My Singapore Math Learning Festival Experience

I was very fortunate to have been invited to attend the first Singapore Math Learning Festival here in the Philippines last October 8, 2011 at the AIM Conference Center in Makati. For the past few years, I’ve been hearing about Singapore Math but had really no idea what it is. I was especially curious because I noticed that during the past year, my daughter Ziya has been getting more and more frustrated with her Math subject because it gets harder and harder. It is really unfortunate because Math used to be one of her favorite subjects. So, I was so excited to attend the event in the hopes that it would be something that might help my daughter have an easier Math experience.

The whole day event started with the Opening Remarks c/o Mrs. Rowie J. Matti, CEO of the Galileo Enrichment Learning Program. Then the Keynote Address was given by Mr. Pierangelo B. Alejo (Education Specialist, Southeast Asian Ministers of Educational Organization – Innotech).  This was followed by the Plenary Lecture given by Queena N. Lee-Chua, Ph.D. (Full Professor, Ateneo de Manila University) and her son, Scott L. Chua (Don Carlos Palanca Awardee, Multi-awarded Student, Xavier School).

I truly enjoyed the Plenary Lecture because Ms. Chua and her son gave the participants a basic understanding of Singapore Math by telling us about what it is, as well as its pros and cons. Scott even gave actual word problems and showed the audience how they can be solved using Singapore Math techniques. I was really in awe by how easy and fun it was because it didn’t involve too much memorization, which is good because Ziya hates to memorize. She is also more visual so Singapore Math is really a perfect tool for her. As a homeschool mom, it really gave me so much hope that learning more about these techniques could very well help her not just pull up her Math grades but be able to truly understand what she is doing and apply it in her everyday life.

The afternoon session was chock-full of breakout sessions. I really wish I could have attended them all because there was so much to learn and we were only allowed to choose two.  Anyway, I attended the Helping Children Cope with Singapore Math lecture given by Mr. Kristofer Mark Vigare (Grade School Faculty, Math Department, Xavier School). His lecture was mostly about the school’s experience in transitioning from traditional Math to Singapore Math method in Xavier. It was interesting to learn what the school did in order to ensure a smooth transition, not just for the faculty but most especially for the students. It was extremely encouraging as well to learn that most of their students were able to pull  up their Math grades significantly after learning Singapore Math. The second breakout session I attended was Lesson Planning to Success by Mr. Bernardo Daquiz Jr. (Grade School Faculty, Math Department, Xavier School). This lecture was really helpful for teachers in creating their lesson plans before the beginning of the school year.  

As if all the information I learned wasn’t enough, there were also tons and tons of giveaways.  Plus, the event also featured merchants, who sell education-related materials. I really enjoyed visiting all the booths especially since doing so would allow you to be a part of the raffle at the end of the day. There were lots (and I mean LOTS) of really cool prizes. I wasn’t really expecting to win because there were really a lot of people there. I mean, the organizers had to get two large function rooms to fit all of us. But what do you know? I was called first during the raffle draw! I won a gift pack consisting of a Denenes cologne set  and Fiesta spaghetti noodles and spaghetti sauce. Not bad, right?  

It was truly a great event to be a part of. Thank you, Galileo!