How to fill the gap in maths education between urban and rural areas in the west?

The advent of the digital age has brought unprecedented opportunities and challenges to mathematics education (Selwyn, 2021).

Adaptive learning systems for rural schools

Owerview

Project Summary

This project tackles a structural equity gap in mathematics across rural–urban settings in Western China. We will co-design an adaptive learning system and localized teaching resources, combining technology, teacher professional learning, and community support to address the intertwined deficits of resources, capabilities, and motivation.

Context:Pilot in Anding District (Dingxi) and Tongwei County across 6 rural schools; minority learners

face language barriers and low access to targeted feedback. I serve as Project Lead (design planning, stakeholder coordination, iteration decisions).

Design Model & Timeframe (6 months):We adopt the Stanford d.school EDIPT process: Empathize (M1) classroom observations & interviews; Define (M2) wicked-problem map; Ideate (M3) localized curriculum & low-threshold scaffolds; Prototype (M4) offline-capable adaptive system with error-analysis; Test (M5–M6) school trials on learning and motivation.

Stakeholders:Students (primary beneficiaries), teachers, school leaders, local education bureau, parents, and EdTech partners—engaged at staged intervals for inputs→decisions→iterations.

Scope & Evidence:The project uses a hypothetical design team and pseudo-stakeholder inputs, grounded in literature and realistic data scenarios; detailed artefacts (DT planner, stakeholder timeline, interview/decision logs, prototype visuals) are linked in subsequent pages.

(See DT Implementation / Stakeholders / Critical Review.)

Teaching Research

and Technology

Construct a new path for educational equity

"Technology is a key means to promote individual exploration and knowledge construction — Selwyn (2021)"

Project Logic Diagram

Based on the design thinking model of Stanford d.school, we will join forces with teachers, students, experts, and enterprises to create a mathematics education solution suitable for the learning situation in rural areas of western China.

From problem to solution

We will focus on studying the five-stage design thinking model proposed by the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University (d.school). According to d.school, the five stages of design thinking are as follows: Empathy, Define (the problem), Ideate, Prototype, and Test.If you want to learn more about these 5 stages, check out this document by Rikke Friis Dam.

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