US educators to adopt Singapore's method of teaching math
By Channel NewsAsia's US Correspondent Daniel Ryntjes | Posted: 06 May 2009 2256 hrs

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WASHINGTON : Singapore mathematics textbooks appeared in some American schools more than 10 years ago. US education officials are now hoping that Singapore's methods will be taken up by its new generation of teachers.

They are encouraged by the positive words of President Obama, who has noted Singapore's strong performance in mathematics teaching.

In March, President Obama suggested that Singaporean students were achieving better results when compared with American eighth graders.

"Singapore's middle-schoolers outperform ours three to one," said the US president.

Now, a US Department of Education official wants to introduce improvements to the teaching of mathematics by learning from Singapore's success.

"The whole major feature of Singapore is you learn something, you learn it well, and then you move on. And that's the problem with our curriculum - as people have said, is a mile wide and an inch deep," said Dr Alan Ginsburg, director of Policy and Programme Studies Services, US Department of Education.

Speaking at the Singapore embassy in Washington, Dr Ginsburg attributes some of Singapore's success to its attractive looking textbooks.

"This (textbook) is student-centered, but it expects the teacher to know mathematics. It's a visual curriculum, but it's great for language minority kids that have trouble with English, because we don't have all the kind of verbiage that gets in the way. US textbooks are this thick (gestures wide with fingers) and Singapore textbooks are this thick (gestures narrow with fingers)," said Dr Ginsburg.

The Singapore method is used by around 100,000 pupils in the US and is popular amongst parents involved in teaching their children at home. The textbooks have been approved for use in all kindergarten and elementary schools in California and Oregon.

Pilot programmes are also taking place in many states, including three schools in Delaware.

Lynne Tullos, an educational consultant for the state of Louisiana is considering a trial, but has reservations.

"When I realised the size of Singapore is about the size of Chicago, it's a lot easier to mandate. And when I heard that all of the teachers go to the same school and are taught by the same people and learn the same thing, that's such a different scenario from what we have in the United States.

"And yes, it's something we are looking to try, but I'm not totally sold yet until we try it," said Tullos.

The concern is not so much about the method, but about how difficult it would be to retrain teachers in so many different states.

But teaching experts here are sensing an opportunity with a new administration keen to improve mathematics standards.

And even if the Singapore method is not adopted across every state of the union, educators said the lessons of Singapore's success can still be integrated in teacher training methods nationwide. - CNA /ls