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Greg Soldatenko

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Return to: ETAP 623 FALL 2015 - Byrne & Zhang section 8550 | Greg Soldatenko's mini-course


About Me

I am a co-founder and the general manager of East West Math LLC. My focus is on successful implementations of the Singapore-based K-5 math curricula in public, private and charter schools. I develop complete customized solutions for schools, which consist of Singapore Math resources and professional development to support successful adoptions.

My wife, Avital, and I have a teenage daughter. We also have a cute dog. I love to play tennis, barbeque and spend time with my family.




My Topic/Purpose

Formative Assessments in Singapore-based K-5 Math Curricula

With the advent of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics, the Singapore-based K-5 math curricula became very popular in many schools across the United States. This popularity, in large part, is due to the Singaporean students scoring high on the TIMSS and PISA tests in the last twenty years. The Singapore Math programs emphasize teaching mathematics for understanding and for problem solving. However, the tests that come with these programs are summative and they measure students’ understanding of the discrete units and grade-level material. This mini course is designed to educate elementary school teachers about the importance of using the formative assessments in their daily activities. It will also help teachers to design formative assessments for their students.

Learning Outcomes

Educators will be able to ...

  • Identify four Singapore-based K-5 mathematics curricula
  • Relate the Singapore-based curricula to the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics
  • Explain the reasons for use of Formative Assessments
  • Reflect on current research on Formative Assessments
  • Design Formative Assessments for a unit of instruction in the Singapore-based K-5 classrooms

Needs Assessment

The Needs Assessment consists of the three parts: Intent, Gathering Information and Goals. They are described in greater detail below.

Part I: Intent

The CCSS-M significantly raised the level of mathematical difficulty in each grade and created a paradigm shift for teaching and learning mathematics for both teachers and students in K-5 across the United States. In order to align with the CCSS-M, many schools adopted the Singapore-based math programs in K-5. However, the grade level content in these programs is above the current state of mathematical knowledge for many students.

As a result of the simultaneous adoptions of the Singapore Math programs, many students have gaps in their understanding. These gaps in student understanding do not always allow for straightforward implementation of the Singapore-based math program.

There is a lack of tools to help teachers fill in gaps in student understanding. Grade and unit assessments are summative and they do not help teachers to provide students with meaningful continuous feedback to fill in gaps or teach grade content during the school year.

A related problem is that many teachers do not fully understand how to relate the CCSS-M to the Singapore Math framework and they don’t understand how to continuously measure students’ progress toward meeting the grade and State standards.

Instructional Problem

Based on the above lack of formative assessment tools in the Singapore-based curricula, there is evidence of need to create this course and to educate teachers about the importance of using Formative Assessments in their daily practice.


Part II: Gathering Information

In order to assess the need for this mini-course, survey and feedback related to the implementation of Singapore-based K-5 curricula were gathered from teachers working in several public school districts in NY (Dutchess and Westchester counties) and NJ (Essex and Morris counties). Additionally, prior to implementing Singapore Math in these districts, several interviews with teachers and administrators were conducted in August and September 2015. A link to the summary of the survey, feedback and interviews can be found below.

The summary shows that that both teachers and administrators are not focusing on teaching students problem solving skills or implementing the CCSS-M in the context of the Singapore Math framework. Instead, in adopting the Singapore-based curricula, they focus on acquiring knowledge in the following three categories:

  • How to teach from a TG and textbook: planning, amount to cover, components, pacing and getting through entire textbook (and through supplemental materials)
  • How to teach from a “Typical lesson” template: components, flow & timing, demonstrations, how to plan it, getting "tips"
  • What material to cover to prepare in time for the State test

The survey shows that teachers misunderstand their role in the classroom. Instead of focusing on acquiring Pedagogical Content Knowledge and teaching for problem solving, teachers want to follow instructions from TGs, to “cover” the textbook materials, to “teach from a template,” and to teach “in-time” to prepare for State tests.

Instructional Solution

The survey confirms that, based on the lack of knowledge related to use of formative assessments, the initial intent to create this course was correct. The survey also shows that in adopting the Singapore Math programs, teachers’ attention needs to be re-directed toward teaching mathematics for problem-solving in the context of the Singapore Math’s framework. As a result of the additional information gathered in the survey, some content related to the Singapore Math's pedagogy needs to be incorporated into this course. In addition to educating teachers about the importance of using Formative Assessments, connections between the CCSS-M and Singapore Math’ problem-solving framework need to be explicitly shown in the course.

