2009 Maths Question which Adult also duno!


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No lah, They are not genius. They ask me what the question was as everyone was talking about it. They dunno how to do but I just showed them how its done using the method taught by their maths teacher. Took me some time to figure it out too. Using algebra would be easier. :sweat:

Being my daughter's tuition teacher since P1. Direct algebra method is more difficult than modeling. Pls refer to my earlier post.http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5537115&postcount=24

All the while I have been following MOE method, and teaching base on their textbook. Hence, solving such questions using modeling is the easiest and quick.

Many parents always tried to "reverse engineering" or relate to their kids using Algebra. Unfortunately, such question is not design that way. For the time given during exam, modeling will be the fastest and lesser mistake.

So, my advice to all parents if they want to teach their kids, it's better to re-learn their method and coach them base on what they are taught in School. They will be happier and able to absorb better.

Cheers!
 

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Being my daughter's tuition teacher since P1. Direct algebra method is more difficult than modeling. Pls refer to my earlier post.http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5537115&postcount=24

All the while I have been following MOE method, and teaching base on their textbook. Hence, solving such questions using modeling is the easiest and quick.

Many parents always tried to "reverse engineering" or relate to their kids using Algebra. Unfortunately, such question is not design that way. For the time given during exam, modeling will be the fastest and lesser mistake.

So, my advice to all parents if they want to teach their kids, it's better to re-learn their method and coach them base on what they are taught in School. They will be happier and able to absorb better.

Cheers!


Yea, it's best to follow MOE's path blindly and just do as they say, haha :(
 

flop my psle maths because of questions like these zzz...even engineering maths is not that tough...worst of all my mum was pretty upset that i never make it to express stream.
 

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during my primary education in the 80s, i dun get question like these, let alone using models to solve.

question i have to ask is, why are they being asked now, at this stage of a kid's life? can't they just teach simple math, like in the old days?
 

btw, i got A* for math psle. ;0
 

to me is like the educational system is getting higher and higher in standard. sometimes it is not just a matter whether our parents is giving proper coaching to the kids but it is just a standard that is far beyond our knowledge to give them proper guiding that something we dont even understand.

imagine, the future who know the school will teaches our kid to make automic bomb???
the principle of making an atomic bomb is easy, its getting the uranium that's hard...lol!
during my primary education in the 80s, i dun get question like these, let alone using models to solve.

question i have to ask is, why are they being asked now, at this stage of a kid's life? can't they just teach simple math, like in the old days?
singapore is really different hor...in malaysia, parents complain becoz the syllabus and exam standards are getting easier with each passing year, while in singapore, standard goes higher and ppl complain? why leh? isn't it good that our kids are smarter than us? we cant really use lower standard expectations in a high standard environment lor...
 

No lah, They are not genius. They ask me what the question was as everyone was talking about it. They dunno how to do but I just showed them how its done using the method taught by their maths teacher. Took me some time to figure it out too. Using algebra would be easier. :sweat:

Till now me still catch no ball!:sweatsm:
 

during my primary education in the 80s, i dun get question like these, let alone using models to solve.

question i have to ask is, why are they being asked now, at this stage of a kid's life? can't they just teach simple math, like in the old days?


Same here first time heard of models!:sweat:
 

u dun need model calculations to know exactly how much u need to save a month for that d3x beast.
 

u dun need model calculations to know exactly how much u need to save a month for that d3x beast.
You don't need.. but i am pretty sure you can.. :p Just express it in terms of mths of savings!

I think cheeseme is spot on, we must not use our experience to compare against what the kids are going through. if you want to help your kids study, you need to learn their methods, otherwise it will be more confusing for them.
 

Same here first time heard of models!:sweat:

I was quite rejecting to this modeling method when I first see it in my daughter's maths. But no choice have to force myself to learn it because they are taught that way. Later I found out that actually it's an advantage at their age, it's much easier and concrete for them to visualize using modeling than x, y, z. In fact, with modeling method they could now learn and solve much difficult mathematics problem that was only taught in Secondary level previously.

However, the problem is we are so used to x, y, z way of solution in our level. Hence, we tends to teach our primary school kids the way we know but not realizing they cannot appreciate it yet, unless they are genius.

Believe MOE had spent our tax money well to study all these before implementing. Although we felt it's giving us and our children hard time, it's perhaps acquiring our children with better tools for their future. So, should we really complain or are we just resisting change. It's just individual opinion.

This "hard" PSLE question is thus not difficult at all if you know the method.
 

Being my daughter's tuition teacher since P1. Direct algebra method is more difficult than modeling. Pls refer to my earlier post.http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5537115&postcount=24

All the while I have been following MOE method, and teaching base on their textbook. Hence, solving such questions using modeling is the easiest and quick.

Many parents always tried to "reverse engineering" or relate to their kids using Algebra. Unfortunately, such question is not design that way. For the time given during exam, modeling will be the fastest and lesser mistake.

So, my advice to all parents if they want to teach their kids, it's better to re-learn their method and coach them base on what they are taught in School. They will be happier and able to absorb better.

Cheers!

Yea, it's best to follow MOE's path blindly and just do as they say, haha :(

I was quite rejecting to this modeling method when I first see it in my daughter's maths. But no choice have to force myself to learn it because they are taught that way. Later I found out that actually it's an advantage at their age, it's much easier and concrete for them to visualize using modeling than x, y, z. In fact, with modeling method they could now learn and solve much difficult mathematics problem that was only taught in Secondary level previously.

