What are Singapore Math Heuristics?

Ever tried to help your child with primary math homework and got stumped? Today’s math questions can be challenging – even for adults.

Math education is changing. While many parents spent time memorizing procedures and formulas, today’s students are expected to not only understand and master the concepts but also to have strong thinking skills and problem-solving skills to solve complex math questions.

As new concepts and strategies are being taught, and homework turns from arithmetic exercises to using multiple ways to solve a math word problem, you may feel unsure or have no idea how to help your child.

In this series, the curriculum team at Seriously Addictive Mathematics (S.A.M) shares expert tips on math heuristics and how to use them to solve math word problems.

What are Math Heuristics?

Heuristics – a word that baffles many primary school students and their parents.

To define it simply, math heuristics are strategies that students can use to solve complex word problems.

Word problems can be solved in several ways using different heuristics, while some word problems are solved using a combination of heuristics.

To solve word problems efficiently, students must be familiar with both the problem-solving methods (heuristics) and the problem-solving process.

How many Heuristics are there?

In Singapore Math, there are 12 heuristics in elementary and middle school math that can be grouped into four main categories.

Source: https://seriouslyaddictivemaths.com.sg/what-are-heuristics/