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Singapore Mathematics 2013 Seminar Dates

December 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Best Strategies from Singapore Math BER Evaluation by Cassy Turner

Hot off the presses, here are the Winter 2013 dates for my BER  seminars “How to Use the Best Strategies from Singapore Math to Strengthen your Math Instruction”  and  “Boost Students’ Math Problem Solving Skills Using Singapore Model Drawing” You can read more about these one-day seminars and register by clicking on the city.

(Click though for specific location and registration info.)

Current 2013 dates – “How to Use the Best Strategies From Singapore Mathematics to Strengthen Your Math Instruction” (BER)

This overview of  Singapore Math® strategies will put your students on the road to success with number sense, computation and problem solving.  (Plus you a get a handy-dandy handbook!)

Current 2013 dates – “Boost Students’ Math Problem Solving Skills Using Singapore Model Drawing” (BER)
A whole day of problem solving PLUS that handbook for your own home enjoyment!

Your city not on the list? Contact me and I can bring my Singapore Math® workshop(s) to your school or district – email

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Direct from the classroom: Challenges & Successes with Singapore Math implementations

December 1, 2012 by 2 Comments

Some teacher challenges & successes with Singapore math one year or three months after adopting the program are below. Click to see larger images.

During follow-up in-services, I like to have teachers meet in grade level groups and spend time discussing the challenges and successes they have had thus far with their teaching of Singapore Math. Each grade level is then asked to list these challenges and successes on a poster and share with the group as a whole. This allows us time to compare and share lessons from the content fresh on their minds.

There is so much challenge the first year when implementing a new curriculum, it’s helpful to take a few moments to reflect on how many successes the teachers and students have had. These posters then guide subsequent  teacher learning as we focus on the concepts that they are finding challenging.

 

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Giving Thanks – Wow: What an Amazing 2012!

November 22, 2012 by 1 Comment

This Thanksgiving, as is my custom, I’m again taking time to reflect on the amazing experiences that I have enjoyed over the past 12 months. It is so gratifying to have the opportunity to champion elementary math education and GET PAID to spend time in classrooms with teachers and students.  I want to extend heartfelt thanks to everyone who has played a part in making the year so special.

In my “Giving Thanks” message last year, I confessed that 2011 would be difficult to beat. Well…beat it I did. In 2012, my math training and consulting business more than doubled and I enjoyed some amazing professional opportunities… Where to start?

Training and learning on four continents

Singapore Math Teacher, trainer and consultant with teachers in the Republic of Palau

Cassy Turner with teachers in the Republic of Palau

How about Palau? In May, I was awarded a contract by the Republic of Palau to assist the Ministry of Education (MOE) with the implementation of the Singapore Math® Curriculum. I visited Palau twice in 2012, providing training and professional development for teachers and MOE Staff.

Singapore Math teacher, trainer and consultant Cassandra Turner with teachers at the Association International School

Cassy Turner with teachers at AIS, Ghana

Then there’s Ghana. The Association International School in Accra, Ghana, hired me to help teachers adopt Singapore Math®. I spent a week working at AIS in September 2012.

Singapore Math teacher, trainer and consultant Cassandra Turner with Teachers at ICME-12

Cassy Turner with Korean Teachers at ICME-12

And Korea. I attended the Olympic Games of Mathematics Education, otherwise known as the International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME), in Seoul, Korea. Held only once every four years, ICME-12 attracted 5,000 participants from more than 150 countries.

These life-changing experiences in the summer of 2012 included mathematics teaching, training and learning on four continents. All told, I logged more than 60,000 miles. Incredible!

School Clients and BER

While international clients are energizing, I am extremely grateful to provide professional development services on a regular basis for more than a dozen North American Schools that are using Singapore Math®, the world’s best elementary math curriculum.

I truly appreciate my relationship with the Bureau of Education & Research (BER), now in its third year. Through BER, I presented more than 30 Singapore Mathematics seminars for teachers across North America in 2012. I’m very grateful that BER invited me to present at their “Helping Students Succeed in Math” conferences in the coming months.

