Getting Seriously Addicted With Math
Math is not an easy subject to love. I mean, who likes Math? Most school kids absolutely HATE math. I, personally, don't like math, but I don't exactly hate it either. But I have long known that math is not impossible. Trust me on this one. S.A.M., on the other hand, takes your mess, fixes the parts you can't solve, makes you understand and solve the ones you can solve, messes it up all again, and gives some of the harder parts to you, and you solve em'. The key is teaching kids how to appreciate math (yes, that's possible!) by showing them the right fundamentals which they can apply both in a classroom setting or in real life.
Here in the Philippines, it was Enrich Asia which introduced S.A.M. to Filipino families. Enrich Asia is composed of professionals who actively scour the global education arena for new innovative approaches to engaging children and inspiring them to learn.
The S.A.M Approach to Mathematics combines the benefits of personalized coaching, which happens in the classroom in the company of other children with self-learning and self-discovery, which happens when work is taken home. The S.A.M Approach is designed to introduce new concepts in incremental yet sure steps to make learning easier. I'd say more of "slow and steady wins the race" concepts. During class, the trainers of S.A.M. introduce and explain the concepts and the lesson objective. The child then reinforces and applies this knowledge on his own at home through daily worksheets planned and prepared by SAM. Corrections or clarifications, if any, are done during the session the following week. You can say holistic now!
I, myself have been already enrolled into a Singapore Math program but it didn't really work out because it was kinda the same as the method I was already using, which is the traditional. I'd say that SAM is waaaaay better than that other program, and that's only the description they wrote. They have a lot of branches too, from Singapore (that's a given) to South Africa to Australia and to the U.S of the A. You can see the list of Philippine branches here.
The Holistic Math Approach of S.A.M.
S.A.M.'s shelves stocked with tools aiding in the learning process.
The S.A.M Approach to Mathematics combines the benefits of personalized coaching, which happens in the classroom in the company of other children with self-learning and self-discovery, which happens when work is taken home. The S.A.M Approach is designed to introduce new concepts in incremental yet sure steps to make learning easier. I'd say more of "slow and steady wins the race" concepts. During class, the trainers of S.A.M. introduce and explain the concepts and the lesson objective. The child then reinforces and applies this knowledge on his own at home through daily worksheets planned and prepared by SAM. Corrections or clarifications, if any, are done during the session the following week. You can say holistic now!
I, myself have been already enrolled into a Singapore Math program but it didn't really work out because it was kinda the same as the method I was already using, which is the traditional. I'd say that SAM is waaaaay better than that other program, and that's only the description they wrote. They have a lot of branches too, from Singapore (that's a given) to South Africa to Australia and to the U.S of the A. You can see the list of Philippine branches here.
More than just rote learning, drill and practice, SAM aims to develop math skills going into the 21st century. No old school (literally) mathematics here, boys! These skills revolve around heuristics (hands-on learning), logical reasoning, metacognitive (yes, that word exists, look it up!) understanding, modeling techniques and situational word problems. Rather than focusing on rote learning, quick fixes and maverick methods, the S.A.M program builds on kids’ foundation in Mathematics so that they can learn self-reliantly in their later years in school. The once a week teachings provided by S.A.M. is a well-thought of process that guides yet steers a child towards learning math independently yet effectively. S.A.M. programs start children with an assessment, so they start at a comfortable point. Here, both their strengths and weaknesses are identified so the mentors will know which to polish or focus on. There are also no memorizations involved in teaching kids how to answer math problems, ensuring that understanding is the essence of every learning objective. And because what they learn are the concepts, the greater benefit is that the skills taught through S.A.M. stays with a person well into adulthood, where math ceases to be just a subject, and already a way of life. That's how they do it. Analytical minds like math, and an analytical mind must understand what it analyzes.
A view of a local S.A.M. branch.
The Values Instilled by S.A.M.
Last, but not least, values. The secret of S.A.M. is that it instills discipline, responsibility and independent learning within your child. These values are not just useful in his math subjects but could prove to be helpful as a child tackles his other school subjects. Values are very important in a child, no, everyone's life.
Free Trial 2 Singapore Math Trial Classes
S.A.M. recently offered trial classes for those who would like to try it out. Here's hoping they will extend till June so I can give it a shot.
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