MPM Maths - Discussion

[Poonie]

Wow! KingRascal what a lengthy rebuttal! No worries. We are just responding to Agonymum’s queries and it’s for her weigh the pros and cons herself.

[KingRascal]

Aiyo, pls don't use the word \"rebuttal\" haha. Cos that's the last thing I want it to sound like :lol:


Why lengthy? Actually all along there had been discussions on MPM and there were also parents who felt the same way as you do. I have many friends sharing the same feedback too. I have been wanting to share my personal opinion but never get to really sit down and craft my thoughts to sum them up. So there it was just now.

Well, you are right. It's for the parents to make their own judgement and decision. Even if a programme is good, it may not suit the child. I have also made some investments in courses that didn't produce the outcome I thought it would be. Anyway if we do not try we'd never know we don't like it.

Please don't take offence. It's just simply \"fate\" that I ride upon your entry to sum up my thoughts :lol: :lol: :lol:

You know from the above \"error\" I pointed out, the most frustrating one is in My Pal Grammar handbook cos my DS is using this book in school! Sorry, side track liao...

Poonie:

Wow! KingRascal what a lengthy rebuttal! No worries. We are just responding to Agonymum's queries and it's for her weigh the pros and cons herself.

[cafelatte]

I am in same camp as KingRascal, also been wanting to share some thoughts but didn’t really get down to it :


I didn’t plough through all the threads but I gathered that there are many parents that are impressed with the program. My son was with MPM for a short 1.5 years before I pulled him out. My decision was that it wasn’t worth the time and money spent.

To cut a long story short : The programme is such that there is no formal "teaching" but there will be facilitators to help & guide the children while they are working on the workbooks. These facilitators will also mark the workbooks and use the provided manipulatives to explain any missed concepts. These "facilitators" attended a self-paid 3 days MPM course before they started facilitating the classes.

Hence, I feel that we are paying for the workbooks. Whether you get a food facilitator or not depends on your luck as the turnover can be high and most of them do not have prior teaching experience.

Back to the workbooks, I do find some worth and that they are well designed and probably helps in developing critical thinking skills over long term.

[KingRascal]

Hehe, now that I have got the lengthy part done, it's easy for me to add on now.


I fully agree that the trainer/facilitator makes a BIG difference. They must know how to coach and guide the children so that over time, the children can appreciate the rationale behind the questions' intent. I once changed the class date to another cos I found the original trainer not effective.

cafelatte:

I am in same camp as KingRascal, also been wanting to share some thoughts but didn't really get down to it :

I didn't plough through all the threads but I gathered that there are many parents that are impressed with the program. My son was with MPM for a short 1.5 years before I pulled him out. My decision was that it wasn't worth the time and money spent.

To cut a long story short : The programme is such that there is no formal \"teaching\" but there will be facilitators to help & guide the children while they are working on the workbooks. These facilitators will also mark the workbooks and use the provided manipulatives to explain any missed concepts. These \"facilitators\" attended a self-paid 3 days MPM course before they started facilitating the classes.

Hence, I feel that we are paying for the workbooks. Whether you get a food facilitator or not depends on your luck as the turnover can be high and most of them do not have prior teaching experience.

Back to the workbooks, I do find some worth and that they are well designed and *probably* helps in developing critical thinking skills over long term.

[Mandarin]

I would like to share my experience.


My DS is in sec2 this year, he was with MPM since P3 and completed all levels in P6. He enjoyed every lesson and I particularly liked the fact that MPM teaches him many Maths concept early and in a very creative and easy-to-learn way. You may not realise it then but many of the exercises done in the early levels are introduction to more difficult topics later. The child just learns it easily. In fact, I found that MPM has helped in some of the topics that he did in GEP later. However, I understand that MPM has done some major revamp on the syllabus to be more aligned with Singapore school syllabus, so this may not apply any more.

As for my DD, I was really glad that I switched her to MPM in K2. She was then enrolled in Kumon and she absolutely detested the drills. She proclaimed to me at the end of K1 that her Maths was lousy and she hated Maths. I made a decision, which I never looked back, to move her to MPM as her brother had started MPM then and I was quite impressed with the curriculum. Within 1 year, her attitude towards Maths changed. She even won the Maths competition 1st prize in P1. She is now P5 and her Maths score in all exams has remained in the high 90s. Though the MPM curriculum that she is on is not closely aligned to school syllabus, she has learnt to observe, think and try to do any problems presented. I think these skills are more important that knowing fixed methodology in the long run.