Learning and Presenting

For the 4th consecutive year, my personal learning included attendance and participation at the 2012 annual conferences of both the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and NCSM. At NCTM, I was a speaker, presenting a session with Lauri Susi of Conceptua Math entitled, “Technology + Singapore Strategies = Number Sense” to a large audience of Math Educators.

Singapore Math teacher, trainer and consultant Cassandra Turner has collected many badges over the past four years

Cassy’s badges from Math Educator conferences

I continue to conduct peer reviews of articles submitted for publication in NCTM journals and met my personal goal of reading at least 50 books for the third straight year.

Community Service

Despite a very busy work and travel schedule, I made time this year to serve several causes that are very important to me.

I’m entering my 3rd and final year as a member of the Board of Directors of Liberty Common School, an award-winning K-12 Charter School in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Congratulations are in order for Liberty’s first high school class which graduates in May. This group of seniors earned the highest composite ACT test score of any school in the state. And the Elementary school was the first in the nation to be re-certified as a Core Knowledge Official School through the Analysis of Curriculum and Practices (ACAP) process recently developed by the Core Knowledge Foundation.

I’m proud that my after-school math club continues to be wildly popular with kids who have great fun while building math skills that last a lifetime. Special thanks to parents who help oversee the club when I can’t be there.

I’m also wrapping up my 4th year as an advisor to students in the award-winning International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Poudre High School.

Personal

Of course I’m most thankful for my wonderful family, which has also enjoyed a memorable year. As also is my custom, I’ll spare readers more details.

Once again, my sincerest thanks to clients, colleagues, partners and students for a wonderful year.

 

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By Math Teachers, For Math Teachers: Helping Students Succeed in Math Conferences

November 15, 2012 by 1 Comment

Helping Students Succeed in Math: Conference for Third, Fourth and Fifth Grade Teachers
I’m so excited, I’ve been asked to be a part of a new series of conferences for the Bureau of Education and Research (BER). We will be visiting:

This conference is going to be a doozey.  My sessions during each two-day conference include:

From “Chore” to “More!” – Mastering Complex Problem Solving with Bar Modeling from Singapore (2 hours 40 minutes)
Start solving multi-step word problems with your students tomorrow using the bar model drawing methods popularized in Singapore, the nation that produces the world’s top math students. You’ll see the power of this innovative approach and receive the tools to enable your students – at all skill levels – to see, manipulate and understand how math works.

Unlock the Secret to Mastering Fraction, Ratio and Proportion Concepts with Bar Modeling from Singapore (75 minutes)
The Common Core is loaded with standards that begin, “Solve real world problems involving …” Model drawing from Singapore provides a powerful method to demystify fraction, ratio and percentage problems. In this lively interactive session, you’ll learn to use a signature feature of math from Singapore to help your students work with these higher‑level concepts with ease. Freaked by Teaching Fractions to Third, Fourth and Fifth Graders? Here are the Keys to Success

Using the Best Technology Resources to Enhance Your Math Instruction in Grades 3‑5  (75 minutes)
Looking for some outstanding resources to supplement your math instruction? Cassy cuts through the Web’s clutter and shares some gems – student‑friendly websites that promote math comprehension above all else. You’ll leave this session with more than a dozen time‑tested websites that Cassy enthusiastically recommends for their positive impact on students’ math skills.

Make it Easier to Master Math Concepts with Motivating Math Games for Third, Fourth and Fifth Graders (75 minutes)
Hands‑on activities enhance math comprehension by giving your students visual reinforcement of key concepts. Join Cassy as she shares games that you can easily play with materials you already have in your classroom! You’ll leave this dynamic session with “use them tomorrow” ideas for games and activities to support number sense, place value and mental math with the four operations.

