Because of the skills and knowledge covered by the elementary curriculum, mathematics at the middle levels will be freed from much of the beginning algebra abstractions and instead will concentrate on numerical modeling, estimation, and, later, the use of algebraic formalism … The concentration on modeling, particularly dynamic modeling, will provide a key underpinning for a range of scientific theorizing, since dynamic models with feedback help students predict the future of everything from astronomy to the stock market, from global warming to school demographics. This will give kids a powerful, general technique to move between quantitative observations and theory … With increasing exposure to measurements in various fields of science and technology, kids will be able to design their first extended investigations and share their thinking and results with others throughout the world.
Predictor: Tinker, Bob
Prediction, in context:In 1995, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology commissioned a series of white papers on various issues related to networking technologies. The department convened the authors for a workshop in November 1995 to discuss the implications. The following statement is taken from one of the white papers, “The Whole World in Their Hands,” by Bob Tinker, the president of Concord Consortium, he has a Ph.D. in physics from MIT and a reputation as a pioneer in constructivist uses of educational technology. Tinker writes:”Because of the skills and knowledge covered by the [networked technologies-enhanced] elementary curriculum, mathematics at the middle levels (starting with kids 13 to 15 years old) will be freed from much of the beginning algebra abstractions and instead will concentrate on numerical modeling, estimation, and, later, the use of algebraic formalism, particularly with the help of graphers and symbolic manipulators. Transcendental functions such as exponentials and trig functions will emerge incidentally from models as particularly simple systems. Feedback and control will be central themes introduced in design problems and formulated into the dynamic models. The concentration on modeling, particularly dynamic modeling, will provide a key underpinning for a range of scientific theorizing, since dynamic models with feedback help students predict the future of everything from astronomy to the stock market, from global warming to school demographics. This will give kids a powerful, general technique to move between quantitative observations and theory. Experimental investigations will mature as the students mature, enabling them to coordinate multiple variables in various disciplines using increasingly sophisticated measurement techniques, supported with network materials rich in images and video. With increasing exposure to measurements in various fields of science and technology, kids will be able to design their first extended investigations and share their thinking and results with others throughout the world.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: E-learning
Name of publication: The Future of Networking Technologies for Learning
Title, headline, chapter name: The Whole World in Their Hands
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.ed.gov/Technology/Futures/
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney