Center for Curriculum Redesign

Australian Curriculum Authority joins CCR

Charles — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:49:32 +0000

The CCR is pleased to announce that the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority has joined as a Partner organization.

Robert Randall, ACARA‘s CEO, stated: ““We look forward to supporting your Center… as you pursue this very significant and global undertaking…”.

The CCR also looks forward to fruitful exchanges with ACARA.

Global Maths conference affirms the need to deeply redesign Mathematics standards

Charles — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:10:26 +0000

On April 22-24, 2013 the CCR hosted its “21^st Century Mathematics” conference in Stockholm, Sweden which attracted numerous influential participants from over twenty countries. The final agenda is given here.

The CCR is grateful to the Confederation of Swedish Enterprises and the OECD for their partnership, as well as to the Gates Foundation, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and the Moser Foundation (Geneva, Switzerland) for their generous support.

The conference presentations are available below:

Greetings and Introduction: Charles Fadel (CCR & BIAC)
Presentation: “Why should we fix this urgently?” Åke Svensson (CEO – Teknikföretagen)
Short remarks on importance to OECD countries – Dirk Van Damme (OECD/CERI)
Presentation: Why Curriculum Redesign? Why Maths? Exponential technologies and their impact on humankind – Charles Fadel (Center for Curriculum Redesign)
Presentation: “Mathematicians’ reluctance to embrace uncertainty (zero, probabilities, incompleteness)” Michael Kaplan (author, “Chances are”)
Presentation: Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology of Mathematics - Jon Star (Harvard University)
Presentation: Mathematics standards of PISA countries – William Schmidt (Michigan State University)
Presentation: Why do we teach Mathematics? (CCR to facilitate)
Presentation Katz ; Presentation Dauben: The History of Mathematics teaching; the tension between practice and theory – Joseph Dauben (City University of New York)
Video: Teaching Complex Dynamical Systems at Ross schools
Presentation: Mathematics and PISA’s future – Dirk Van Damme (OECD/CERI)
Presentation: Mathematical Thinking – Keith Devlin (Stanford University)
Presentation: Mathematics and the drift towards Purity – Sverker Lundin (University of Gothenburg)
Presentation: Stop Teaching Calculating, Start Teaching Maths – Conrad Wolfram (Wolfram Research)
Presentation: Mathematics and 21st century skills: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration (Michael Pearson, Mathematical Association of America)
Presentation: The importance of Computational Thinking – Maggie Johnson (Google)
Presentation: The Power of Visualizations – Staffan Landen (Karolinska Institutet and www.Gapminder.org)
Presentation: Many Eyes – Irene Greif (IBM)
Presentation: “Street-fighting” Mathematics for Everyone – Sanjoy Mahajan (MIT & Olin College)
Presentation: Workplace Mathematics – Arthur Bakker (Freudenthal Institute)
Presentation: What Mathematics does the workforce really use? – Merrilea Mayo (Kellogg Foundation)
Conclusion: “The Stockholm Declaration: Mathematics for the 21st century” (All participants, led by CCR)

CCR’s second Economists’ colloquium reaffirms the importance of Skills, and highlights Versatility

Charles — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 14:58:11 +0000

“Man and Machine: the Impact of Technology on Employment” was the theme of the second CCR economists’ colloquium (see Agenda). Several leading economists (Participants), among whom MIT’s David Autor and Frank Levy, debated the potential impact of technology, and reaffirmed that in an age of search and Artificial Intelligence, “21^st Century Skills” such as Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication and Collaboration were all the more essential.

The advances of technology were presented by Charles Fadel (CCR – presentation) and Rob Nail (Singularity University – presentation). David Autor presented the latest curves on the US economy-wide changes in job task content (presentation, page 24 in particular).

Other presentations were given by: (alphabetically)

Paul Beaudry – University of British Columbia (presentation)
Robert Gordon – Northwestern University (presentation)
Gad Levanon – The Conference Board (presentation)
Frank Levy – MIT (presentation)
Stephen Rose – Georgetown University (presentation)

Quite notably, and echoing CCR’s Futurists’ colloquia, Frank Levy highlighted the importance of versatility of knowledge and skill as a wise response to uncertain economic times.