Freaked by Teaching Fractions to Third, Fourth and Fifth Graders? Here are the Keys to Success!  (75 minutes)
The Common Core is loaded with standards that begin, “Solve real world problems involving …” Model drawing from Singapore provides a powerful method to demystify fraction, ratio and percentage problems. In this lively interactive session, you’ll learn to use a signature feature of math from Singapore to help your students work with these higher‑level concepts with ease.

Key Strategies to Empower Your Third, Fourth and Fifth Graders’ Mental Math Abilities  (75 minutes)
In this fast‑paced session, Cassy will share tools you can immediately use to teach students to master mental math. Working with sample addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems, you’ll learn methods to enable your students to develop strong mental math skills, number sense and life‑long confidence with these best strategies for manipulating numbers.

Here They Are: The Best iPad Apps for Teaching Math in Third, Fourth and Fifth Grades!  (75 minutes)
More and more people are turning to iPads as motivating teaching tools. With thousands of math applications available, how do you choose the right ones to support and strengthen your classroom teaching? Discover the best, most valuable math apps currently available. Your students will love practicing number sense, fractions and problem solving in an engaging new way, and they’ll love you for introducing them to these outstanding apps.

But that’s not all, my co-presenters Dr. Barbara Blanke, Dr Nicki Newton, and Mary Peterson will also have sessions on the Common Core, Storytelling in Math and more. Better click the nearest city links above to see all the great sessions offered!

Be sure to check out my other seminars for BER

 

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Learning from Singapore’s School Success

October 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Policymakers in Utah have been attracted to the Singapore math curriculum for some time. A recent article in the Deseret News focused attention on what can be learned from the success of the educational system in Singapore. Reporter Celia Baker considered:

The island nation of Singapore transformed itself from a third-world country to an economic powerhouse in less than a half-century by concentrating on its education system.

(ed. after visiting Singapore in 2007, I believe this transformation took less than a generation.)

Although the article refers to ‘tiger mothers,’ it seems evident that the quality of the country’s curriculum is foremost in developing successful students. Baker cited a 2010 New York Times article that stated:

In contrast to the most common math programs in the United States, Singapore math devotes more time to fewer topics, to ensure that children master the material through detailed instruction, questions, problem solving, and visual and hands-on aids like blocks, cards and bar charts.

So, as Baker concludes, in Singapore, “Students develop a strong foundation in math under the system and can advance rapidly later on.”

Of note, in another article, reporter Baker also considered ways that Finland was able to revitalize its education system.  Baker notes:

Stanford professor Linda Darling-Hammond said, “Thirty years ago, Finland’s education system was a mess. It was quite mediocre, very inequitable. It had a lot of features our system has: very top-down testing, extensive tracking, highly variable teachers, and they managed to reboot the whole system.”

 What would it take to re-boot our system?

 

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Singapore Math in Ghana: Working with Teachers at the Association International School

September 13, 2012 by 6 Comments

Association International Teachers gives "thumbs up" on Singapore Math

Sometimes, life throws you the most wonderful curve balls. Late in July, I was contacted by Audrey Doryumu, Head of the Association International School in Accra, Ghana. Six weeks later, I was on my way to spend a week working with her teachers as they prepared to teach Singapore Math.

Association International School (AIS) has a student body that is both local and global; many students attend AIS while their parents are posted in Ghana for work, giving it a wonderful diversity of experience. International teachers provide unique perspectives to the school’s students as well.  The school prides itself on working with the Ghanian, British, and American systems of education and plans to offer an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program when it grows to include 11th &12th grades.

Morning Open House for new students was crowded!

Implementing Singapore Math

Association International School  is so excited to be the first school in Ghana to use Singapore’s Primary Mathematics. Head of School Audrey Doryumu considered starting the Primary Mathematics Standards Edition for the students last school year, but wanted to ensure students had the necessary place value skills to truly be successful and on grade level. The teachers spent last school year backfilling some gaps and hitting place value concepts hard, and feel students are ready to go with Primary Mathematics materials this year.