I don’t even think that the instructor is that important. The materials are good (barring some grammar and spelling mistakes which my kids found amusing) and they are meant for self-learning, although occasionally I do need to explain to my DD when she is really confused.

The above is personal experiece. You may have to let your child try before deciding if the program is suitable for him/her.

[hquek]

hi mandarin,


can share which centre your kids went to? Thanks!

[jenybc]

Hi mummies,


just wonder anyone tried the one located in tampines mall at fey siang kindergarten? is it good? pls advise, thanking all in advance.

[cafelatte]

Mandarin:

..I don't even think that the instructor is that important. The materials are good (barring some grammar and spelling mistakes which my kids found amusing) and they are meant for self-learning, although occasionally I do need to explain to my DD when she is really confused....

The workbooks are just full of colourful questions, there are no instructions. My child is not high-ability and is not able to self-learn from the questions. I expect the instructors/facilitators to add-value by guiding children who has difficulties in working out the solutions and be able to explain the correct answers too. Hence, I feel that the quality of the facilitator is important. I have high expectations of the workbooks and facilitators as the programme is marketed as a premium programme and the fees are high (at least to me).

[KingRascal]

Hi Mandarin,


Finally I found someone whose children went through the upper primary levels under MPM. My DS enjoys MPM alot and I strongly agree that the concepts introduced are creative and cld lead to some mathematical concepts in later years. Take for example the coordinates he came across in k2...it's actually the graphical x and y thingy.

However I hardly see upper primary children with the centre. I was wondering if the relevance is lacking for upper primary. I also wonder which series (old or new) is better. Currently my DS is approaching end p2's workbooks. He's doing the new series. Thanks

Please share your opinion on

Mandarin:

I would like to share my experience.

My DS is in sec2 this year, he was with MPM since P3 and completed all levels in P6. He enjoyed every lesson and I particularly liked the fact that MPM teaches him many Maths concept early and in a very creative and easy-to-learn way. You may not realise it then but many of the exercises done in the early levels are introduction to more difficult topics later. The child just learns it easily. In fact, I found that MPM has helped in some of the topics that he did in GEP later. However, I understand that MPM has done some major revamp on the syllabus to be more aligned with Singapore school syllabus, so this may not apply any more.

As for my DD, I was really glad that I switched her to MPM in K2. She was then enrolled in Kumon and she absolutely detested the drills. She proclaimed to me at the end of K1 that her Maths was lousy and she hated Maths. I made a decision, which I never looked back, to move her to MPM as her brother had started MPM then and I was quite impressed with the curriculum. Within 1 year, her attitude towards Maths changed. She even won the Maths competition 1st prize in P1. She is now P5 and her Maths score in all exams has remained in the high 90s. Though the MPM curriculum that she is on is not closely aligned to school syllabus, she has learnt to observe, think and try to do any problems presented. I think these skills are more important that knowing fixed methodology in the long run.

I don't even think that the instructor is that important. The materials are good (barring some grammar and spelling mistakes which my kids found amusing) and they are meant for self-learning, although occasionally I do need to explain to my DD when she is really confused.

The above is personal experiece. You may have to let your child try before deciding if the program is suitable for him/her.

[mrswongtuition]

My friends are actually trainers at MPM (I won’t mention which branch) for quite a few years. They are paid almost market rates for private tutors and it seems like their job is easier than mine as a private tutor because materials are all provided and all they need to do is to sit down with the student and complete the necessary booklets. I still need to plan lessons, check progress of individual students, prepare my own lesson materials, think of creative ways to help students who are weak or not motivated, feedback to parents, etc etc.


If you like the structure and materials, I would say it’s worth the fees although there might be some errors here and there.

If you are looking for exam-oriented teaching focusing on your child’s weak topics, private home tuition would be more suitable.

Every child is different and different centres (with different methods of teaching) will be suitable for the diverse abilities/learning styles of children.

What may work for 1 child may not work for another.