The Center for Curriculum Redesign is grateful to the Hewlett Foundation, the US Council Foundation and the McGraw-Hill Research Foundation for their support of the research and the event.

CCR announces “21st Century Mathematics” conference – http://eventus.trippus.se/21stcenturymaths

Charles — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:05:12 +0000

It is with great pleasure that we invite you to the “21^st Century Mathematics” conference in Stockholm, Sweden, April 22-24, 2013 in partnership with the OECD/CERI and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise. This conference will be unique in addressing some of the most vexing issues faced by governments while adapting Mathematics standards to the needs of the 21^stcentury.

The conference enjoys the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Henri Moser Foundation, and the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. We are truly grateful for their support.

We look forward to seeing you there. For details and registration, please visit: http://eventus.trippus.se/21stcenturymaths

Futurists & Educators II – presentation and meeting materials

Charles — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 17:21:52 +0000

The presentations made at the “Futurists and Educators II” meeting at Harvard on September 20-21 are now available:

Jillian Darwish – KnowledgeWorks Foundation: “Four drivers of change”
Charles Fadel – CCR: “The impact of Technology (abridged)”
Robert Plotkin – Attorney: “The automation of invention“

The preparatory reading materials were:

Albright on Past Forecasts
Nagy on Wright vs Moore’s law
Vinge on the The Singularity and schools
Pentland on Big Data

Many sincere thanks to all presenters and contributors.

The World Bank Group joins the CCR

Charles — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 11:46:54 +0000

We are very pleased to announce that the World Bank Group has joined the Center for Curriculum Redesign. Ms Marguerite Clarke, who will be the World Bank representative, stated: “The relevance of appropriate curricular and assessment policies… cannot be overstated”.

The World Bank education sector strategy prioritizes “Learning for all” including the acquisition of skills for jobs, growth and economic prosperity.

UNESCO participates in CCR

Charles — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 21:29:49 +0000

The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization has decided to participate in the CCR, and we are delighted about that. Dr. Riel Miller, Head of Foresight, stated: “In light of the transformations taking place in the world today, it is essential to question the models we use…”

The purpose of the Foresight Programme of UNESCO’s is to, among other things, “sensitize members of the global UNESCO Secretariat and the Organisation’s Sectors as a whole as well as Member States about foreseeable evolutions and future trends in education, the natural sciences, the social and human sciences, culture and information and communication.”

The Gates Foundation grants CCR for work on Mathematics and 21st century skills

Charles — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:20:01 +0000

The CCR is very grateful in announcing the generous grant award by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, under its College-Ready Education umbrella, to fund work on 21st century Mathematics curriculum in light of the need for 21st century skills.

The Standards, Curriculum, and Assessments emphasis of the Gates Foundation intends that “clear, consistent college- and career-ready standards establish what students at every grade level need to know in order to be prepared for success beyond high school.”

Global Teacher Survey launched by CCR – make your voice heard!

Charles — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 14:21:03 +0000

The CCR is launching a global teacher survey, to collect opinions from around the world about its fundamental question: “What should students learn in the 21st century?”. The survey can be taken at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ccrglobalopinionsteachers. We hope you will participate and cascade down to your networks of teachers. Thank you!

Hewlett Foundation awards CCR for research on 21st century skills – economics of supply and demand

Charles — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 17:18:49 +0000

The CCR is very grateful in announcing the generous grant award by the Hewlett Foundation, under its Deeper Learning umbrella, to fund research on economic futures, and supply of and demand for 21st century skills.

The CCR will work in concert with MIT economist David Autor, the US Council Foundation, the McGraw-Hill Research Foundation, and The Conference Board, to:

Analyze macroeconomic skills demand
Design an employer “barometer” of skills supply

Both foundations are vocal endorsers of the CCR, as demonstrated by their support letters, which can be found at: McGraw-Hill’s; USC’s.