Delivery to Ghana is a challenge, so the books were delivered first to New Jersey, then sent in shipping containers to Accra. The school is still awaiting some workbooks for new students.

 Always more to learn!

After four invigorating  days of training with Singapore Math concepts and materials, we ended our week with a test. That’s right, each teacher took the “A”-book placement test for the grade level they will be teaching.

The 5th – 7th team tackled the 5A placement test and found much to discuss (and debate!) over this question:

Estimate the value of 492,396 x 7.

Should they be thinking 500,000 x 7 or 500,000 x 10?

The fourth grade team discovered that teaching mental math was going to require some practice on their part. I always mention that we, as teachers are “handicapped by our superior knowledge“. We know algebra and we have certain strategies for computation that we are used to using. The mental math strategies taught in Primary Mathematics are different than many teachers have worked with and it is important to practice to become fluent with them, particularly if teachers are used to relying on pen & paper. (Or mobile phones).

Second Grade was surprised to see students were expected to know the equivalence of pounds and grams.

18. Fill in the blanks with lb or oz.
(a) The apple weighs about 6 _____.
(b) The watermelon weighs about 5 _____.
(c) 28 grams weigh about the same as 1 ______ .

We pulled out the 2A text book and found the only reference to this on a textbook page. There was no additional discussion included in the Teacher’s Guide.

Having teachers new to Primary Mathematics take their placement test was a fabulous learning exercise for the teachers and one I’m sure I’ll be using again.

It was such a pleasure to visit AIS and spend time with their committed, professional teachers and staff. Thank you Audrey Doryumu, for inviting me to Ghana and giving me the opportunity to work with Association International School. I look forward to visiting the school next spring to get an update on their Singapore Math  adoption and to see how far the students and teachers have come.

By the way, Association International is always interested in bringing exceptional teachers to Ghana. If you’re looking for a rewarding teaching experience, contact their Human Resources department.

Last year, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan visited the school:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/e9TFn7LLIvw[/youtube]

 

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Singapore Math Adoptions – including Corporate Support – Among News from the summer of 2012

August 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

More adoptions of Singapore Math are in the news, with notable support from corporate partners in a couple instances…

Ogden district invests in Singapore Math program

Following a very successful pilot of Singapore Math at three of its elementary schools, the Ogden (Utah) school district is adopting the curriculum district-wide. Leanne Rich, the district’s coordinator for curriculum and professional development, said of the success of the Singapore Math pilot program:

We saw immediate, dramatic results…Now what we will have is independent mathematicians for all our students.

Rich also noted that students don’t have to rely solely on the teacher for everything — they learn to think independently.

Jessica Namovicz, a first-grade teacher at James Madison (one of the pilot schools), said the program teaches students how to manipulate numbers and to see numbers in concrete terms:

I can watch them set it up in their heads.

As an aside, it’s nice to see the headline that indicates the District’s implementation of Singapore Math is an “investment!”

DPS considers Singapore math pilot program for Y.E. Smith

Next week, the Durham (North Carolina) Board of Education will consider a proposal experiment with Singapore Method Math at Y.E. Smith Elementary School thanks to funding from the SAS Institute.

Lewis Ferebee, Durham Public Schools (DPS) chief of staff, said that the pilot program aligns with the new Common Core curriculum standards that go into effect this fall, as those standards call for problem-solving skills and depth of understanding in the first year.

Caroline McMullen, director of education initiatives at SAS Institute, said that the prominent software engineering company has a vested interested in making this pilot program work: SAS wants workers skilled in mathematics and statistics:

We’re a global company, but we want to focus on North Carolina.

While acknowledging cultural distinctions between Singapore and Durham, area superintendent for elementary schools Stacey Wilson-Norman, said:

The focus on problem-solving and emphasis on the essential math skills recommended in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum Focal Points aligns with our focus….No one thing yields substantial and continued success. Key transformation strategies have been selected to aid in the progress of Y.E. Smith to support instructional and operational changes. We are very proud of the recent results achieved and see a shift in the culture of learning.

