From convergence to divergence: the development of mathematical problem solving in research, curriculum, and classroom practice in Singapore

Following the movement of problem solving in the US and other parts of the world in the 1980s, problem solving became the central focus of Singapore’s national school mathematics curriculum in 1990 and thereafter the key theme in research and practice. Different from some other countries, this situation has largely not changed in Singapore mathematics education since then. However, within the domain of problem solving, mathematics educators in Singapore focused more on the fundamental knowledge, basic skills, and heuristics for problem solving till the mid 1990s. In particular, problem solving heuristics, especially the so-called “model method”, a term most widely used for problem solving, received much attention in syllabus, research, and classroom instruction. Since the late 1990s, following the national vision of “Thinking Schools, Learning Nation” and nurturing modern citizens with independent, critical, and creative thinking, Singapore mathematics educators’ attention has greatly expanded to the development of students’ higher-order thinking, self-reflection and self-regulation, alternative ways of assessment and instruction, among other aspects concerning problem solving. Researchers have also looked into the advantages and disadvantages of Singapore’s textbooks in representing problem solving, and the findings of these investigations have influenced the development of the latest school mathematics textbooks.