Tay, Eng Guan

In this chapter, we propose that the teaching of mathematical problem solving can be understood through a classical model of communication. The use of movie clips for the teaching of mathematical problem solving can be seen as a communication process. The role of the movie clips, serving in addition to being a narrative hook, presents the mathematical problem in a way understandable and relatable to students through its appropriate contextualization of the mathematical problem. The chapter further discusses the characteristics of two movie clips that can be used for teaching mathematical problem solving.

In 2009, a project—OER 13/09 LEL Building an Evidence-base for ITP in NIE: A Formative Project—was funded to initiate a program of research activities that seeks to achieve a rich and contextualised understanding of the nature, substance and professional impact of student teachers’ learning within NIE’s ITE programmes. This project was a further formative step on that journey, and had four related purposes/objectives.

The first involved the extension of work begun in OER 13/09 LEL involving the making of video observations of classroom pedagogical practices, and the subsequent coding of those. The intention was to extend this work to include representative samples of teaching in Academic Subject (AS) courses.

The second was to support the work of the TE21 implementation steering group (ISG), through mapping of student teachers’ perceptions of the contribution that their program makes to the development/achievement of the V3SKs and GTCs. A new survey, the Perceptions of Programme Coverage and Achievement on V3SK and GTCs Survey, was developed for this purpose.

The third involved an extension of data collection to involve the use of interviews. These interviews sought to understand how student teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and values were engaged during their PGDE experiences, and the impact of those engagements on participants’ ‘teacher identity’.

The fourth purpose involved improvement of the research processes and tools, in anticipation of their use in subsequent research.

Up until 1990, the Institute of Education in Singapore was primarily a teaching institute involved in training teachers for Singapore schools. Since the inception of the National Institute of Education (NIE) in 1990, as an institute of the Nanyang Technological University, the focus of the institute has been enlarged to include research in education. This chapter examines, through a documentary analysis, how a research culture specifically in mathematics education at the National Institute of Education was nurtured, developed and supported from 1990 onwards. Development of the culture for Mathematics Education Research (MER) has been in tandem with all other areas of research at the NIE. Both top-down and bottom-up approaches have been adopted to support research as part of an academic’s work at the institute. Policies related to recruitment and promotion of academics were developed to ensure that emphasis was on both teaching and research. Development of research, from individually led bite-sized grains to team-based project with coherent themes, was supported. The setting up of the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice in 2004 and dedicated funding from the Ministry of Education Singapore for research of the Singapore education system heralded an era of MER that has made significant contributions both nationally and internationally. This chapter will also illuminate the four main areas of focus and sources on MER through examples of studies carried out in Singapore since 2000. In addition, it briefly outlines the contribution of MER in ASEAN countries.