Motivating Minds with Maths

Step into Mrs Eileen Ong-Chua Li Ling’s Mathematics class and you can expect a life-changing experience. For apart from helping pupils make sense of numbers and equations, Mrs Ong (as she’s known to her colleagues and pupils) peppers her lessons with anecdotes from real life that drive home lasting values and formulae for a fruitful future.

Mrs Ong’s winning blend of maths and motivation has touched so many lives that the Haig Girls’ School teacher was named one of three recipients of the 2008 President’s Award for Teachers. This annual award honours teachers who have demonstrated outstanding passion, innovation and dedication, and is based on nominations by students, parents and fellow teachers.

Learning values through maths

Maths with a human touch is what distinguishes Mrs Ong’s approach to a potentially dry subject. As Level Head for Mathematics, she initiated a project called A-Fractionally Yours, in which Pri 6 pupils tap on their own experiences to design maths manipulatives (objects that help to illustrate mathematical concepts) that can help their younger schoolmates understand the concept of fractions. The project worked so well that MOE is now applying it in other schools.

Mrs Ong also developed what she calls a Maths Game Project that combines maths with values education. Pupils in Pri 5 and Pri 6 are trained as facilitators in visual games for younger pupils to learn maths concepts in a fun and lively way.

Explaining her teaching philosophy, Mrs Ong says, “I believe that all pupils can think, learn, achieve and excel. As teachers, we don’t give up on any of our pupils. We have to be attentive to their needs, believe in them and stretch them to their maximum potential.”

She adds, “I share my life stories with my pupils, paying close attention to topics involving values and character development.” Through personal accounts of people and experiences she has encountered, Mrs Ong seeks to help her pupils “recognise and capitalise on their own strengths.”

She believes that children “have a capacity to continue learning throughout their lives.” Her role, therefore, is to unleash the power of their minds, “Once they believe in themselves,” she states, “they are ready to take off and learn many things on their own.”

Self-belief is not enough. “I also give my pupils opportunities to discover that complacency and underestimating the importance of core concepts will not help them in their grades. Instead, a positive attitude and values like the humility to listen and learn will help them go a long way.”

Relationships that count

After many years in the profession, what keeps Mrs Ong going as a teacher? Well, she finds renewed inspiration whenever her pupils visit and thank her after they have graduated, oftentimes sharing how she has made a difference in shaping their lives and in preparing them well for the many challenges ahead. Each time this happens, “it never fails to motivate me to be an even better teacher,” she smiles.

And once, when she was battling an impending cold, Mrs Ong’s class noticed her predicament. “I could sense their concern, and everyone put in extra effort to get their sums right so that I did not have to go through corrections,” she recalls.

“After they were dismissed, one girl squeezed a small note into my palm just as she was leaving the class and told me not to read it until I was back in my staff room. I later realised it was a get-well card that she had made. It was a simple card, but I was very touched by her effort.” It’s a sure sign of how Mrs Ong’s pupils not only have their sums down pat but have taken her lessons to heart.

Look out for features on the other two President’s Award for Teacher recipients, Mrs Lee Kok Hong and Mrs Diana Lim, over the next few weeks.