Understanding 21stMP

21stMP: An Overview of the 21st Century Math Project

This project will engage millions of students on one website in a customized student-centered high school math curriculum (Algebra 1 through Multivariable Calculus). Classrooms will become student-driven work environments. While students will have traditional classmates and teachers, they will also have virtual classmates from across the globe. These virtual classmates will be “circled” dynamically in groups by similar progress and position in the course. This allows students to always be connected with like-skilled peers. This connectivity will enrich and deepen the scope of learning projects.

The project will be delivered online, free of cost. Similar to Khan Academy, but built by teachers, this program will provide numerous videos with differentiated teaching approaches for each lesson to meet students’ varied learning styles. The program will choose the “teacher” for each individual student that works best for them. The program will utilize Web 2.0 networking to provide students with a global learning community.

Please see my video, Changing the Learning Environment, for an overview of the paradigm shift in learning. This video suggests how a single classroom might shift from teacher-driven to student-driven. It also raises the importance of mastery-based learning. However, for disruptive change to occur, as Christensen writes in Disrupting Class, a product must be cheap and it must be easily accessible. Christensen corroborates the fundamental ideas behind this project: the shift in education must be technology-driven creating a student-centric environment.


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Problems and Issues that the project will address


Poor instruction and overcrowded classes keep our students from reaching their potential. This project will offer a dynamic student-centered learning platform. The progression of material will be presented in a “mastery” approach to learning, which allows students to advance through the curriculum at their own pace, always being appropriately challenged. Recently, the Internet has become saturated by online education services, which are too often created by young entrepreneurs who have little real teaching experience. As a result, the products lack appropriate pedagogy that only active teachers can provide. This product is built by master teachers actively involved in education. Annual conferences will provide opportunity for reflection, evaluation and improvement.
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