icsmt shanghai

The Emphasis of Primary-

Level Textbooks in

Singapore on Higher-Order

Competencies

Yeap Ban Har

Marshall Cavendish Institute

Singapore

banhar@sg.marshallcavendish.com

Slides are available for download at Marshall Cavendish Institute’s Facebook

or at www.banhar.blogspot.com

Background

1992Introduction of Problem-

Solving Curriculum

1997Thinking SchoolsLearning Nation

1982Introduction of Singapore mathematics

textbooks as they are known today.

2001Introduction of textbooks published by

private publishers and approved by Ministry of Education.

2007New editions of textbooks are

published with the introduction of the revised curriculum.

Mathematics is “an excellent

vehicle for the development

and improvement of a person’s

intellectual competence”.Ministry of Education Singapore 2006

Methodology

SampleTwo textbook series were selected.

One was the one published by Ministry of Education in 1982 and revised twice. The edition used in this study is the latest edition (1999). This

was the only textbook series used.

The other was published by a private publisher in 2001 and revised once. The edition used in this

study is the latest edition (2007). This is the textbook series used by majority of schools.

Details

1999 Series

2007 Series

3A 104 pages3B 096 pages

3A 136 pages3B 174 pages

3A-1 80 pages3A-2 72 pages3B-1 72 pages3B-2 72 pages

3A-1 088 pages3A-2 104 pages3B-1 112 pages3B-2 104 pages

Textbook Workbook

506 pages

718 pages

Emphasis on VisualizationSee also Ho, S. Y. & Yeap, B. H. (2011). Development of Visualization Skills in

Singapore Primary School Mathematics Textbooks. Paper presented at PME-35

Angkara, Turkey.

Visuals are used to teach

concepts – in this case

multiplication.

Emphasis on Visualization

Visuals are used to

teach concepts –

distributive property of

multiplication – without

using formal terms.

Emphasis on Visualization

Visuals are used in a

systematic way to teach

terms. The progression

from visual to abstract is

observed throughout the

books.

Emphasis on Visualization

Emphasis on VisualizationThere is also an emphasis

on the use of concrete

materials to lead to visuals.

“The main feature of the package is

the use of Concrete Pictorial

Abstract approach.”Primary Mathematics 1999

Emphasis on Visualization

Emphasis on Visualization

Visuals are used

extensively in solving of

word problems.

Emphasis on Visualization

The use of visuals such as the model method was in response to

students’ poor performance in word problems.

Emphasis on Generalization

Looking for patterns and making

generalization is also emphasized.

This emphasizes the relatedness

between the 2, 4 and 8 times

table.

This emphasizes a general idea

– the use of doubling to multiply.

Emphasis on Generalization

Explicit request to engage

in higher-order

competencies such as to

look for a pattern.

Emphasis on Generalization

There are

sections of the

later series

devoted to

higher-order

thinking.

Emphasis on Number Sense

Number sense, as

opposed to

computation, is given

emphasis.

Emphasis on Number Sense

Mental strategies are

taught explicitly.

Emphasis on Number Sense

Mental strategies are

taught explicitly across

domains.

Emphasis on

Communication

There are sections in the

later series that require

students to articulate their

thinking in written

language.

Emphasis on Metacognition

Also, the later series

require students to identify

mistakes.

The later series

also include

some open-

ended tasks.

Higher-Order Competencies

• Visualization

• Generalization

• Number Sense

• Communication

• Metacognition