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In contrast to the most common math programs in the United States, Singapore math devotes more time to fewer topics, to ensure that children master the material through detailed instruction, questions, problem solving, and visual and hands-on aids like blocks, cards and bar charts.

SingaporeMath.com,

But school officials caution that Singapore math is not easy or cheap to successfully adopt.

For high-school math, inborn talent is much less important than hard work, preparation, and self-confidence.

Thus, people’s belief that math ability can’t change becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

researchers at Oklahoma City who recently found that belief in inborn math ability may be responsible for much of the gender gap in mathematics.

Math certainly is incomprehensible to many students, but from where I sit, poor teaching is often the reason. Math education is failing many of our students.

I have the utmost respect for people with math degrees who choose to teach in spite of the poor pay and discipline problems, but few people make that choice.

What if medical schools know that calculus is not needed in a doctor’s day-to-day practice, but that the skills she learns when taking it, including perseverance in the face of a difficult subject, make her better at understanding and responding to the flood of information she encounters in her work?

The kids took to it instantly, churning out a storm of interactive content. "We had 75 videos generated in the first week about solving linear equations," Gross says. "The students started forming communities, working together, and highlighting where they were running into problems."

"The kids are able to explain the material, and when they can do that, that's when they really get it," Kliewer says. "Sometimes it doesn't click when I do it." And opportunities for reinforcement are ever present. Students can take the phones home with them, so they're able to ask Kliewer or their classmates questions about math concepts virtually 24/7. "The connectivity has been the critical element," says Gross. "The device allows them to continue to use instructional resources when they're on the school bus or waiting for a parent at work. If they have a specific question, they always have access to an expert, whether it's a student peer or a tutor."