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Is Singapore's math education truly utopian? This project aims to enhance math relevance and appreciation through outreach initiatives such as educational modules, public lectures, exhibitions, and a Math Project Festival. Targeting both future practitioners and math enthusiasts, the goal is to prepare individuals for math-intensive careers and bridge gender disparities in math performance. The project also addresses the challenges faced by teachers who are tasked with implementing new methodologies without adequate support.
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Is Singapore Math Utopia? Helmer Aslaksen Dept. of Mathematics National Univ. of Singapore www.math.nus.edu.sg aslaksen@math.nus.edu.sg
There is no perfect place • They are good at basics, but so what? • They are good at math, but they don’t like it • Still not fully socially acceptable • Need to repay karmic debt incurred by poor math teaching • The solution is outreach!
My outreach • General Education Modules on “Heavenly Mathematics: Cultural Astronomy” and “Mathematics in Art and Architecture”. • Public lectures, exhibitions at the Singapore Art Museum and the Asian Civilisations Museum, TV science quiz show and Math Project Festival for secondary school students and Singapore Math Olympiad.
What’s the goals of my outreach? • Math math relevant! • Cast the net wide. Not just for future math practitioners, but also math appreciators • Prepare them for math intensive jobs
Gender issues • Top secondary schools are single sex • Girls do better at project group work than in Olympiads
Students or teachers? • Teachers are asked to implement all the latest buzzwords • Teachers are undersupported, underpaid and overworked