Sensei Michael

The PSLE question that has parents crying foul - what is the weight of 8 $1 coins? 1) 6g 2) 60g 3) 600g 4) 6000g. "This is not a Math question!" Yes it is. Math is more than just arithmetics and pushing numbers around. Our Mathematical syllabus includes Estimation and Tessellation (both taught at Primary 5), as well as patterns and Geometry (taught since Primary 1). "How many children have an idea how much a coin weigh? This is unfair!" It is not. Children should have already gone through an activity at either Primary 2 or 3 on Weight, where they have to weigh coins and other objects and got to understand what the various weight is like. Ultimately, the PSLE is an exam meant to stream out the scholars from the farmers. The ability to answer certain questions would stream out those meant to be at the top. We seriously need to let our children know that it is not the end of the world if their PSLE score is not the most fantastic in the world, and to teach them resilie...

Along the learning curve, some students in Singapore have learnt how to do the various operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, but have no idea what they really mean. Hence, when they come across word problems, they get stuck. Not only that, but it is amazing how many times I have tried to explain concepts to the students, to find out that their understanding of Mathematics concept is seriously weak. I showed the students 2 apples and 2 oranges. I told them that an apple and an orange had been "taken away", and asked them what  I must do. Those students weak in concept actually suggested a division, telling me that they should "divide" the 2 apples and 2 oranges by 2. While the end result was the same, the fact that the concept was wrong spells trouble, and I had to throw in the curveball by asking them the result were I to have THREE apples and 2 oranges instead? The stumped look told me a lot. I had to rephrase, by asking the students wha...

When I first started teaching more than 13 years ago, I remember parents complaining to me that Singapore Mathematics is more a test of the child's language abilities than his mathematical abilities. I must admit that what he said has more than a grain of truth. The two word problems below illustrate how a single preposition can make a world of a difference in the solution. Ravi has 20 balloons. He wants to share them with 4 of his friends. How many balloons will each of them get? Ravi shares the balloons with 4 of his friends, resulting in 5 persons sharing the balloons. The Mathematical statement should be 20 ÷ 5 = 4. Each of them gets 4 balloons. Ravi has 20 balloons. He wants to share them among 4 of his friends. How many balloons will each of them get? A simple switch of prepositions has changed the scenario. Ravi is not sharing in the balloons, he is sharing them among his 4 friends. The Mathematical statement should be 20 ÷ 4 = 5. Each of his friends gets 5 balloons. As a te...