Singapore Math Method

Singapore math (or Singapore maths in British English) is a teaching method based on the national mathematics curriculum used for kindergarten through sixth grade in Singapore. The term was originally coined in the United States to describe an approach, originally developed in Singapore, to teaching students to learn and master fewer mathematical concepts at greater detail as well as having them learn these concepts using a three-step learning process. The three steps are: concrete, pictorial, and abstract. In the concrete step, students engage in hands-on learning experiences using concrete objects such as chips, dice, or paper clips. This is followed by drawing pictorial representations of mathematical concepts. Students then solve mathematical problems in an abstract way by using numbers and symbols.

The development of Singapore math began in the 1980s when the country's Ministry of Education developed its own mathematics textbooks that focused on problem solving and heuristic model drawing. Outside Singapore, these textbooks were adopted by several schools in the United States (U.S.) and in other countries such as Canada, Israel, and the United Kingdom. Early adopters of these textbooks in the U.S. included parents interested in homeschooling as well as a limited number of schools. These textbooks became more popular since the release of scores from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), which showed Singapore at the top of the world four times in fourth and eighth grade mathematics. U.S. editions of these textbooks have since been adopted by a large number of school districts as well as charter and private schools.

Before the development of its own mathematics textbooks in the 1980s, Singapore imported its mathematics textbooks from other countries. In 1981, the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore (CDIS) (currently the Curriculum Planning and Development Division) began to develop its own mathematics textbooks and curriculum. The CDIS developed and distributed a textbook series for elementary schools in Singapore called Primary Mathematics, which was first published in 1982 and subsequently revised in 1992 to emphasize problem solving. In the late 1990s, the country's Ministry of Education opened the elementary school textbook market to private companies, and Marshall Cavendish, a local and private publisher of educational materials, began to publish and market the Primary Mathematics textbooks.

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