The Enacted Curriculum—Students’ Perspectives of Good Mathematics Lessons in Singapore Secondary Schools

This chapter presents the characteristics of good mathematics lessons from the lens of typical secondary school students in Singapore. This chapter begins by examining the student perception in relation to the five inter-related problem-solving components embodied in the Singapore School Mathematics Curriculum Framework (SSMCF): concepts, skills, processes, metacognition and attitudes. Data from post-lesson student interviews which were stimulated by videos of the lesson revealed that the development of proficiencies in mathematics skills was most commonly emphasised in the “highs” of mathematics lessons while emphasis on metacognitive strategies was the least emphasised. This was true for all four courses of study (i.e. Integrated Programme, Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical)). The chapter further categorises the student data into teacher approaches and class activities that have been perceived by the students as the highs of mathematics lessons. While the perceived value for teacher approaches differ across all four courses of study, class practice and peer discussion were the most commonly cited class activities for all courses of study. Findings from the study provide important implications on the way to better engage students in the teaching and learning of mathematics.