04 October 2020

Mathematics is one subject that demands constant practice and revision Students require constant revision to keep the concepts, formulae, and problem solving techniques fresh in their minds.

Also. mathematics is a subject in which simpler concepts and problem solving skills must be thoroughly mastered first before the more difficult levels can be tackled.

Here are a few strategies that should be adopted by every student who wishes to remain up-to-date in his or her mathematics revision and obtain better grades in examinations.

(i) Keep up to date with classroom work, lectures, tutorials and assignments.

(ii) Start examination revision early.

(iii) Constantly revisit topics that have been previously taught, during term time, or even during the holidays if necessary.

When examination time comes, it is all the more crucial to adopt and effective revision schedule for mathematics. Here are a few pointers:

(a) Start intensive revision no less than three months before the end of year exam or before a national exam.

For mid year exams, revision time can be shorted to two months or perhaps one and a half months as fewer topics are generally tested, and students will have to spend a lot of time on their current work as well.

At this stage, revision can be topical, that is, students can revise topic by topic, starting with the more difficult topics first.

(b) Plan how many topics needs to be covered and allocate time accordingly to each of them.

(c) In the final one month leading to a major exam, focus on practicing past year papers, as well as questions that span many different topics. Students will need practice with actual questions posed in exams for maximum familiarity during the final paper.

01 October 2020

Singapore students are renowned for their high performance in mathematics compared to their global peers. For instance, in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2019, students from Singapore were ranked second in the world in terms of mathematical ability.

Mathematics is a subject that requires good teachers who can convey abstract ideas in a concrete, relatable manner through the use of well-crafted explanations, illustrations, and examples. In Singapore, our Ministry of Education has devised a unique math curriculum that builds up each concept layer by layer, and which also deploys powerful methods of visualization such as the usage of boxes and models.

Another possible reason for the success of our students in mathematics is the willingness of parents to seek help, in the form of tuition for example, whenever the student encounters difficulty. This is particularly crucial for mathematics, which requires students to thoroughly grasp simpler concepts first before moving on to a higher one.

28 September 2020

Since the advent of Computer Algebras Systems (CAS), educators have had to overhaul the mathematics curriculum taught in schools.

The term CAS encompasses a wide variety of software that can interpret and manipulate mathematical expressions, perform tasks such as expansion and factorization of algebraic expressions, plot graphs of functions, compute integrals and derivatives, carry out complex operations with matrices, and even employ statistical techniques such as hypothesis testing or regression analysis.

CAS includes computer software such as Mathematica and R Studio, online web tools and applets, web sites such as WolframAlpha, and graphing calculators that most junior college and university students use nowadays.

These tools allow both teachers and students to quickly solve tedious math problems such as incredibly difficult integration and differentiation questions that would otherwise be intractable. They also enable rapid visualization with graph plotting utilities that are able to plot detailed and precise graphs of functions, as well as find their turning points, asymptotes, intercepts, and other pertinent features.

But with the rapid rise of CAS, there is a real danger than students can become fixated on using these tools and neglect acquiring essential mathematical skills that can only be honed by rote practice.

Lecturers and tutors have to make full use of these tools to raise the scope and quality of mathematics education, and at the same time, ensure that students do not abuse these tools. Essential mathematical skills such as algebraic manipulation must still be mastered to a high degree of dexterity in spite of the availability of these tools. Mathematics educators must ensure these tools complement, not compromise, their curriculum.