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Review: 2-part CD-ROM Analyzing Teaching is based on videos of classroom experiences. The format is quite nice since it is all on the CD-ROM: the videos, the introductions and even a reflective journal which can be printed from the application. There are 4 different lessons analysed on the CD-ROM: 3rd Grade Language 7th Grade English [...]

It was good to see Titanic again – it is a great movie. Once again we see the amazing folly of man – and the over-importance men place on size and power. (I liked the scene where Rose comments to the Captain that Freud would have enjoyed analysing their emphasis on size and one of [...]

Good animation, good story, good movie. Very James Bond-ish, with rocket launching facilities hidden in a tropical island and all. Recommended for its range of issues – gender roles, teenage angst, competitiveness, tall poppy syndrome, family, (human) monsters can be created, putting vulnerable people down, etc. Oh, and seeing it in digital format was awesome. [...]

I am still trying to figure out why the Chinese are so scared of Falun Gong. Here in Singapore we occasionally get leaflets via letter box from the ‘organisation’ (they point out clearly they are not a religion nor a political group). The one that arrived yesterday told us of the ‘miraculous’ healing experiences in [...]

Visit to a Motivated Classroom is a US production by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. It is a 30 minute video with supplementary Viewer’s Guide. The lesson is on pre-calculus mathematics – sine and cosine rules, to be specific. The title caught my eye, since the lack of student motivation seems to be [...]

Many traditional classrooms have desks lined up in rows and columns that are sooo boring. The students have little chance to interact with each other (this is of course discouraged) so when they are asked to discuss something, they find it very strange. Where is the colour, the life, the fun, the interest in the [...]

It wasn’t so long ago that Googling singapore math would bring up my own maths website (Interactive Mathematics) in the number 1 position. But since the US got onto the “Singapore model” of “excellent math teaching” the term “Singapore Math” has taken on a whole new meaning. The TIMSS data (Third International Mathematics and Science [...]

Langkawi is a lovely island off the coast of northern Malaysia. We used AirAsia for the first time – and were impressed. (Except for the Boney M muzak playing while taxying – surely they could have done a deal to use Coors music, since the CEO of AirAsia used to be the manager of the [...]

The Mulu Caves in Sarawak are awesome. They are huge – the capacity is measured in ‘number of 747s that will fit in’. The beauty of the surrounding area was better than expected. A strong memory is the millions of bats that circle their way out of the caves at sunset. I especially liked the [...]

Feeling that I needed a dose of nostalgia, we watched The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” yesterday. When I first watched it (in my pre-teen days) it was when Beatlemania was in full flight – and they could have produced a terrible movie about the Beatles and we would have loved it. Well, they did [...]