SCHOOL NEWS

The Evolving Culture of
Math at HKIS

It’s not unusual to come across students in the Lower Primary Division who are impressively trained and disciplined from completing packets of math worksheets daily after school at a tutoring center. Many students are sharp and quick - but when a problem is turned on its head in a way they have never seen before, they struggle.

At HKIS, that struggle starts early, and students benefit from it - not just in math class, but in the larger sense of exercising their problem-solving skills in life. The goal is that by the time students get to high school, struggling with a problem becomes familiar and challenging in a satisfying way.

Middle School students in Leigh Simon's math class discuss a challenging problem.

Integrated Math: An Accelerated Program
Most recently at HKIS, there has been increasing emphasis on the importance of having an integrated math program that tailors to each student’s level of capability, in line with his/her preparedness. The school has also promoted the idea of continuity from the middle school to high school math programs to achieve consistency through a seamless transition. To this end, there is now a broader range of pathways for middle schoolers to progress into high school math courses, especially for those who are ready before the end of 8th grade. This effectively allows for the Middle School’s integrated math program to carry over to the high school, where elements of integrative learning already exist and will increasingly be emphasized.

“Math has always been integrated at the middle school level at HKIS. Integrated math is the way math education is packaged (the what). We approach learning with a problem-based model (the way), and teach a skillset (tool kit) that promotes independent learning (the how),” explains Leigh Simon, head of the Middle School math department.

“We are incredibly excited to see that our Middle School math program is gaining access to the High School curriculum for students who exhibit readiness. Learning pathways originating from the integrated math program in middle school are effectively providing a seamless transition from Middle to High School math programs,” said Simon, referring to news that starting from grade 6 through 12, HKIS has introduced a way to keep options open and tailored to the individual pace of all students. It allows for student choice, family choice, and/or teacher recommendations. Simon, who spearheaded the integrative program at HKIS, is excited for the new wave of students in this transitional space, which is currently in 8th grade.

Simon says that students love math at HKIS. “There is a lot of joy in it because it’s social, and it has many entry points. We offer lots of support and a safe environment that seems to be meeting more of students’ needs than ever before.”

Head of the Middle School math department Leigh Simon helped spearhead the integrative math system and creates a safe and social learning space for students to explore math.

Not Just Finite Numbers: A Process of Productive  Struggle
Meanwhile, at the High School, there has been a growing spotlight on the way math is taught in recent years at international schools. Getting it “right” at the high school level is important because it is seen as somewhat of a ticket to getting into a top-tier college.

Over the past 60 years, since the school was founded, HKIS has been at the forefront of an approach to math that has focused on teaching students to be independent learners and problem solvers, as opposed to a traditional style of rote learning that is characteristic of academy culture.

While rote learning has been touted as a practical means to achieving perfect scores and a practical education, particularly in Asia, HKIS has always leaned into the philosophy of giving students tools to solve problems independently from the earliest years of kindergarten through middle school.

This foundation of an integrated approach to teaching has served students well as they move into high school, where they begin to take a more standard curriculum of courses geared toward criteria that have historically been dictated by college admissions internationally. Colleges now, however, have a much deeper appreciation of students’ ability to bend and adapt their approach to a problem, and to seek solutions creatively and collaboratively. Credit is given on process in addition to finite answers, underlining the importance of thinking through problems.

“The HKIS math program allows room for students to be in a zone of productive struggle, as opposed to a safety zone or a danger zone,” explains Aimmie Kellar, the incoming Secondary Principal. The goal is to keep students in a learning space that is neither too easy nor too hard, but just hard enough to challenge them and motivate them to push forward towards success. Finding and staying in the zone between safety (too easy) and danger (too hard) can be tricky sometimes because it’s a process that ebbs and flows differently for different students. This is where HKIS math teachers are seasoned at observing students' learning styles and capacities through their written work and interactions with peers and teachers.

“Sometimes when students come to HKIS at the high school level from the local school system, this old-meets-new approach to learning math puts pressure on teachers to defend a new way over traditional methods. However, we believe our integrated math program provides flexibility to achieve the best possible learning outcomes for each student. We are passionate about helping students realize their potential and understand that the productive struggle is where real learning and personal success happen,” continued Kellar.

