The Singapore Model Method for Learning Mathematics

This monograph serves as a resource book on the Model Method. The main purpose is to make explicit how the Model Method is used to develop students' understanding of fundamental mathematics concepts and proficiency in solving basic mathematics word problems. Through the construction of a pictorial model to represent the known and unknown quantities and their relationships in a problem, students gain better understanding of the problem and develop their abilities in mathematical thinking and problem solving. This will provide a strong foundation for the learning of mathematics from the primary to secondary levels and beyond. The monograph is organized into seven chapters.

• Chapter 1 provides an overview of the Mathematics Framework and the Model Method as key features of the Singapore mathematics curriculum.
• Chapter 2 highlights the evolution of the Mathematics Framework over the last two decades
• Chapter 3 and 4 illustrate the use of pictorial models in the development of the concepts of the four operations as well as fractions, ratios and percentages.
• Chapter 5 explains and discusses how the Model Method is used for solving structurally complex word problems at the primary level.
• Chapter 6 illustrates how the Model Method can be integrated with the algebraic method to formulate algebraic equations for solving problems.
• Chapter 7 concludes the monograph by discussing some perspectives of problem solving that account for the success of the Model Method and the connection between the Model Method and the algebraic method.

This book is a valuable resource for anyone wanting a general overview of the Model Method that includes examples covering all levels of Primary Mathematics for grades 3 - 6, where it is primarily used, as well as ideas for how to use the Model Method to help students visualize and conceptualize a problem so that they can formulate an algebraic expression to solve it.