The Learners

In this course, learners will be K-5 elementary school teachers. They are in their 1st to 4th year of implementation of one of the following programs:

Math in Focus, Primary Mathematics, NYS Math modules or Eureka Math

Most teachers are experienced, with at least five or more years of teaching experience. Most of them are women in the age group between 28 and 55. Most of them are “generalists” and teach several subjects in elementary school. All have college degrees and many have Masters degrees. Most took only one college or graduate course in mathematics/teaching mathematics. Nearly all teachers in Grade 3, 4 and 5 are concerned with students’ results on State tests, because the teachers are being evaluated on the results of these tests.

Instructional Context

This mini-course will take place online. Therefore, learners will need to have access to a computer with a good Internet connection. All of the resources in this course will come from readings or lectures. Participants will be assessed through a series of activities related to their comprehension of or construction of effective formative assessments.


Part III: Goals

In offering this mini course, my goal is to educate teachers in the use Formative Assessments in planning their daily instruction and to help them teach mathematics for understanding in the context of the Singapore Math and CCSS-M. This course will also educate teachers on how formative assessments can help them align the CCSS-M with the Singapore Math framework. This course will also show that imbedding formative assessments in daily practice will provide teachers with the meaningful feedback required to close students’ gap between current learning levels and desired goals.

Performance Objectives

By the end of this course participants will be able to:

1. Define Singapore Math Formative Assessments (SMFA).

2. Understand the relationship between the Singapore Math Framework and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS-M).

3. Develop SMFA strategies to assess students’ prior knowledge and identify students’ misconceptions.

4. Assess students’ current problem solving abilities.

5. Design SMFA for the Singapore Math lesson plans.

6. Design SMFA rubrics to measure students’ progress toward meeting learning goals, CCSS-M and State tests.

7. Use SMFA rubrics to differentiate instruction and to provide feedback to students

The ultimate learning objective of this mini-course is for you to design Singapore Math Formative Assessments for a unit of instruction in the grade that you teach.

Task Analysis

Unit 1: How can SMFA help you teach mathematics for understanding?

Participants will:

  • Analyze the five components of the Singapore Math framework and the eight Standards of Mathematical Practices in CCSS-M
  • Use a graphic organizer to create the sequence of learning progressions in each grade.


Unit 2: How can SMFA help you meet your State Standards and prepare your students for State Tests?

Participants will:

  • Analyze multiple choice, constructed response and other problems on State tests
  • Use a graphic organizer to construct success criteria to meet CCSS goals in the Singapore Math lessons
  • Combine questions from Singapore Math workbooks to imitate State Exam


Unit 3: How to design SMFA to provide you and your students with feedback and differentiate your instruction?

Participants will:

  • Create SMFA Q&A lists for lessons
  • Create lesson plans to differentiate instruction
  • Create a guide to provide formative feedback for learning for anchor and practice lessons

Curriculum Map

File:Greg's SMFA Curriculum Map.pdf

References and Resources

  • Ban Har, Y. (2014). Bar Modeling: A Problem-solving Tool. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Education.
  • Ban Har, Y., Edge D. (2011). Teaching of Whole Numbers. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Education.
  • Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R.R. (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
  • Heritage, H. Margaret (2010). Formative Assessment: Making it Happen in the Classroom. California: Corwin.
  • Heritage, H. Margaret (2015). Improving Teaching and Learning Through Effective Formative Assessment. New Jersey: NCTM Regional Conference.
  • Hong, K. H, Mei Y. S., Lim, J. (2009). The Singapore Model Method for Learning Mathematics. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Education.
  • Hammond, L. (2008). Powerful learning : what we know about teaching for understanding. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Ma, Liping (2010). Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics. Anniversary Edition. New York: Routledge.
  • National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2014). Principals to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All. Reston, Virginia: NCTM.
  • Stigler, J. W., Hiebert, J. (2009). The Teaching Gap. New York: Free Press.
  • You Tube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekvAE7K3mmA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxJSCwcnac8&index=1&list=PL3ttUbu6au68Z1LWv8SCoBVy64tU1uS1W
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