To share the findings of OER-funded research projects “MAthematics is Great: I Can And Like” (MAGICAL) and “Scaling UP the Education Research: MAGICAL” (SUPER-MAGICAL), Associate Professor Toh Tin Lam from NIE’s Mathematics and Mathematics Education Academic Group (MME AG) organised a Comics Symposium on 11 April 2019. The symposium was hosted by the Academy of Singapore Teachers.
MAGICAL and SUPER-MAGICAL involved the trial of a teaching package that uses comics as a tool for teaching mathematics to low-progress learners. The package (MAGICAL) was initially piloted at three secondary schools, before it was subsequently scaled-up (SUPER-MAGICAL) for another six secondary schools and adapted to including the teaching of one unit of primary school mathematics. | Read More |
In his opening address at the Comics Symposium, Associate Professor Toh expressed his appreciation to teachers who participated in MAGICAL and gave the audience comprising primary and secondary school mathematics teachers an overview of how comics can serve as a tool for teaching mathematical concepts. He also spoke about the positive feedback from teachers on the teaching package, particularly how it has improved students’ motivation to learn mathematics, and the plans ahead for his project team.
Professor David Hung, Dean at NIE’s Office of Education Research, graced the occasion and presented certificates of appreciation to the teachers who participated in the project.
Four teachers who participated in this project then shared their experiences of using the package during their mathematics lessons.
Ms Teo Xiu Wen from Anderson Secondary School spoke about how the MAGICAL package has contextualised mathematical concepts and helped her students from the Normal (Technical) stream understand the relevance of mathematics in everyday life. She added that her students now take a greater interest in mathematics and are better able to solve mathematical problems.
Mr Chia Kah Kheng from Yuying Secondary School then explained how the use of comics has led to improved student engagement, as learners were interested in how the comic unfolds. He also shared that discussions about the comics provide a safe environment for students to talk about mathematical concepts with their teachers, thus creating a positive learning experience for students.
Finally, Ms Hanisah Salim and Mr Caleb Lee from Westwood Secondary School shared on the difficulties that low-progress learners’ face, such as weak language skills and poor retention of information. They also explained how comics address these issues by presenting mathematical concepts in a more engaging and digestible manner.
The symposium closed with a presentation by Lecturer Dr Cheng Lu Pien from MME AG, who spoke about the use of comics to teach fractions to primary school students.