The Maths Lab was selected by Channel News Asia for a series of interviews to feature in their ‘Regardless Of Grades’ TV Documentary in 2024. The documentary series examines faultlines in the Singapore society, and this episode examines how differences in grades may manifest later on into gaps in our society. For this part of the filming, CNA wanted to learn how we conducted our classes (and in particular our Bootcamps), what our students experienced in our classes, and how our teachers envision the teaching methodology to change moving forward.
Filming Our Classes & Bootcamps
CNA chose to film one of our 2023 Bootcamps over the course of a week, showing insights into how the Bootcamp is conducted, and doing pre-Bootcamp and post-Bootcamp interviews with the students to see how much they benefit from it. The filming crew also interviewed several teachers to get their thoughts on the changing pedagogy of tuition classes. In particular, CNA wished to know how The Maths Lab selected our learning materials, how we engage the students during class, and of course, how well our students actually performed during the examinations.
Students Excited To Be On TV
After getting permission from all parents for the filming, the day of filming arrived and our students were excited ― it’s not everyday you get to be on national TV! There was a filming crew of 3: a cameraman, a lighting and sound guy, and an interviewer. Even though the room was large, it was a little squeezy once everyone fit in (we had not planned on a film crew coming down initially). Nonetheless, students took it in their stride and (tried their best to) pay attention to the class. A few students were selected for specialised interviews, while the rest were just content with being in the background!
Closing Thoughts
When CNA first approached us, we thought about it for awhile, and then decided that we would be happy to help CNA with their documentary. The CNA programme subject matter is innately relevant to what we do here ― that of preparing our kids for what the future might entail. The Maths Lab team also wanted to share Maths learning strategies that have worked well for us, so that both parents & educators alike may apply some of these strategies for their kids. All things considered, it was a very exciting and enriching experience, and we look forward to seeing our students on national TV when CNA airs the programme later this year !
CNA Filming Our Classes
We gave CNA unfettered access to our classes and learning environment. Although concerns were raised about showing our proprietary teaching methods, overall we felt it was more important to showcase the useful Maths learning strategies we developed. To share what has worked well for us. It is our hope that others will build upon our strengths, as we work to bring the learning of Mathematics in Singapore to the next level.
Student Interviews
For students brave enough to speak on camera, CNA also requested for parents’ permission to interview these students. We gave CNA a separate classroom for these interviews so that the lighting and microphone inputs could be adjusted properly. The interviewed students all started off a little shy on camera, but the CNA interviewer was professional and friendly, and soon the students were answering and joking with the interviewer. The interviews also gave The Maths Lab team valuable insights on what the students genuinely felt about the classes, so that we could tweak our teaching to do better!
Bootcamp Lunch Break
Bootcamp Lunch Break
Lunch break provided a time for CNA to film the students in a different light ― showing our happily munching, soda drinking, carbs loving students we have. Lunch also serves another purpose, to allow us teachers to build rapport and engage with the students on a more personal level. Ironically, students seem a lot more chatty when they have food in their mouths (when they really should be chewing instead of talking). But etiquette aside, lunch is an important break time for students to recharge both physically and psychologically, before we resume for another session of revision in the afternoon!
CNA Filming Our Classes
We gave CNA unfettered access to our classes and learning environment. Although concerns were raised about showing our proprietary teaching methods, overall we felt it was more important to showcase the useful Maths learning strategies we developed. To share what has worked well for us. It is our hope that others will build upon our strengths, as we work to bring the learning of Mathematics in Singapore to the next level.
Mock Exam Practice
No one really likes taking exams, but unfortunately mock exams are a very necessary part of our cirriculum. They serve 2 important functions: firstly, to train each student to be mentally prepared for what will happen on the day of the exam. Secondly, the results of the mock exam allow both the teacher and student to scrutinize every mistake. Enabling us to catch a student’s problematic trends (such as finishing too fast but making careless mistakes), and working to tweak the student’s exam strategy to perfection.
Bootcamp Lunch Break
Lunch break provided a time for CNA to film the students in a different light ― showing our happily munching, soda drinking, carbs loving students we have. Lunch also serves another purpose, to allow us teachers to build rapport and engage with the students on a more personal level. Ironically, students seem a lot more chatty when they have food in their mouths (when they really should be chewing instead of talking). But etiquette aside, lunch is an important break time for students to recharge both physically and psychologically, before we resume for another session of revision in the afternoon!
Mock Exam Practice
Interactive Maths Games
We try hard to make the lesson as fun & as interesting as possible (this is harder than it sounds). The average student has a short attention span that needs to be “refreshed” about every 40 mins. We mitigate this by playing interactive maths games at intervals, getting students to pit their wits against each other to solve different types of Math puzzles. These mental breaks help ensure that our students remain somewhat engaged even throughout long & complicated lessons.
Sharing Our Math Learning Strategies
The CNA filming provided a unique opportunity for us to showcase our innovative Maths teaching strategies for Primary 6 topics. Viewers will be able to see firsthand the dynamic and interactive methods we employ in our classes, and hopefully give parents some insight into how to make Math both engaging and accessible for their own kids!
Showing How We Do It : Model Drawing
Heuristic methods of problem solving do not have to be difficult, but kids have to learn it in a step-by-step, systematic manner. For eg, to learn model drawing effectively, we start at basics. First teaching students to draw simple models, and ensuring they grasp the core concepts of model drawing, before graduating to the more advanced concepts used to solve challenging exam questions.
Mock Exam Practice
No one really likes taking exams, but unfortunately mock exams are a very necessary part of our cirriculum. They serve 2 important functions: firstly, to train each student to be mentally prepared for what will happen on the day of the exam. Secondly, the results of the mock exam allow both the teacher and student to scrutinize every mistake. Enabling us to catch a student’s problematic trends (such as finishing too fast but making careless mistakes), and working to tweak the student’s exam strategy to perfection.
Conclusion of CNA Filming
End of Filming
The class filming and interviews are done. But CNA will continue to follow several of our students all the way to the end-of-year examinations, and even until they get their results the following year. We are hopeful and excited, that the program will allow us to follow our students’ learning journey even after they have graduated. And we very much look forward to seeing our students on TV soon!