“The transition from Geometry to Advanced Algebra has been challenging for me. There is a noticeable leap in rigor between the two courses, and I have struggled with feeling prepared before each test. Sometimes, I worry that I have revised for the wrong content, or that I am not fully prepared for the questions that show up on a test,” says sophomore Isabel Khoo ‘2026. Despite these challenges, Isabel says she always felt supported in her journey at HKIS: “The Math Office Hours and TA’s have been super helpful and supportive in my math journey, and they have been very welcoming when meeting me for help.”

Head of High School math department Kevin McCaughey encourages students to actually wrestle with a problem instead of just providing the solution.

The Art of Wrestling With a Problem
Kevin McCaughey, head of the High School math department, continues to do what he’s done for the past 19 years as a beloved math teacher at HKIS. He says he likes to ask students to explain things to him. “The traditional way of teaching shows a solution. Here’s an algorithm: can you reproduce it? Colleges now want students who can wrestle with a problem. Here are the keys or tools. Let’s see how you use them. I’ve seen students come to HKIS from traditional schools and have trouble wrapping their heads around the idea of wrestling with a math problem. In the local schools, the ability to quickly recognize what’s being asked is a defining characteristic of someone who is good at math, but I tell kids to be patient. This way didn’t work, so let’s try something else. Try another way and get creative. Collaborate with your classmates. Be resilient.”

“Our goal is for our students to be exhibiting what we call depth of understanding. At HKIS the percentage of students who “exhibit depth” is pretty high (B+ is considered exhibiting depth) and it’s pretty hard to get a C or D. We guarantee that kids reach at least an exhibiting level, but beyond that, the focus is really more on the problem solver that the student is becoming. If kids are to have any value in the economy, we need to train up problem solvers. And that’s what we try to do - we try to instill problem solving in the student experience,” says McCaughey.

Encouraging an intimate spirit of collaboration in the classroom, McCaughey likes to assign groups of 3, versus say groups of 5 or 6. “Teamwork reduces the pressure of doing things alone. Collaboration produces something really wonderful at HKIS. There is something special about the confidence and poise that HKIS students exhibit in group presentations, public speaking, interviewing skills, etc. Math class is about more than just the numbers. It’s also about being engaged with one another, and coming up with solutions as a team.

The Door is Always Open
McCaughey encourages students to make an effort to work with their teachers. “Go to office hours and ask questions, technical or otherwise. The door is always open and teachers want to know who you are as a person as well. Sometimes, for fun in the classroom, I will write out a math problem and include something that is incorrect and see if anyone picks up on the mistake. It is a fun way to keep students on their toes, and to question what is presented if they see something that doesn’t look quite right. It is also a handy way for a teacher to cover up when he or she does make a mistake! It has proven time and time again to be a great way to be more approachable and not be simply a “sage on stage”.

As an example of the power of HKIS’s holistic approach to math education, the high school recently received a letter from a former student of the local Hong Kong school system and recent HKIS alum, Christopher Yeh ‘25. In the letter, Yeh expressed his gratitude to the math department, and credited HKIS for the firm foundation he got and needed in math to perform exceptionally well in his first year at a prestigious university in the UK. Yeh was awarded #1 Freshman at King’s College”.

Commenting on the young HKIS alum, McCaughey said he taught Yeh in 9th grade geometry, Grade 10 algebra, and Grade 12 calculus BC, and described Yeh as a student with genuine curiosity and passion for learning. It was not surprising to him that Yeh received an award that deemed him to be the top performing Freshman at King’s College.

High School math students are encouraged to make math about more than just math.

Math is Life!
“What are students going to learn in my math class besides math? They are going to learn problem solving, patience, and fun. It’s not just about numbers and equations. It’s just as much about recognizing patterns and seeing structures, which everyone does to some degree, and those skills are important,” says McCaughey.

“Perfect numbers are definitely the wrong focus these days. Kids simply cannot compete with just perfect scores anymore, and it’s much harder for students to get into the college that their parents went to. Top colleges are looking for something deeper than that, and my priority as an educator is to know my students, see them, care about them, and raise them up to be thinkers and changemakers,” concluded McCaughey.

From the perspective of rising junior Khoo, learning math at HKIS has become enjoyable, even if the subject is not her strong suit. “I have struggled with math since the beginning of my primary school days. I used to dislike it a lot because I was bad at it, and I had a hard time understanding it. However, somewhere along the way my confidence in learning math has grown out of struggles I have overcome. I also feel prepared for math in junior and senior year because I know I have ample resources at HKIS that can help me reach success.”