APEC - Tsukuba International Conference:
Innovation of Mathematics Education through Lesson Study:
Challenges to Emergency Preparedness for Mathematics
February 14-18,Tokyo, Japan.

Preparing primary pupils for emergency
education through mathematical modelingand teachers through Lesson Study

Chap Sam LIM
Universiti Sains Malaysia
cslim@usm.myOverview
 Importance of Emergency Preparedness

Education in Malaysia
 How to integrate Emergency
Preparedness Education throughmathematical modeling?
 An example of mathematical modelingtask
 Lesson Study in Malaysia – latest
development

Importance of Emergency
Preparedness Education in Malaysia
 Malaysia is blessed with no major naturaldisasters:◦ Tsunami in Penang, Malaysia – 26 Dec 2004, 68 dead,6 missing, and 300 injured.
◦ Property damage was reported as 1535 homes and1332 boats damaged.
◦ No infrastructure was reported destroyed ordamaged (POHD, 2005)
 Malaysians are not prepared for major disasters Both teachers and pupils do not have muchawareness towards emergency and disaster No school curriculum address this issue yetMathematical Modelling Mathematics can be used to "model", orrepresent, how the real world works.

 Mathematical modelling is the process of formulating

and improving a mathematical model to represent andsolve real-world problems.
 Through mathematical modelling, students learn to use
a variety of representations of data and to select andapply appropriate mathematical methods and tools insolving real-world problems.
 The opportunity to deal with empirical data and use
mathematical tools for data analysis should be part oflearning at all levels. (Singapore Ministry of Education,
2006a, p. 8; 2006b, p. 4)
MATHEMATICAL APPLICATIONS AND MODELLING - Yearbook 2010, Association of Mathematics Educators© World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. <http://www.worldscibooks.com/mathematics/7798.html>

Difference between mathematicalapplications and modelling In mathematical applications the task setter starts withmathematics and reaches out to reality. A
teacher designing such a task is effectively asking:Where can I use this particular piece of mathematicalknowledge? This leads to tasks that illustrate the use ofparticular mathematics content. They are a useful bridge
into modelling but are not modelling in themselves.

 With mathematical modelling on the other hand, thetask setter starts with reality and looks to mathematics
before finally returning to reality to judge the usefulnessand desirability of the mathematical model fordescription or analysis of a real situation.
(p.7)

KAUR, B. & DINDYAL , J. (2010). A Prelude to Mathematical Applications and Modelling in Singapore Schools MATHEMATICAL APPLICATIONS AND MODELLING - Yearbook 2010,
Association of Mathematics Educators © World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.



http://www.worldscibooks.com/mathematics/7798.html

An example of mathematical modeling task– related to tsunamiTarget group of pupils: Primary Year 5

Related mathematical topics: percentage, decimal, four basicoperations; time and distance

Task description:
 To create awareness about natural disaster happen locally,pupils will be shown a video clip of the Tsunami in Penang in
2004 (obtained from Youtube), and newspaper cutting on theincident.
 Pupils are then asked to consider a variety of facts and thenuse various problem solving strategies to establish how many
people may be affected by the disaster, what food, water andshelter are needed and how it could all be transported.
Lesson Study in Malaysia:
latest development
 Mar 2011- Feb 2014: USM ResearchUniversity Grant
 Title: Improving Mathematics And ScienceTeachers’Teaching Quality And Student Learning
Performance In Low- Performing Primary Schools
Through Lesson Study Collaboration

Participants:
 9 Primary schools – 3 SK, 3 SJKC and 3 SJKT 54 Mathematics and science teachers

2011: a great leap for Lesson Study
Lesson Study was officially introduced as an innovation to schools.
 Under the National Key Result Area [NKRA] project,◦ 289 schools low-performing schools and◦ 20 high performing schools were exposed to Lesson Study as an
initiative to further enhance teachers’ teaching practices.
◦ A four day introductory workshop on Lesson Study was organised by
the Teacher Education Division and carried out in six zones.
◦ A comprehensive monitoring system was also set up to ensure all
Lesson Study groups will be implemented accordingly and◦ with full continuous support from the MOE, the state and district
education officers as well as facilitators that made up of university
educators, teacher training institute lecturers and “excellentteachers”.
◦ began to disseminate and popularize the concept of lesson study toother schools as one of the key ideas in Professional Learning

Communities (PLC).

2012: National Key Result Area [NKRA]
Lesson Study project -expanded 289 schools low-performing(Band 6 and 7schools) Continue – monitor by District
and State Education Department
 Expanded to 106 average performing (band5) schools – by Teacher Education Division,
Ministry of Education
 Major aim and focus: to promote teacher
collaboration and professional development
community (PLC) such as Learning Walk,
peer teaching and Lesson Study