What is Singapore Math?
What is Singapore Math?
The Singapore math method is a highly effective teaching approach originally developed by Singapore’s Ministry of Education for Singapore public schools. The method has been widely adopted in various forms around the world over the past twenty years following our introduction of the curriculum to the U.S. in 1998.
The Singapore math method is focused on mastery, which is achieved through intentional sequencing of concepts. Some of the key features of the approach include the CPA (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract) progression, number bonds, bar modeling, and mental math. Instead of pushing through rote memorization, students learn to think mathematically and rely on the depth of knowledge gained in previous lessons.
Singapore math not only helps students become more successful problem solvers, it helps them gain a sense of confidence and resourcefulness because it insists on conceptual depth. This naturally prepares students to excel in more advanced math.
The Components:
Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) Approach: The Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) approach develops a deep understanding of math through building on existing knowledge. This highly effective framework introduces concepts in a tangible way and progresses to increasing levels of abstraction.
In the concrete phase, students interact with physical objects to model problems.
In the pictorial phase, they make a mental connection between the objects they just handled and visual representations of those objects. For example, real oranges (or counters standing in for oranges) are now represented as drawings of oranges.
In the abstract phase, students use symbolic modeling of problems using numbers and math symbols (+, −, ×, ÷).
Number bonds are a pictorial technique that show the part-whole relationship between numbers.
Bar models are a versatile and transferable tool that students can use to visualize a range of math concepts, such as fractions, ratios, percentages, and more. Drawing bar models for word problems allows students to determine the knowns and unknowns in a given situation. It extends the CPA approach, especially the pictorial phase, as it allows students to illustrate the mathematical information given in problems. It prepares them to understand more complex math on a conceptual level.
Mental Math: The Singapore Math approach teaches techniques and skills to easily and accurately perform mental math. These strategies help students develop number sense and flexibility in thinking about numbers.
Many mental math strategies involve factoring numbers into parts, then performing operations on them in a different order from the original expression.
The thought processes involved in mental math are often illustrated by number bonds. Number bonds are a pictorial technique that show the part-whole relationship between numbers.