Kong Hwa School

With Kong Hwa Faculty

Mrs. Davila observes students working

With Kong Hwa Students

Mrs. Muscarello in front of the school

Today we went to the Kong Hwa School to observe mathematics classrooms and discuss educational strategies with the faculty. We were able to sit in on three classes and then spent an hour afterwards discussing our observations with the teachers. We saw lessons on decimal multiplication and division for both grade 4 and grade 5 students. The teachers focused on mental math and quick, precise answers (including units, if necessary.)

We were most impressed with the level of dedication of the students. At one point, the teacher randomly called on a student for an answer. The boy did not have the problem completed, so he stood to finish the work using paper and pencil. After about a minute, the teacher left the boy standing and went on to the next problem by calling on another student. The boy continued standing and working on the problem as the class went on with the lesson. The student worked for 10 full minutes until he arrived at an answer. He then raised his hand to indicate that he was ready. The teacher called on the student and he explained the answer and his thinking process. We were both in awe of the attention to detail and perseverance displayed by the 10 year old boy. We were so impressed that at the end of class, we asked to take his picture.

Ziplines and Rickshaws

Today we headed out to Sentosa Island for a little fun in the sun. While exploring the island, we happened upon a Zip Line. We decided to go for it and had a blast sailing down the line from the top of a hill back down to the beach. It only took about 90 seconds, but the view was fantastic.

In the evening, we went on a trishaw ride through the city. It was hilarious (and a bit scary) to watch the riders jockeying for position on the city streets. The trishaws were complete with party music. It was a fun night! Tomorrow, we are planning to hit the city streets and explore the Singapore Flyer. Tuesday is a full day of math classroom observations.

Singapore

Singapore Merlion

Thian Hock Keng Temple

National Orchid Gardens

Today we went on a Singapore City Tour. The morning began at the National Orchid Gardens. The flowers were beautiful. We meandered the gardens for 30 minutes and then headed to the the Thian Hock Keng Temple. The temple was built in 1840 and is used by both Buddhist and Taoists for worship. After the temple, we drove to see an icon of Singapore, the Merlion. What a beautiful waterfront structure. We took a picture and then enjoyed a Starbucks before heading back to the hotel.

For lunch, we met with two international school teachers, Danny and Kendra. Danny teaches high school mathematics and Kendra is the resource coordinator for the school. We discussed similarities and differences between teaching in the states and teaching in Singapore. We are looking forward to comparing their opinions to our observations of Singapore schools on Tuesday.

Tonight we are go to China Town for a cultural tour. It should make for a fun evening!

Rest and Relaxation

Clarke Quay at night

View of the river at Clarke Quay

Today, we flew out of New Delhi at 1:00 a.m. headed for Singapore. We arrived at 9:00 a.m., checked in to our hotel, and proceeded to take a well deserved nap. By mid-afternoon, we were ready to hit the town. We did a bit of shopping and had dinner at Clarke Quay. It was refreshing to sit down to a taste of home. We chose a nice Italian restaurant and even went for dessert at the end of the meal. Singapore is just beautiful and we look forward exploring more of the city tomorrow.

Indian Education

The road to the school

Flooding in the road due to monsoon season

The Heritage School entrance

With Mr. Prekash at the school

On June 30^th we went to the Heritage School in Gurgoan, India. Getting there was hysterical. In India, there are no street signs or addresses. The land is split into large sectors and you wander around that sector until you find what you are looking for. It took us a while to find the right dirt road that led to a nice white school building surrounded by not much else.

Inside the guarded gates were children playing and learning as you would expect at any school. We met with four teachers about their philosophy of teaching mathematics and using assessment to drive instruction. We were able to observe a 6^th and 7^th grade math lesson. The 6^th grade lesson focused on problem solving using multiple operations. The teachers really make an attempt to write the problems using settings the students will experience. The classroom reminded me much of my own with the students working in groups and helping each other to solve the problems. Some strategies we took away were increased high level vocabulary, modeling strategies, and high level rigor. The teachers are challenged with the same issues we are in Texas and actively teaming to drive instructional decisions. Although the infrastructures of the two countries are so different, education seems to level the playing field and provide commonalities.

The Heritage is a private school for middle and high class students whose parents can pay money for their children’s education. We did not have the opportunity to visit a government-run school due to the students being on holiday. However, we were able to meet with a graduate student from the University of Delhi to help represent those schools. She shared that compulsory education for all children was only recently put into law last year. Like any new program, it will take years to implement and uphold. Parents value education because it is the family’s way of improving their current means. We talked for about an hour regarding the educational system and teacher preparation programs.

From the university, we headed to the airport….See you tomorrow in Singapore!