Just a few months into the academic school year and teachers have had a chance to experience many Singapore math lessons in their classrooms. Typically, the larger community, including parents and caregivers, become eager to find out more about the program and ways to support students as they transition into using these new concepts and strategies.
Hosting a Parent University or Math Night is one way to welcome this interest in supporting students while offering a background on the history of Singapore’s success and exposure to math concepts across many grades. We’d like to feature more school and district with successful community awareness initiatives. Post a comment or link to share your story.
Read more about Lyndhurst School District in NJ… “Educators Counting on New Math Strategy” The Observer Online October, 26th, 2011 by Ron Leir
5 comments
Nicole says:
November 15, 2011 at 3:34 pm (UTC -7)
We recently started the Math in Focus in our school division and have been encouraging schools to have a Math Parent Academy. I would be interested in hearing what Lyndhurst School District included in their parent night.
kellitrainer says:
November 18, 2011 at 11:33 am (UTC -7)
Nicole, I’ll send you a direct message with additional information and if I hear from someone in Lyndhurst who wants to collaborate.
Liz says:
November 17, 2011 at 9:32 am (UTC -7)
Would you consider a number bond to be a pictorial representation or the abstract?
Thank you,
Liz
kellitrainer says:
November 18, 2011 at 11:44 am (UTC -7)
Visual models can span different representations, so depending on what is shown in the number bond changes how abstract it can be.
For example, a teacher who draws a number bond on a larger piece of paper and uses counters or cubes to represent the quantities (whole and part) has taken materials and organized them on a visual model to say, subtract.
If the teacher transitions to simply drawing shapes within the number bond to represent the cubes, she has shown a pictorial representation of the quantities.
Lastly, when abstract numbers are shown within the number bond, the quantities are shown in a symbolic (or abstract) representation.
Ultimately, students depend less on the number bond to organize their thinking and may only visualize one to mentally calculate. Bruner’s theory includes many stages, though concrete-pictorial-abstract tends to be an easier way to categorize his ideas. Perhaps you have thought of other examples where it is hard to determine where it lies in this spectrum? I have!
Rosa says:
November 27, 2011 at 4:28 pm (UTC -7)
Ultimately, students depend less on the number bond to organize their thinking and may only visualize one to mentally calculate. Bruner’s theory includes many stages, though concrete-pictorial-abstract tends to be an easier way to categorize his ideas. Perhaps you have thought of other examples where it is hard to determine where it lies in this spectrum?
I have
+1