2012 PSLE Discussions and Strategy

[Nebbermind]

SAHM_TAN:

I will only experience PSLE \"hell\" 5 years later but can't help to peep into this thread.


I'm trying to understand. I did 10yrs series to prepare for my exams, I think it was A levels. Doing other schools' and past yrs exam papers, is it something like 10 yrs series? If it is I found it useful when I was doing mine becos I have to apply what I've learned. I figured by now the teachers have covered all the syllabus?

When attempting other schools' papers, one has to be very careful coz the level of difficulty may be very high. May have negative effect on the kids if they get a low score doing those papers. But if use mostly for revision purpose, without the 'scoring', I think it's OK.

[SAHM_TAN]

Nebbermind:

SAHM_TAN:

I will only experience PSLE \"hell\" 5 years later but can't help to peep into this thread.


I'm trying to understand. I did 10yrs series to prepare for my exams, I think it was A levels. Doing other schools' and past yrs exam papers, is it something like 10 yrs series? If it is I found it useful when I was doing mine becos I have to apply what I've learned. I figured by now the teachers have covered all the syllabus?

When attempting other schools' papers, one has to be very careful coz the level of difficulty may be very high. May have negative effect on the kids if they get a low score doing those papers. But if use mostly for revision purpose, without the 'scoring', I think it's OK.

Thanks for the advice. I will file it in my memory bank.

[fightingmom]

Bedoktutor:

Doing past year papers of various schools expose the pupils to various types of questions.
Most teachers (if not all) will go through the tougher questions in class and hopefully these pupils learn along the way.
(but whether these pupils understand or not is another issue)
At this time of the year of a P6, most schools are already practising full sets of exam papers, not topical worksheets.

I do agree with Bedoktutor that doing past year papers of various schools do exposed our kids to various types of questions.

However, it is important that the foundation of the child must be strong first. The basic concept must be there for him/her else it will just be doing one test paper after another.

Take for example, my DD was initially rather weak in the topic on geometry. I went through with her the concept, the formulae, etc. Then let her practice from simple basic questions to build her confidence before letting her attempt the non-routine or past years' questions. Now, she sees questions on geometry, she has the confidence to tackle them and even \"volunteer\" to teach the weaker students in her class during their break time on days where the class has to stay back for remedial.

It's like sending a soldier to a war - you need to train the soldier first (how to handle the rifle, etc) before he is \"fit\" to go and win the war , right ?

I usually would ask my DD to take out what her teachers had gone through in class on that day. Those that she has corrections - i will cover the answers and ask her to re-do for me to see. If she still has doubts, clear it once and for all either with me or with her teacher the next day. Then will try to dig out similar questions for her to practise. It is a matter of reinforcing what she has learnt and to learn from what she didn't get correct in the first place. (i don't say or refuse to say \"mistake\" )

[alng]

janet_lee88:

SAHM_TAN:

The school teacher method is something new? The teacher never taught the method before?

Looks different. I asked my son if he understood...he said teacher told class to copy it. But he isn't very secure using it.

This is the problem when the teachers are under pressure to finish the syllabus and whatever assessment books they have but there isn't enough time to go through the workings thoroughly with the students. My dd also has this \"copy the workings and figure out later\" in P5 last year. Luckily, this is not happening this year. It is either my dd understands now or the teacher takes time to teach. But there aren't many new topics for Maths in P6.

Janet, I agree that it is not the time now to learn new methods. Just focus on what our kids are comfortable with.

[janet88]

fightingmom:

Bedoktutor:

Doing past year papers of various schools expose the pupils to various types of questions.

However, it is important that the foundation of the child must be strong first. The basic concept must be there for him/her else it will just be doing one test paper after another.

It's like sending a soldier to a war - you need to train the soldier first (how to handle the rifle, etc) before he is \"fit\" to go and win the war , right ?

:goodpost:
Before getting past year papers done, the child must have finished the syllabus and have sufficient revision first.

I made this disastrous mistake when son was in P4...using past year exam papers as revision :stupid: dumb thing to do. Fortunately it was P4 and also early enough to rectify the mistake of mine.

[alng]

Topical worksheets versus full papers - I am torn with this for Science. My dd still has some more topics to revise and I make her practice on topical worksheets after each revision. At first, she worked on assessment books but many assessment books focus more on knowledge than skills. In the end, I got my dh to classify the PSLE Science by topics so that my dd can practice those topical questions after each revision. The school is doing revision by topics and after each revision, there are topical worksheets. There are skills based worksheets too. And the teachers have uploaded many science papers (and answers) from other schools and asked the students to practise on their own. Hope this is the right strategy for her.

[janet88]

[quote="alng]

Janet, I agree that it is not the time now to learn new methods. Just focus on what our kids are comfortable with.[/quote]

Son showed me the question and the answer he was told to copy in class. Told hubby about this…he told me now is NOT the time to learn anything new…or else sure get confused…even if the method is shorter but it’s dangerous using it as he could miss a step.

[fightingmom]

janet_lee88:

fightingmom:

[quote=\"Bedoktutor\"]
Doing past year papers of various schools expose the pupils to various types of questions.

However, it is important that the foundation of the child must be strong first. The basic concept must be there for him/her else it will just be doing one test paper after another.

It's like sending a soldier to a war - you need to train the soldier first (how to handle the rifle, etc) before he is \"fit\" to go and win the war , right ?

:goodpost:
Before getting past year papers done, the child must have finished the syllabus and have sufficient revision first.

I made this disastrous mistake when son was in P4...using past year exam papers as revision :stupid: dumb thing to do. Fortunately it was P4 and also early enough to rectify the mistake of mine.[/quote]Certain steps cannot skip ... making sure our child understand the right concepts for each subject/ topic is one of them.

I think i ever came across something like this: If a house is built on sand, the house will fall when the waves come... however if the house is built on solid rock (solid foundation), it will withstand the rain and even the waves... ( :scratchhead: think it's from my DD's children bible from her kindy last time... )

[alng]

janet_lee88:

Son showed me the question and the answer he was told to copy in class. Told hubby about this...he told me now is NOT the time to learn anything new...or else sure get confused...even if the method is shorter but it's dangerous using it as he could miss a step.

On shorter methods, some teachers and parents think that shorter methods are better. This is why some discourage the use of guess and check method. However, I have learnt from Dr Yeap Ban Har, the principal of Marshall Cavendish Institute and an expert in teaching Maths, that if a child uses a particular method at the first instinct, it is most likely that that is the correct method and he will get the correct answer even though that method is a longer method like guess and check. So we should not discourage the child from using a method that comes naturally to him.

[janet88]

alng:

janet_lee88:

Son showed me the question and the answer he was told to copy in class. Told hubby about this...he told me now is NOT the time to learn anything new

On shorter methods, some teachers and parents think that shorter methods are better. This is why some discourage the use of guess and check method. However, I have learnt from Dr Yeap Ban Har, the principal of Marshall Cavendish Institute and an expert in teaching Maths, that if a child uses a particular method at the first instinct, it is most likely that that is the correct method and he will get the correct answer even though that method is a longer method like guess and check. So we should not discourage the child from using a method that comes naturally to him.

Thanks for the advice.
His P2 school teacher back then told hubby to avoid using a certain method for Math because it was lengthy. So he didn't use it now but something else to teach younger one.