Mathematics

Our Belief

The Math Department believe that all students can learn and want to learn. We believe in teaching our students how to learn and build up their confidence as they improve over time. To us, hope, confidence and thus motivation are the most important factors in learning.

Self-Directed and Self-Paced Learning

Many students believe that their teachers are the best source to learn from. However, there are often 30+ students and only 1 teacher in a class. We believe instead, that most students should learn from videos created by their teachers and reserve the teacher for those who still have doubts after watching the videos. This way, we train students to take ownership of their own studies by giving them a way to learn at their own time and pace. Many (both teachers and students) are often surprised at how many students will actually learn in advance once they have a means to do it. These online resources are always available and thus helpful for revision too.

Learning Math through Videos made by our own teachers

Hope, Confidence and rewarding Effort

Students who struggle with Math often lack confidence and lack the belief that they can do Math. They often fail exams and in fact, some have never passed Math since Primary school! To support these students, the department allows them to reattempt certain assignments over and over until they get it right. Immediate (and automated) feedback is given after each attempt so that they can learn from their mistakes and eventually get it right (and be awarded full marks). This process is critical in changing their perspective that Math is “un-passable”. One of the ways we do this is through an online Math Portal where students can repeatedly practice key concepts and eventually achieve mastery.

Maths Portal assignment where students can try repeatedly

Students given immediate feedback when they get it wrong

Bringing Math to Life

Math is all around us and we want students to realize this through fun activities. We bring students out for amazing race at places like Changi Airport and Gardens by the Bay where they measure, identify and solve Math-related problems in real life. In school, we bring students out of the classroom to estimate the length of tall objects in school without actually having to measure it or peel oranges to derive the relationship between the surface area of spheres and their cross-sectional area. We hope that through these activities, students will appreciate and see more purpose in their learning.

Students deriving the formula of the surface area of a sphere

Customized Programmes to cater to Students’ needs

At Sec 3 and 4, students are banded based on academic ability with customized programmes. Weaker students are given more support while stronger ones are stretched. Some are also given more exposure through external competitions like the “All Singapore Secondary Mathematics Competition” and “Maths Olympiad”.