Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Nuffield Mathematics Project was launched in the year 1964 for primary
school in Britain and financed by the Nuffield Foundation and support by British
Education Ministry. The main aim of this project was to introduce a new approach
as well as new method in teaching and learning of mathematics for primary
student. This project based on Piaget learning theory which emphasized the
importance of learning mathematics through concrete experience and according
to the pupils level of cognitive development between the age of 6 and 12 years
old. The philosophy of NMP can be explained with the following expressions:
I listen, I forget;
I see, I remember;
I do, I understand.
The contents of syllabus under SMP were different from that of the
elementary mathematics syllabus and the contents included set, number system,
structural algebra, transformation, inequalities, linear programming, statistics,
vector, matrix and probability. The text books published by the SMP received
good response and were used extensively in secondary school in England.
However, the contents in SMP text books were too academic and abstract. It
needed a lot of complex logical reasoning in order to understand this concept.
For me, although this project achieved the aim of improving the standard
of mathematics but it’s not suitable for students who are weak in mathematics.
This syllabus will make a gape between the excellent student and weak student.
So, I suggest that the syllabus must have the activities or methods to make the
students who are weak in mathematics are easy to understand about the topics
that contained in syllabus such as study group, use a ICT, show the notes in
graphic organizer and others. This method will improve the student’s
understanding and closed the gape between excellent and weak student. Beside
that, the student also should be taken the initiatives to make a study group with
their friends to discuss about knowledge. The excellent student will share and
help the weak student from this activity. So, the weak student will understand
about the certain topics that they cannot understand before. The student also can
ask their teacher to guide their study group.
School Mathematics Study Group is set up in the year 1958 in U.S.A and
was initiated in Stamford University under the leadership of Professor Begel E.G.
The objectives of setting up SMSG were:
Although SMSG syllabus was too academic and not suitable for students
who were weak in mathematics, it could not be denied that this project was
successful effort to raise the standard of mathematics in school. This project has
eventually made impacts in the development of our curriculum such as KBSR
level 1 mathematics textbooks presented in the form of activity books was the
idea derived out of the research finding from the SMSG Project.
For the conclusion, the NMP, SMG, SMP and SMSG have eventually
made a big impact in the development of our curriculum. For me, this research or
project had realized me that I am responsible to use the best method for learning
and teaching process. The best methods that I choose will make my learning
process are more interesting and the student will understand the content that I
teach them. Beside that, I will sacrifice my time or money to attend the
programme for change or create a new curriculum. For overcome the fast
changing national curriculum, I am prepare myself with the contents of
knowledge, teaching skills, emotional quotient and others. Beside that, I also
ready to use the latest technology method such as LCD, computer and others in
my teaching and learning activities. Finally, our curriculum is the best of the
others curriculum in the world because our curriculum were created and modified
from the greatest research. The Ministry of Education must always review the
curriculum to make sure our curriculum in a right way.