Math and Science Education: The Larger Picture Beyond PISA Achievements and “Secret” Factors

Changes in the industrial world and society today far outpace the cycles of education reform in the curriculum. The digital age and social media have changed the nature of knowledge acquisition in mathematics and science. Complexity of problems, technological innovations, multi-disciplinary interfaces and the availability of big data analytics call for new ways of learning in mathematics and science education. PISA achievements in Singapore is a corollary of continuous incremental improvements plus quantum leap changes in the Singapore Math and Science curricula ecology. This chapter aims to provide the big picture of how mathematics education and science education in Singapore ride on waves of change to equip learners with the kinds of thinking needed for the future world of work. Beyond the rigor of well-planned and resourced syllabuses rich in fundamentals and heuristics are the pedagogical approaches of process thinking and applied learning. The aligning of learning with applications in an ecology of inquiry and authentic experiences at every level has been catalytic for the success of Singapore learners. In the light of all these is the teacher policy factor that brings about the Math and Science teachers who can bring about student engagement and agency in their pursuit of STEM aspirations.