Purpose: This paper aimed to present the design of a teaching module on mathematical problem solving for the upper primary mathematics. Method: The module used Pólya's and Schoenfeld's problem solving models as the theoretical framework. The researchers introduced problem-solving processes through specialized mathematics "practical"…

Science is for all students in all countries; and this is a principle of equity. An explicit aim of science education is to create a high level of scientific literacy so that students have a greater understanding of science content knowledge that is associated with life, the physical world and earth sciences. As 21st century citizens, it is…

The solving of structured multi-step word problems has been a dominant practice in schools and is seen as a way to develop students' mathematical reasoning abilities. Unfortunately, it is limited in scope and does not provide opportunities for eliciting deeper reasoning as they are neither rich enough nor anchored in authentic data that resemble…

This paper presents the design and development of a rubric for assessing mathematical modelling for mathematical modelling tasks at the secondary level. A rubric was crafted based on the mathematical modelling competencies synthesised by the researchers identified from four sources. The rubric was fine-tuned following an interview with three…

In this paper the teachers' learning journey on designing a mathematics problem that involves a real-life context is reported. This is part of a larger project undertaken in a primary school in Singapore where the teachers were engaged in planning, observing and critiquing mathematics lessons to investigate teaching and learning. These unique…

Mathematical modelling is increasingly becoming part of an instructional approach deemed to develop students with competencies to function as 21st century learners and problem solvers. As mathematical modelling is a relatively new domain in the Singapore primary school mathematics curriculum, many teachers may not be aware of the learning outcomes…

National tests, an influential assessment practice in many countries in East Asia, are often blamed as obstacles to good instructional practices. In this paper, the positive impact of assessment, national tests in particular, is discussed using the case of Singapore. The first part of the paper includes an analysis of items from the primary grade…

The newly revised mathematics curriculum in Singapore has recently factored Applications and Modelling to be part of the teaching and learning of mathematics. Its implication is that even children should now be involved in works of mathematical modelling. However, to be able to implement modelling activities in the primary mathematics classroom,…

This paper reports on students' errors in performing integration of rational functions, a topic of calculus in the pre-university mathematics classrooms. Generally the errors could be classified as those due to the students' weak algebraic concepts and their lack of understanding of the concept of integration. With the students' inability to link…

This paper describes an activity which attempts to change the discourse of a mathematics classroom with the specific intent to help children who may have difficulties with mathematics and ways of communicating. Ten 8-year old children in the Learning Support Programme were engaged in an open-ended geometric task. In this paper a brief description…

What do pre-service teachers learn from their observation stint during school experience attachment? This paper will present insights into the cognitive contents of the pre-service teachers' reflection log. Preliminary analyses revealed that different cultures and pedagogical practices were observed to be in operation in different school contexts.…

Previous research has shown that students' existing conceptions are critical to subsequent learning because there is interaction between the new knowledge that the students encounter and their existing knowledge from previous lessons. Taber (1999a) found A-level students in the UK had difficulty in understanding the principles determining the…

Teachers tend to design worksheets to assist their students to develop their spatial skills. Many secondary schools students may not have sufficient concrete experiences to tackle abstract reasoning in geometrical concepts competently. In addition, students who are non-visual and spatial learners may have difficulties in learning geometrical…

The science epistemological beliefs of students have been found to play an important role in determining their learning orientations towards science. Conley, Pintrich, Vekiri, & Harrison (2004) developed a measure to examine the epistemology beliefs of students about science. The measure encompasses four dimensions about scientific knowledge:…

This study examines the effects of teaching Linkage and Problem Translating Skills on students' problem-solving performance and their learning of the five cognitive variables namely, Concept Relatedness, Idea Association, Problem Translating Skill, Non-Specific but Relevant Knowledge and Specific Knowledge. Seventy three Grade 9 (Secondary 3)…