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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Singapore approach uses different tools to teach math. For instance, it has bar models.
Diamond Ridge Elementary School teacher Sarah Van Maren said, "The students learn to draw, literally draw boxes or bar models and label them and figure out how to use the information from the picture to solve really complex problems."
Van Maren says she can tell her kids are grasping concepts much quicker than before. They also use other methods to tie math into real world concepts.
"We use manipulatives," she said. "We use things the kids can touch and line up to start seeing the problems and understanding the problems are actually related to real things. They're not just abstract numbers."
Initial test scores show the program seems to be working well.
Principal Debbie Koji said, "My first and second grades had the highest scores for the school on their four month tests."
It's a little too soon to officially say the Singapore approach is better than the current curriculum. Koji says many students were transferred to the school because it was just recently built.
"Even though we did do it in three classes last year in Silver Hills, when we moved those kids over to Diamond Ridge, they're now interspersed with kids who haven't had the program."
This makes it harder to measure if test scores are truly up from kids in the same grade last year.
For now, the Singapore approach is being taught to kindergartners, first graders and second graders. They plan to teach it to third graders next year, fourth graders the year after that, and so on.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
