Pathways: Science honored in Madrid
CHICAGO, December 3, 2013—Britannica Digital Learning announced today that Pathways: Science, its online program that helps middle-school students overcome science misconceptions, has won a SIMO Educational Innovation Award from the Spanish national convention organizer IFEMA, la Institución Ferial de Madrid.
The SIMO Awards are given for excellence in educational technology.
“Pathways: Science continues to receive an enthusiastic reception everywhere it’s available in the world,” said Michael Ross, general manager of Britannica Digital Learning and a senior vice president with Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. “Science misconceptions are a problem everywhere, and this program addresses them in a way that works in any country.”
Designed for classrooms in grades six, seven and eight, Pathways: Science covers key topics in the curriculum, addressing misunderstandings that frequently confuse students. For example, many students believe that seasons change based on the Earth’s distance from the Sun, when in fact it’s the changing tilt of the Earth’s rotational axis in relation to the Sun that causes the change in seasons.
The program tackles these problems with structured lessons in which students explore and test their assumptions with authoritative sources of information. Each Pathways lesson starts with a probing question to which students respond, expressing their existing beliefs about the topic. They then explore their ideas in depth, collecting data from Britannica’s extensive collection of science articles, videos and annotated images. Students use this information to support or revise their beliefs. The process leads them to new and accurate understandings that will better equip them for high school and college.
For Pathways: Science, the SIMO award comes on the heels of its recently announced Teachers’ Choice Award and the new version of the product Britannica just introduced, which features a number of enhancements, including separate views for teachers and students that allow teachers to track student progress.
More information about Pathways: Science and other Britannica educational products is available at 1-800-621-3900 and http://info.eb.com.
About Britannica Digital Learning
Britannica Digital Learning (BDL) provides reliable, high-quality products and solutions for educators and students in grades PreK-16. BDL products are created by scholarly experts, skilled editors, educators, and curriculum specials. They’re designed to ignite curiosity and collaboration in students and make teaching and learning more effective. Products include Britannica School, SmartMath, Pathways: Science, and Image Quest. BDL is a division of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. and is headquartered in Chicago.
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