the public release mathematics lessons is available online.
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4 comments:
To enlighten me on cultural differences, as seen in the list on the blog, I confess that I am most interested in hearing how a lesson is crafted. If the topic takes a week (or so) and is taught using a thought-provoking problem, what planning does the teacher do, to focus the lesson through the week. Is there a standard pattern for crafting the lesson? How much is left to the individual teacher? Do the teachers collaborate regularly, when teaching the same course? Is there any Lesson Study in Singapore? We are used to Differentiated Instruction, (in fact it is the flavor of the month/year/century) and the Workshop model. I would love to hear how close to these or how far away from them their instruction lies, or whether they think about these topics at all. The focus on problems for which students have to stretch and how much modeling the teacher does in the lesson would be topics about which I would also like to hear.
As soon as I tell people that I am going to see Mathematics teaching in Singapore schools, the response is always, "Well, the school culture is very different from ours. Students are expected to learn and to do homework." No one wants to hear my response that the level of mathematics tasks, challenges and teacher expectations in the culture override any behavioral standard.
I, too, am interested in lesson preparation. I am also interested in what is done in Singapore for those students in grades 1 - 6 who are low-achieving.
"Differentiated Instruction" is certainly the concept du jour in the US, but I'm curious to see whether classes are ability grouped in Singapore; if the same texts/workbooks are used by all students in a class; what extra intervention, if any, is done for the struggling students, etc.
From the AIR study p.35:
"Beginning in grades 5 and 6, Singapore identifies its weaker students on the basis of a general examination of mathematics and language competency. These students receive special assistance and are taught according to a special fifth- and sixth-grade mathematics framework. This special framework mandates that students in the slower track:
• receive approximately 30 percent more mathematics instruction than students in the regular track, and
• be exposed to the same mathematical content as students in the regular track, although at a slower pace."
Students get the 30 % more mathematics with the help of:
"Mathematics Support Teachers (MST), who receive on-the-job supervision and specialized training to ensure that they are professionally competent, deliver compensatory assistance."
What happens to the students who never get caught up?
I also like to see how mathematical discourse takes place in Singapore classrooms.
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