From Singapore to LA: Math Across the Ocean: Our Last Visit: St. Nicholas Girls Primary

July 19, 2013

St Nicholas is our final stop on our school tour of Singapore. After a very confusing beginning (guess you can’t trust GoogleMaps in Singapore J), we arrived! At St Nicholas Girls Primary, we were lucky to see the same topic taught in different ways to very different learners.

Our visit began with a very special and unique cultural celebration that was happening that morning on campus for Racial Harmony Day. As we went into the courtyard, we were greeted by students in traditional outfits and visited parent volunteers running different booths. We had the pleasure of playing traditional games from different parts of the world. Also, we were delighted with a whole plate full of different traditional snacks form Singapore. What an amazing experience!

After enjoying a bit of the celebrations, we continued to our observations. The first class we saw was a class with students who need more support, which had fewer than 10 students. The P5 lesson was an introductory lesson about finding the average. After the first few slides titled “What you will learn today” and “Expected behaviour during activity time”, the students were guided to 4 cups of cubes with a different number of cubes in each cup, and instructed to distribute the cubes equally. The students used different methods to tactilely find the answer, and then saw a demonstration on the PowerPoint (I really need to brush up on my PPT skills; it was amazing!).

Students worked in small groups, then in pairs, and then individual, with the teacher rotating to assist as necessary. In one example, a cup had 0 cubes, because the students struggled with the concept of zero. When they discussed it as a whole class, the teacher introduced the term ‘average’. She explained that the method she was demonstrating was “a long-winded method” and pushed the students to find an easier way to solve it. The teacher had the students come up with a definition of ‘average’ and shared a NON-definition to prevent confusion.

Finally the students were exposed to the formula and asked to write about it, using a number sentence or words. Students brainstormed when they would use average in real life and then the teacher gave examples. They revisited the questions from the beginning of the lecture, and then the teacher had the students start their homework for a couple of minutes to check for understanding before she sent them on their way.

Then we saw the same concept taught to an advanced group. There were over 35 students in the class. Students were given the task of measuring each of their hand spans on a piece of string and then dividing the string equally between the members of the group. They were given 30 minutes of independent time to complete the task and answer questions. While they were working, the teacher walked around, asking questions to push their thinking.

One question really pushed the students to think about averages. Question 3 asked “If there is an additional member added to the group, will each pupil’s section of the string be longer or shorter?” The discussions stemming from this question were extraordinary. Each student had an idea of the answer, and was trying to prove it to her classmates. They tried scenarios with remaining string, and then on the calculator, before coming to the conclusion that there is no definite answer. The students then explained in writing which factors would impact the length of the string.

After 30 minutes, the teacher flicked the lights and the students returned to their seats. The class went over the worksheet and discussed the different methods that students used to complete their challenge. They compared ‘actual length’ and ‘average length’.

It was great to see the different ways to teach the same concept with rigor and student exploration. All of the students received the support they needed and were able to understand the concept with clarity. The amount of teacher talk vs student talk was very different. The teacher took on the role of the facilitator and provided experiences for the girls to really discuss this topic. This is something that many teachers struggle with but it is amazing to see what happens when we let students do the work and how much deeper their understanding can be.

It was incredible to see this kind of differentiation within one day. You can tell that teachers truly know their students and are prepared to provide the instruction that they need. Furthermore, as we debriefed with the teachers, we heard their detailed thinking about the misconceptions that their students could have within the topic of average. Instead of waiting for the misconceptions to emerge, they provided examples and exercises that would challenge the misconceptions from the beginning. Like using a set with 0 cubes in the first lesson or asking those probing questions within the hand span lesson. We know it takes years of practice to get to this high level of teaching, but we also must urge our administrators and fellow teachers for the professional development to push our own understanding of mathematics.

We want to thank the staff and teachers at St. Nicholas from the bottom of our hearts for such an enriching cultural and professional experience! It was incredibly insightful to sit with so many teachers at your school and discuss education on both sides on the Pacific. We look forward to future conversations on mathematics education!

Playing traditional games at the Racial Harmony Celebration