At the International School of San Antonio, Singapore Math is one of the key components of the curriculum. From PreK through 5th grade, Singapore Math is applied in all classrooms. If you are a parent of an ISSA student this term might come up frequently in your child’s academic journey. Therefore, it is important to know, what exactly is Singapore Math?
Singapore Math is a teaching concept first developed over 40 years ago for public schools in Singapore. Students in Singapore consistently rank top in the world in mathematics. Because of these results, this teaching approach has spread to dozens of countries around the world. Singapore Math is about mastery of mathematical concepts.
If you went to a traditional American or Western European school, think about how you were taught math. It was probably through watching your teacher solve a problem on the board and explaining how they reached the answer. Then, you were given different number sets that you needed to plug into the formula. While there is nothing wrong about this approach, it is a much more hands-off technique that does not cultivate a deeper understanding of how exactly the problem is solved.
Singapore math develops a depth of knowledge which is immensely helpful as students advance in the subject. Connections between previously learned concepts are made with what is currently taught. When learning about Singapore Math, the term that often comes up is CPA. CPA stands for Concrete, Pictorial, and Abstract. This progression allows for gradual learning, beginning with the manipulation of tangible items and working towards solving problems in their heads.
In the Concrete learning stage, students solve math problems by using tangible objects such as blocks, pompoms, coins, etc. The act of being able to see and touch the different parts of the equation is very helpful in early learning phases. After this, classes move on to the Pictorial stage. Number bonds are used in this step to show the two-parts that make up numbers. This is especially important when learning about addition and subtraction. Once these two steps are mastered, students end with solving math problems in the Abstract. This is how we, as adults, solve most math problems in our minds.
Singapore math is, in short, a teaching technique that promotes problem solving in a variety of ways. Focused on understanding instead of repetition, this technique has proven extremely successful around the world, regardless of the language it is taught in. ISSA has seen positive math performances across all grade levels when Singapore math is incorporated into the curriculum.
If you have any questions about Singapore math or the ISSA curriculum, please email our school director at academics@issatx.org.