However, the problem is we are so used to x, y, z way of solution in our level. Hence, we tends to teach our primary school kids the way we know but not realizing they cannot appreciate it yet, unless they are genius.

Believe MOE had spent our tax money well to study all these before implementing. Although we felt it's giving us and our children hard time, it's perhaps acquiring our children with better tools for their future. So, should we really complain or are we just resisting change. It's just individual opinion.

This "hard" PSLE question is thus not difficult at all if you know the method.

I agree with cheeseme. It's not about which method is better. But rather, understand the envrionment the children are immersed in.

Teaching algebra to primary student is to suppliment their understanding as such they will have easier transition time when the school curriculum runs in. The child is already trying very hard to understand what is being taught. Adding "imaginary" logic might confuse them more.

Lastly, not every child learn the same way. Really understanding how your child learn and guide them accordingly wi help more than tons of tution.
 

the smart ones will skip this question.

ya. i agree....

in our days, when we are the one who are sitting for the exam, we will skip tough qns... try to do those tough qns when the rest are done...

i dun understand why the parent will complaining, they shd encourage their children instead.
Life is a roller-coaster not a smooth ride from point A to B.


beside this qns, what other qns are tough? or is this the ONLY one?
 

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ya. i agree....

in our days, when we are the one who are sitting for the exam, we will skip tough qns... try to do those tough qns when the rest are done...

i dun understand why the parent will complaining, they shd encourage their children instead.
Life is a roller-coaster not a smooth ride from point A to B.


beside this qns, what other qns are tough? or is this the ONLY one?
i think in all exams, some will complain too tough where others will say it's easy... those who says easy will not make the news :p

Well, i do think the marking and the final grade is based on Bell Curve so i guess, even if it's super hard, it's still ok as maybe only 1% will get it right! LOL
 

I was quite rejecting to this modeling method when I first see it in my daughter's maths. But no choice have to force myself to learn it because they are taught that way. Later I found out that actually it's an advantage at their age, it's much easier and concrete for them to visualize using modeling than x, y, z. In fact, with modeling method they could now learn and solve much difficult mathematics problem that was only taught in Secondary level previously.

However, the problem is we are so used to x, y, z way of solution in our level. Hence, we tends to teach our primary school kids the way we know but not realizing they cannot appreciate it yet, unless they are genius.

Believe MOE had spent our tax money well to study all these before implementing. Although we felt it's giving us and our children hard time, it's perhaps acquiring our children with better tools for their future. So, should we really complain or are we just resisting change. It's just individual opinion.

This "hard" PSLE question is thus not difficult at all if you know the method.

Agree with you. I had the same feeling when I 1st saw my Daughter's homework. But it took me quite sometime to learn how to draw the models and I only learn to understand it from her teacher when we had parent/teachers meeting.
 

From the way the press is presenting the news, it's as if all the questions are like that. A few tough questions does not make the paper "extremely tough", even though one has to admit that more advanced thinking skills are needed these days compared to 20 years ago.

An assessment is meant to be discriminating, otherwise how are do we separate the truly talented from those who are "merely very good"? If so many students can hit 91% and above, then what's the point? There has got to be some super-tough questions to identify the true prodigies, and it is of no shame that if the average student can't solve them. The rest of the paper is fair enough such that the majority of students can answer them. Did the press talk about that? If students start crying, it's probably because of the adults expectations of the children that they have to score 90+%.

Anyway, tough or not, the results will be fair because each student will be graded against a bell curve. If the PSLE is going to be so easy, then what's the point of having the exam? Easy to pass, tough to score. That's the way any good test should be.

And in the grand scheme of things, the PSLE really isn't that big a deal, really.
 

Not sure about model method being simpler.

I remember struggling with models during my p5/6 days, i could always get the answers using algebra but trying to reverse engineer it into a 'model' answers was a pain in the ass. N you never ever use model method again .... NEVER. Not in O lvls nor at A lvls.

Aniwei I think parents on this forum should relax and stop stressing your kids !! Life is not about getting distinctions in exams. It is a well-known fact that over-assessing children and trying to differentiate them into grades/levels/etc etc is counter-productive. All children are smart. But not all children are math-smart or language-smart. Check out the multiple intelligence theory.

Spore still has a very outdated philosophy to education which exists even in our universities. It is the very same reason why we are unlikely to produce world-class talents in any field and also why most of our scholars study overseas.
 

There're too many intelligence theories around man. Though not a cognitive scientist, I do agree with you on the multiple part.

Perhaps the reason why model drawing is taught instead of algebra in primary school is the worry that not all children at that age would be able to grasp abstract concepts. Model drawing makes the solution concrete and easy to comprehend at that level of brain development. Thats just the gist of it. If interested, pls go pubmed or web of science and search for reviews on brain development. ps. I'm not particularly into development either ;p
 

question i have to ask is, why are they being asked now, at this stage of a kid's life? can't they just teach simple math, like in the old days?

well, much of what you learn at higher levels, also no use.

someone once said to me, and i found it true, was that the brain can be trained. it might not be trained at the things that are necessary in life; but using it to think in various ways, that helps.
 

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