Britannica Middle-School Science Program Wins Teachers’ Choice Award

September 12, 2013

Pathways: Science distinguished in classroom tests

Britannica Digital Learning announced today that Pathways: Science, its online program that helps middle-school students overcome science misconceptions, has won the Teachers’ Choice Award for the Classroom.

Teachers’ Choice is unique among educational honors in that competing products are judged exclusively by panels of teachers who use those products in the classroom. They’re evaluated on quality, instructional value, ease of use and innovation. This is the award’s twentieth year.

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 data and 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.

Britannica has just introduced a new version of Pathways: Science with a number of enhancements, including separate views for teachers and students that allow teachers to track student progress.

“Pathways: Science meets a vital need in today’s middle-school classroom, and it appears the teachers who used it with their students got it right away,” said Michael Ross, general manager of Britannica Digital Learning and a senior vice president with Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. “We’re very grateful for this recognition, which comes from the toughest judges of all.”

More information about Pathways: Science and other Britannica education products is available at 1-800-621-3900 and http://info.eb.com.
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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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Contact
Tom Panelas
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
312-347-7309
[email protected]