MasterCard Grant Helps Train Wentzville Math Teachers

Since the Wentzville (Missouri) School District implemented the Singapore Math curriculum in 2008 (funded with a grant from MasterCard), improvements in student test scores have continued to outpace the state average. MasterCard provided funding for additional Singapore Math teacher training this summer.

Curriculum Coordinator David Brothers said:

Singapore Math makes sure that students have a deep understanding of mathematical concepts before getting them to the memorization of traditional algorithms and that allows the teachers to dive into the rigor much sooner and at deeper levels than a traditional math curriculum.

And you thought schools took the summer off.

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Singapore Math Fall Seminar Dates

July 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Hot off the presses, here are the fall 2012 dates for my BER  seminar “How to Use the Best Strategies from Singapore Math to Strengthen your Math Instruction”  You can read more about these one-day seminars and register by clicking on the city. Whether you’re new to Singapore Math or just interested in learning more about some of the strategies, you’re sure to leave with a new understanding of the curriculum, strategies that you can use tomorrow and renewed energy for teaching math.

(Click though for specific location and registration info.)

This overview of strategies from Singapore Math will put your students on the road to success with number sense, computation and problem solving.  (Plus you a get a handy-dandy handbook!)

Your city not on the list? Contact me and I can bring my Singapore Math workshop(s) to your school or district – cassy@singaporemathsource.com [contact-form] [contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /] [contact-field label=”Comment” type=”textarea” required=”true” /] [/contact-form]

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Alii from the Republic of Palau: Singapore Math Training in the South Pacific

July 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I’ve been out of touch for a few weeks, here’s the scoop….

The Republic of Palau is now using Primary Mathematics, U.S. Edition! Earlier this year the Republic’s Ministry of Education (MOE) released a request seeking the services of a Singapore Math Trainer to work with teachers and MOE staff.  I submitted a bid and was honored to be awarded the contract.

The last 2 1/2 weeks found me in Koror, Palau, working with the teachers on the Singapore materials and elementary school content knowledge. One week was focused on Grades 4-6, which will begin using Primary Mathematics this fall. A second week was spent with teachers of Grades 1-3. They used the materials last year, so we spent time analyzing successes and addressing challenges they found.

It was enlightening and so much fun working with them for two weeks on content and the Singapore strategies. Sulang!

 

Melanie and I are playing Salute! – Squared. A third person is squaring our numbers and adding them together. They give us the sum and based on seeing the other card, we need to figure out what card we are each holding to out foreheads.

Currently, I am attending the International Conference on Mathematics Education (ICME-12) learning about current education research and sharing experiences with educators from around the world.

Included as part of the conference is the Mathematical Carnival with activities for students. How often do you see this in the U.S. –  Math Face Painting!

More on the ICME-12 to come…

 

 

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Fraction modeling tools from my NCTM session

June 7, 2012 by 3 Comments

Last month I presented with Lauri Susi of Conceptua Math at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) 2012 conference in  on Technology + Singapore Strategies = Number Sense

While planning the session, I noticed that there are many websites and apps available that are basically computation or fact practice. I think of them as “video flash cards”. Then there were websites designed to do what a teacher should be doing, teach. Sites like Khan Academy, Aleks, and other video tutorial sites. What I really needed were websites and apps that could support me, as a teacher, in the classroom.

If I’m teaching addition with regrouping and need a good interactive place value chart, where do I find one that I could use in a classroom, during a lesson?
Where could I find some good fraction representations?

This session is the result of digging for those apps and websites.

Because it was an interactive session, the powerpoint below is not too exciting, but it does have links to most of the online tools and apps that we demonstrated in the session.

Technology + Singapore Math = Number Sense

We got to spend some time investigating free fraction tools from Conceptua Math.

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