Any parent wants to make the learning process easier and more understandable for their children. They are looking for methods that will be effective for their child, taking into account his age, interests, mood and other points. Children should want to learn, it is impossible to give him knowledge without his interest. Parents often make mistakes and leave the learning process to experienced professionals. There are many productive ways to teach math to young children in a playful way in everyday life. One effective way is the E Singapore Math Curriculum.
Useful Tips for Applying a Singapore Math Method
This method was created in Singapore and was officially confirmed by America as very affordable and simple. It uses not only problem solving but also the development of thinking skills. Children understand mathematics through the example of everyday things. They must “see” the problem in order to find the answer. You can use paper clips, cubes, sticks. This method allows them to look for associations, memorize and apply abstract thinking.
Singapore Math® Curriculum has 10 tips that will be useful for parents and children:
- This is a different mathematics, not the one we know from school. Teachers use new knowledge, or rather a new approach to teaching children. The teacher’s guide is not a book with formulas and rules, here the teacher uses a sequence of actions and shows the solution with the help of certain steps. The child may not learn complex formulas, but he understands why the solution was such.
- The principle of this technique is to use pictorial, concrete and abstract vision. Children use the abstract well until grade 2, graphic and concrete methods are more understandable to them. Each child is individual, but many children begin to perceive information linearly only after 3rd grade. These are simple tasks that are drawn in the form of lines and the child sees the connection between them.
- Testing this technique is a test of knowledge that the student already has. This does not mean that a bad result indicates his incompetence or inability. This is a test of basic skills that will be developed in the future. This is a learning platform that will help the student understand new material based on their current knowledge.
- This technique helps not only young children but also students. But here is another level, here we need special programs and CDs with training material. This helps not only students but also teachers (specify tasks and study the methodology).
- The basis of the methodology is mental mathematics. Students see equations horizontally and learn to understand the Number Sense. This is the algorithm that is important for the learning strategy. The strategy can be difficult even for teachers, so the best advice is to master the material on your own.
- Textbooks are not the most important element for learning. The best is the teacher. Therefore, you need to understand how to explain the task to students. Read the Teacher’s Guide to prepare. It will be difficult for you to explain information to children if you do not understand it.
- Preparing for a training program is a careful process for a teacher. Get your copy of the Teacher’s Guide and review the assignments. Yes, there are answers, but they will help you understand the correctness of your decisions. Solve any task in the way you would like to see it from students. Many math teachers in Singapore have a two-year education, they are not specialists. They study the material in the Teacher’s Guide and then explain it to the students.
- There is no need to rush because people understand information in different ways. Some people can understand the material in one lesson, others need more time. Understand the capabilities of your students. Pay enough attention to each of them to get the result. Children in elementary school may understand the methodology more slowly than older students.
- Parents studied other mathematics. It will be difficult for them to answer the child’s questions. In Singapore, there are special trainings to introduce parents to new strategies for learning mathematics. It will be helpful so that they can help the children. Homework will be easier if the child knows that parents will help him with difficult points.
- It’s important to practice. The Singapore technique involves repeating the material at home. Just like the Americans believe that homework reinforces the studied material better. Home reading technique will improve a child’s ability to read. Mathematics should also be practiced at home.
Singapore Math® Curriculum is a simple and easy to understand math learning strategy for kids and students. You do not need to learn complex formulas and tables, you must understand the principle. It can be line graphs, columns and logical actions to get the result. We are used to a different type of math teaching and many of us have had problems with this kind of material. This technique will help simplify any mathematical problem and make it understandable even for schoolchildren.
Conclusion
If you are not familiar with the concept of mental mathematics, then you may have heard about it. This is an innovative approach to explaining many formulas and problems. Now it will be easy for both adults and children. Explain to your child the basis of mathematics and show this technique. After the appearance of this technique, many adults decided to study it as an interest. But the results surprised even those who did not like to study this material at school.