On February 13, 2025, experts from the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction at East China Normal University (ECNU) joined forces with the Shanghai True Love Dreams Foundation to discuss innovative pathways for AI-empowered education. Through a hybrid online and offline format, the two parties engaged in discussions on key topics, including competency-based curriculum standards in the context of educational reform, AI-driven classroom tracking, teacher professional development, and curriculum evaluation and application. The dialogue also explored integrating the Dreams Curriculum with national curriculum standards, leveraging digital tools to optimize teaching, and enhancing teacher professional competencies.

The event was attended by ECNU’s Institute of Curriculum and Instruction faculty, including Cui Yunhuo, Gao Desheng, Yang Xiaozhe, Yang Chengyu, Zhou Wenye, and Fu Lili, alongside representatives from the True Love Dreams Foundation, including founder Pan Jiangxue, Chair Hu Bin, Secretary-General Su Yanhui, Shanghai True Love Dreams Public Welfare Development Center Chair Zhou Zhiyi, Director-General Pang Zongping, Deputy Director-General Wang Mengbing, regional supervisors, Strategic Research Institute Dean Zhu Qiuxia, Dreams Education Research Institute Dean Zhou Wensheng, Shanghai Jing’an True Love Dreams Education Academy Executive Dean Li Guoli, Co-Dean Liu Hui, Deputy Dean Wen Yuling, and over 100 True Love Dreams partners. The symposium was moderated by Secretary-General Su Yanhui.

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Chair Hu Bin, on behalf of True Love Dreams, extended a warm welcome to Professor Cui Yunhuo and his team, expressing gratitude for the Institute’s steadfast support over the past decade. Since the establishment of the first Dreams Center in Maerkang, Sichuan, in 2008, the Institute has been a cornerstone of True Love Dreams’ competency-based education framework. The jointly developed Dreams Curriculum embodies a philosophy prioritizing “questions over answers, methods over knowledge, and trust over assistance.” Through teacher and principal training, curriculum iteration, and academic research, this framework has created a competency-based education service system reaching over 7 million teachers and students.

Director-General Pang Zongping and Deputy Dean Wen Yuling provided updates on the Dreams Project, the operational progress of Dreams Centers, and advancements in the Dreams Curriculum, teaching methodologies, and teacher and principal training programs.

Academic Presentations

Professor Cui Yunhuo, Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, ECNU

Professor Cui commended True Love Dreams’ achievements in advancing the Dreams Curriculum, noting its alignment with the principles and techniques of the national basic education curriculum reform. The Dreams Curriculum has reshaped learning environments and introduced innovative, diverse content themes. Drawing on the Institute’s research, Cui addressed value orientations in education reform, AI’s role in education, workload reduction for teachers, and curriculum innovation. He emphasized balancing skill development with humanistic care, urging a shift in teachers’ roles from knowledge transmitters to learning facilitators. Cui also explored how AI can enhance teaching efficiency, optimize curriculum design, and reduce teacher workloads while improving educational outcomes.

Professor Gao Desheng, Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, ECNU

Professor Gao drew parallels between the historical “Hope Project” and the current “Dreams Project,” positioning the latter as a continuation and evolution of the former. He underscored the vital role of social organizations like True Love Dreams in fostering a healthy, multi-stakeholder education ecosystem, highlighting their significant contributions to national education development.

Professor Zhou Wenye, Director of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, ECNU

Professor Zhou emphasized the importance of enhancing teachers’ curriculum implementation skills. Through the Dreams Curriculum, teachers can transfer its principles to other subjects and use digital tools to analyze classroom interactions and student thinking, fostering reflective teaching practices. To promote the Dreams Curriculum in the context of regional educational equity, Zhou advocated for flexible mechanisms tailored to school-specific needs, incorporating diverse evaluation metrics and dynamically adjusting teaching practices.

Associate Professor Yang Xiaozhe, Party Branch Secretary, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, ECNU

Associate Professor Yang introduced the latest advancements in intelligent high-quality classroom analysis, now fully implemented in primary and secondary school settings. This system supports classroom analysis, teaching feedback, and evidence-based teacher training, establishing a comprehensive framework for intelligent classroom evaluation. Yang expressed enthusiasm for integrating this technology into True Love Dreams’ classroom design and implementation to support teacher professional development.

Associate Researcher Yang Chengyu, Deputy Director, Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, ECNU

Yang highlighted the shared emphasis on “effectiveness” in Professor Cui Yunwo’s Effective Teaching and Chair Pan Jiangxue’s Effective Love, stressing that professional execution is key to success. He praised the professionalism of the Go Far curriculum’s ten-minute video, which narrates children’s stories from their perspective, and suggested potential collaborations with the Chinese language curriculum to develop similar content.

Fu Lili, Office Director, Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, ECNU

Reflecting on her 16-year journey with Professor Cui Yunhuo and Chair Pan Jiangxue, Fu expressed pride in the growth and impact of the Dreams Curriculum. She also proposed exploring AI-driven solutions to reduce teacher workloads, offering a forward-looking perspective on professional development.

The symposium provided fresh insights for innovating the Dreams Curriculum and invigorated efforts to advance regional education quality through new policies and technologies. Both parties committed to deepening their collaboration, exploring new pathways for education reform, and expanding cooperation in teacher training communities, curriculum development, and interdisciplinary integration. These efforts aim to support the professional growth of school principals and teachers, fostering transformative educational practices.