| New Mathematics Counts (authors - Tay Choon Hong, Mark Riddington, Martin Grier) is a revised version of the Mathematics Counts for Secondary 1 to 5 **Normal (Academic). This edition meets the requirements of the new syllabuses for the Singapore-Cambridge GCE 'N' and 'O' level Examinations in Mathematics. It also gives more focus to the implementation of the Ministry of Education's three initiatives: Thinking Skills (TS), Information Technology (IT) and National Education (NE).
The series consists of five coursebooks designed specially for students following the Normal (Academic) Course Syllabus prescribed by the Ministry of Education. The material has been prepared not only to help students excel in the GCE 'N' level Mathematics examination but also with a view to preparing these students to proceed to sit for the GCE 'O' level examination. Thus, the series is different from most others.
The material is arranged in a sound pedagogical sequence in which abstract reasoning is supported by concrete examples. For instance, in the chapter on Simultaneous Equations, the graphical solutions to the linear simultaneous equations are presented together with the algebraic solutions. In this approach, the graphical solutions provide the concrete pictorial examples and help students understand better the solutions obtained algebraically.
Care is given to introducing concepts one a time to allow students to grasp them with ease. Understanding of concepts is further enhanced by the judicious use of worked examples and graded exercises.
In Books 1 and 2, emphasis is placed on the mastery and application of basic skills so that a sound basis is formed for subsequent studies. The basic skills include estimation and mental calculation, and the handling of data.
Throughout the series, activities are used to guide students to use thinking skill, such as induction and find out for themselves fundamental mathematical theorems and rules. In addition, students are also introduced to the use of computer programs in a number of activities.
Through appropriate worked examples and activities, students are encouraged to use problem solving strategies (heuristics) such as estimating, building a model, tabulation, systematic listing, working backwards, using equations and simplifying the problem. Wherever possible, diagrams are used to make difficult word problems less daunting and more manageable.
To familiarize students with the book before using it, here are the salient features of the books in this series:
- Each chapter begins with a short introduction on the topic which is followed by a list of learning outcomes. Students can use this list to assess what they have learnt by the end of the chapter.
- Worked Examples are provided to reinforce the understanding of concepts and expose students to various types of problems, including those which help them to monitor their own thinking.
- Graded Exercises comprise questions suitable for a wide range of abilities. Th questions have been designed to lead students to use deductive as well as inductive reasoning to solve mathematical problems. (Teachers may select different questions for students of differing abilities).
- Fun Maths or Investigating Maths found at the end of each chapter (except revision chapters) has been specially included to cultivate thinking skills.
- A Revision Paper is provided at the end of each chapter (except revision chapters) so that students can progressively gauge their own level of proficiency. All students should be able to answer the questions in Section A while those of average ability will be able to handle the items in Section B. For the more able students, Section C provides the challenge
Besides chapter features, Assessment Papers have been worked into the book to serve as overall revision material to help students prepare for examinations. In Book 4, five chapters are devoted to revision while in Book 5, 15 sections for revision ranging from Arithmetic and Algebra to Transformation and Problem-solving, are found in Chapter 8. Ample exercises are included in Book 4 and 5 to serve as final preparation for GCE 'N' level and GCE 'O' level examinations respectively.
This series of books is also supported by resources for both teachers and students which can be found at the Publisher's website.
We hope that the material in these books will help the students appreciate the importance and power of mathematics in their daily activities and, perhaps, their future career, and that they will enjoy using New Mathematics Counts.
Above is an extract from the preface of the New Mathematics Counts Series.
**A five-year secondary education is called the Normal Stream in Singapore, a four-year education is called Express Stream.
Answer keys:
The textbook provides answer keys.
There are no teacher's guides for this series. Teacher's guides are not necessary for this series. The explanations are clear, and notes and hints are included in the margins. A Scheme of Work (for the entire year) will be inserted in each textbook. The Scheme of Work includes specific instructional objectives for each chapter by topics. We do not sell the Scheme of Work separately.
New Mathematics Counts Series consists of:
There are no workbooks nor teacher's guides for this series. Teacher's guides are not necessary for this series. The explanations are clear, and notes and hints are included in the margins. A Scheme of Work (for the entire year) is inserted in each textbook. The Scheme of Work includes specific instructional objectives for each chapter by topics. We do not sell the Scheme of Work separately. |
