SDE in the News

"Wonderful, eye-opening, exciting! I can't wait to get back to school and start doing all these things. Lots of OMG moments that make so much sense. I wish I had been taught this way. "
Rondi Kilham
Grade 1 Teacher, Beverly, MA

TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study)—This international testing has shown Singapore students in grades 4 and 8 have scored at or very near the top since 1995.

South River School District in New Jersey reports: "After the first year of Singapore math, fourth graders improved their advanced proficient percentage from 9.57% to 27.89%, which was an increase of 18% in one year!"

In the National Mathematics Advisory Panel reports release in 2008 one of their recommendations was that as part of the learning process students need to develop computational proficiency with whole numbers. This implies automatic recall of number facts and fluency with standard algorithums of the 4 operations.

Benefits of Math with Meaning
Success Training

1. Students will understand the math at a conceptual level and will be able to solve more complex problems than they have in the past.
2. Teachers will see better ways to explain mathematics. When a student asks, “Why do we do this?” they’ll have the answer.
3. Students will be less frustrated and will enjoy math more. This can even lead to fewer classroom behavior issues.
4. Teachers will be more confident in teaching math and will enhance their capacity to question students at a higher level.

The Math With Meaning Philosophy

• Follows the concrete to pictorial to abstract approach to instruction.
• Emphasizes a visual approach to teaching mathematics.
• Encourages critical thinking by asking students questions like “Why do you think that?” and “How do you know?"
• Encourages educators to use purposeful, engaging practice.
• Stresses conceptual mathematics understanding before teaching procedures.

What Math with Meaning is NOT

• Gimmicks for teaching math
• Drill and kill
• Rules without reasons

On-site Modules

• Foundations of Number Sense
• Model Drawing
• Model Drawing for Higher-Level Word Problems
• Singapore Math Train-the-Trainer