TCS Math Specialist (pictured with son, Thomas) was hired to support students, faculty and parents as TCS continues to transition to Singapore Math.
TCS Parents, please join us to learn more about Singapore Math on Parent Math Night, this Wed., May 17. Parents will learn games to play with your children over the summer and receive an update on TCS’s implementation plans for “Math In Focus.”
When problem solving is at the center of math-learning, students learn concepts through real-world, hands-on experiences. This is the essence of the Singapore approach to math, now in its second year at TCS. ‘Math In Focus’ is a math curriculum that balances solid number sense and creative problem solving, building foundational concepts that will best prepare students for higher math.
After many years of using “Everyday Math,” TCS explored other curricula available that might better match our understanding of how children learn best, and “Math In Focus: Singapore Math” (by Marshall Cavendish and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) was the best fit for our students and teachers.
“The idea that students learn about math by playing, experiencing, experimenting and solving real problems related to a particular goal, are some of the reasons that we feel Singapore is the best fit for TCS,” said TCS Math Specialist Tom Pittard. “The resources provided by ‘Math In Focus’ are also helping us meet the differentiated needs of more of our students.”
“TCS is committed to supporting our teachers as we transition to Singapore Math,” says Melissa Scott, TCS Director of Learning Design and Innovation. “We started two years ago with outside experts, and this past year we were able to hire Tom, a full-time math specialist, who has been instrumental in supporting our teachers. He provides hands-on training, workshops, tutorials, coaching and as-needed support for our faculty, students and parents.”
TCS has also invested in renowned Singapore Math expert Greg Tang to work with teachers and parents. Faculty members have participated in “Math in Focus: Singapore Math” training; Greg Tang “Making Math Meaningful” training; and several other professional development sessions to increase their Singapore Math knowledge and expertise.
This summer, 16 teachers in grades 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, along with Tom, will attend Greg Tang’s “Math Plus” conferences.
We hope parents will join us on May 17 to learn more about this innovative and highly-successful math curriculum! RSVP here. Additionally, Tom has created a robust Singapore Math Resource page for our faculty and parents, here.
