Develop the essential skills that are required to tackle the PSLE

• Power: Use a combination of skills and problem-solving strategies to tackle each question!
• Accuracy: Accurate representation of answers in correct units and decimal places is a must to avoid losing marks. Be familiar with what is required of you.
• Speed: Speed does not mean rushing through the paper to finish it as fast as you can! Short cuts and mental mathematics can help you save time and avoid making mistakes. Managing your time well will leave you with enough time to check through your answers.
• Stamina: The Mathematics examination is a marathon, and not a race. There is a need for consistent performance to finish the paper and checking of answers by working backwards.

Be familiar with the trending PSLE questions

Many questions these days involve visualisation skills - ability to mentally manipulate various alternatives for solving a problem related to a situation or object without the benefit of a concrete manipulative. This requires students to reason visually. For example: “How many cubes have exactly 4 sides that are painted if the whole solid is dipped in paint?” Questions that involve pattern recognition are also extremely common. Questions that test your ability to apply Mathematics to real world scenarios require students to apply concepts to given contexts rather than regurgitate what they have learnt via rote learning. You must also be well-versed in logical reasoning and be able to identify when a statement is “true”, “false” or “not possible to tell”. Non-routine questions are also popular. These require students to think out of the box, and consider how different concepts may be integrated and tested in such questions.

Create special codes for solving specific categories of questions

The more you practise, the more you will be familiar with the various types of problems/questions tested in Mathematics. The long-answer questions will typically require some sort of heuristics/problem-solving strategies to solve. Here at Mind Stretcher, we equip our students with MS Power Codes, which are different types of heuristics that can be used to solve different types of problems. For example, in problems involving ratios, power codes such as “One Unchanged” and “Equal Concept” can come in handy. Power Codes are a useful way to categorise your knowledge – the same way you organize your clothes in your wardrobe, you can use these codes to categorise/tag your memory bank of problem-solving skills, and apply them effectively and speedily to solve problems in the exams.

Practise perfectly and clarify consistently

Practise as much as possible on all the different possible question types that we are able to identify. Use sticky notes to tag challenging questions for revision, so that you may review these questions in future. Recognise the type of common errors made by students, and know what kind of errors you are prone to, so that you may refrain from making them in the examinations – e.g. wrong concept, transfer error, wrong formula, wrong or missing units, careless mistakes. Practice is good, but continuing to practice the wrong thing can cause major errors in your understanding and application of key concepts. Clarifying things immediately can prevent this!

Take stock of where you are now to form a concrete plan of action

Although this can seem discouraging for some, facing the reality of your current standing is crucial when deciding what steps to take next. Only when you know your current level of understanding can you make the necessary changes. If your current score is AL 4 or worse: Focus on strengthening your foundational understanding of all the topics, focus on the low-hanging fruits, and ensure that you maximise the marks in the more manageable questions in the exams. If you are currently getting AL 3 or higher: Expose yourselves to various possible types of questions, and also stretch yourself with more challenging and non-routine questions, so that your brain develops the muscle to handle such questions in the examination.

In conclusion, developing and refining the necessary skills, staying on top of trends and creating special codes will ensure your ability to tackles all kinds of questions. Practising with accuracy, clarifying your doubts and taking stock of your progress will help you move closer to getting your ideal score for PSLE Mathematics! Additionally, develop good habits of mind such as critical and creative thinking by observing activities in everyday life and developing good number sense. This will give you a more holistic understanding of Mathematics and make your learning journey a smoother one!