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Table 4 
Implementation of the Singapore Math 
Curriculum, 2008-2010 
An equivocal response is advanced to the 
research question concerning the influence of 
Singapore Math curriculum contributing to 
elementary teachers’ confidence and 
competence delivering mathematics. Survey data 
found no significant change in educators’ 
understanding of or confidence in mathematical 
concepts, either for educators at any individual 
grade level or for teachers considered as a whole 
group. Interview data collected from teachers 
and students as well as teachers’ journal 
reflections suggest that there is a growing 
interest in Singapore Math as it pertains to the 
Mean ITBS Percentile 
Ranking Among All Schools 
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
DATA 
COMPONENTS 
OF 
O’DONNELL’S
MODEL (2008) 
FIDELITY OF 
CURRICULUM 
IMPLEMENTATION 
(FCI) 
Teacher 
Surveys  
Curriculum 
profile & 
curriculum-in-
use 
Moderately strong 
fidelity
(+FCI) 
Teacher 
Journals 
Curriculum 
profile & 
adaptation 
Marginally strong 
fidelity
(-/+FCI) 
Teacher & 
Administrator 
Interviews 
Curriculum 
profile & 
adaptation 
Moderately strong 
fidelity
(+FCI) 
Classroom 
Observations 
Teaching & 
curriculum-in-
use 
Marginally strong 
fidelity
(-/+FCI) 
Student 
Achievement 
Results 
Curriculum-in-
use 
Strong fidelity 
(++FCI) 

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GATEways to Teacher Education 
A journal of the Georgia Association of Teacher Educators 
VOLUME 14, ISSUE 1 
PAGE 37 
integration of manipulatives, conceptual 
development through bar modeling and number 
disks, hands-on activities, and real-life 
applications. Teachers’ journals revealed 
instructional areas that county and school 
administrators could target through training and 
ongoing support to cultivate instruction and 
strategies to foster student learning. Principals as 
well as teachers expressed interest in the 
integration of manipulatives, bar modeling 
strategies, number disks, and real life 
applications of Singapore Math, a small number 
of elementary educators were not receptive to 
the curriculum or strategies for teaching 
mathematics. Classroom observations revealed a 
large percentage of time devoted to teacher-
centered instruction, possibly reflective of 
teachers’ developing understanding of the new 
curriculum.  
Founded on an extensive review of efficacy 
and effectiveness studies, O’Donnell’s (2008) 
conceptualization of fidelity of K-12 core 
curriculum implementation acknowledges 
student achievement results as well as 
curriculum potential, teaching, curriculum-in-
use, and adaptation. Qualitative data provided 
insights into the first research question 
concerning how the new mathematics 
curriculum was implemented by elementary 
teachers. Participating teachers identified 
workshops and professional development 
sessions as important occasions that provided 
knowledge and strategies when delivering the 
curriculum in the first and second year of 
implementation. Classroom observations in 
Kindergarten to Grade 5 revealed elementary 
teachers delivering the Singapore Math 
curriculum through extensive explanations of 
mathematical concepts, describing curriculum-
specific vocabulary, and reviewing problem-sets 
as a class. There was a discrepancy, however, 
between teachers’ stated claims during 
interviews of how lessons were communicated 
and actual classroom practices observed. 
Classroom teachers’ focus on the pictorial and 
concrete, with intermittent attention devoted to 
student-centered application of abstract 
mathematical concepts and extension to real-
world problems, raise questions related to 
fidelity of implementation.
Accountability pressures, time constraints, 
and elementary teachers’ developing 
understanding of the new mathematics 
curriculum may explain why the curriculum was 
delivered with a prevalence of teacher-centered 
instruction rather than integrating more 
opportunities for student-centered learning as 
well as a preponderance of concrete and pictorial 
concepts at the expense of abstract concepts. 
Addressing these inconsistent instructional 
approaches could be taken up through targeted 
training sessions to differentiate the new 
curriculum for English language learners. If 
teachers can learn to leverage these teaching 
strategies by encouraging students to explore the 
less familiar exercises and by guiding students’ 
thinking through appropriate questioning 
strategies, educators may be more effective 
cultivating students’ independent thinking and 
conceptual understanding of mathematics. 
Permitting students to develop the important 
skill of problem solving requires less teacher-
centered instruction and more independent 
student effort or collaboration to discover 
solutions to mathematical questions. Further, 
when educators allow, in a supportive 
environment, all learners – including 
underachieving students – to get frustrated by 
mathematics, it can lead to dramatically 
improved achievement and test scores as well as 
increased student confidence and engagement 
(Stigler & Hiebert, 1999; Yeung, 2009).