Singapore Math (Bar Model Method)

I had quick research at the bar model of Singapore math. (Actually, I knew Singapore math is a current hot trend in many countries though I did not know specifically what it is). The model seems to help learners to interpret and visualize information in given word problems. Students can shift from an abstract level that they need to interpret a given word problem which has only texts (with images sometimes) and the specific conditions someone assumed regardless to students’ real life, to a concrete level that the bar graph which the student learned before and drew by himself is much subjective for the leaner compared to the original word problem. In other words, for me, this method allows students to translate the original given word problem into the own bar figure (model?) problem before finding the targeted calculation. (But I think I should know more about mechanism of Singapore math)

I am wondering the effects of Singapore math in other countries. Because Singapore is one of the most competitive countries in terms of academic achievement, there are many factors which affect students’ academic performance such as their social capital. I suppose many teachers and educators in other countries attempt to apply Singapore math into their teaching approach, so I am curious about their results in different circumstances from Singapore.

 I will modify this post when I come up other insights for idea of Singapore math.