PARIS — French students at the University of Paris-Sud have developed a way to teach critical, highly-stakes math and science lessons with their peers.
The system, called the cklla curriculum, is the brainchild of a group of math and scientific students at Paris’ University of Sciences Po university.
“We’ve developed a new kind of education that is focused on mathematics and science,” said co-founder and ckll student Yvonne Leveque.
“[It’s] very rigorous, it’s very rigorous in terms of its content, it requires a lot of students, and it requires them to be very disciplined in terms to how they learn math and how they do their research.”
The curriculum is based on an innovative learning system, the ckt, in which students are encouraged to work together to solve problems in a group setting.
Students must be able to solve a problem, write it down and then share their solution with a teacher in order to be considered a leader in the group.
As a result, the students have a great deal of flexibility in what they do in the classroom and in their research, according to Leveques co-director, Catherine Fournier.
In addition to studying and writing math and sciences problems, students are expected to answer a series of questions to assess their progress and also provide feedback on their progress.
These questions can be used to help students determine how much they have learned and how much work they need to do to improve, according Levequel.
She said that the ckkll is also a way for the students to develop and strengthen their social skills.
CKLL students are now taking part in a series called the Novembre Initiative, which aims to provide students with an opportunity to explore their own interests and to develop new friendships through a new type of interaction.
Fournier said that they hope that the Noves de la Vie, a series where the students learn new skills and discover new ways to connect, will provide the students with the motivation and opportunity to be active in the future.
There are currently two levels of ckls, the upper level and the lower level.
Levequel said that she is proud to see the students participating in the NOUV program, which has already received positive feedback from French students, including from the President of the National Council of French Teachers.
La Vie is also looking to partner with other institutions to provide courses in math and research, and is currently considering opportunities to create a ckkl-style program in other countries.