enVisionMATH
Today's students spend their lives outside school immersed in the digital world of iPods, instant messaging and computer games - yet they're expected to leave this world behind them at school.
Pearson’s enVisionMATH, now the number one maths elementary school education programme in the US, combines graphics and animations with innovative technologies which engage students in a way not seen before. In 2008 enVisionMATH received a ‘Distinguished Award’ from the Association of Educational Publishers in the US.
English Adventure
Pearson Longman’s English Adventure has enlisted Disney characters to help children learn English.
It comes with images, music, songs and even Disney puppets, to add magic to the learning experience. The programme is now helping children learn English in over 60 countries, from Chile to Japan - with a little help from Donald Duck and Minnie Mouse.
Booktime
Pearson is working with UK charity Booktrust to encourage primary school children and their parents to enjoy reading together.
In 2008, with support from the UK government's Department for Children, Schools and Families, Booktime gave over 750,000 free copies of Puffin’s Harry and the Dinosaurs Go to School by Ian Whybrow to 4 year olds in their first term of school. The books were delivered in a draw-string bag, along with a leaflet for parents and carers with tips and advice about reading to their children.
Read for the Record
In 2008, Pearson people helped set a new world record for the largest number of people reading the same book on a single day.
People all around the US gathered together to read the Penguin Young Readers children’s classic Corduroy. The Pearson Foundation donated more than 50,000 copies of Corduroy to schools, teachers, and education partners and matched online donations by giving children’s books to disadvantaged children.
Pearson Teacher Fellowship
Since 2001, Pearson has worked with the US non-profit organisation, Jumpstart, to recruit and train college students to work one-to-one with disadvantaged pre-school children.
Most of the college students have never thought about teaching as a career, but the programme has inspired more than 160 young people to take the next step. The Pearson Teacher Fellowship provides students with stipends, on-going training and mentoring to support them in the first two years of their teaching careers.
Learning Teams
Pearson’s Learning Teams provide peer-group teacher training sessions.
Led by expert facilitators, Learning Teams allow teachers to learn from each other, assess their own progress and improve student performance. A recent study of Learning Teams in Los Angeles showed a 41% increase in students’ maths and literacy scores. With a $6 million, four-year investment, Ohio became the first US state to adopt Learning Teams for 20 schools, with the ultimate goal of extending them to every school in the state.
Reading Street
Pearson’s Reading Street is paving the way towards improved student reading skills for children all across the US.
Independent research shows that students from all socio-economic groups using the programme increase their reading achievement from 30-50%. Research-based, and aligned to all state standards, <i>Reading Street</i> has a new digital component, integrating videos, animation, activities, songs, and audio to engage and motivate students.
Assessment
Pearson provides a wide variety of high-quality research-based educational assessments for students.
We measure students’ progress and identify areas where they may need further support, and we connect school systems to help manage data. Products include: WriteToLearn, a web-based learning tool that helps with writing and reading comprehension skills; Perspective, a powerful online remediation and enrichment tool that ties assessment to instruction; and Powerschool, a student information system that helps identify patterns that may affect student outcomes.
Angola language programme
Pearson is working with the Ministry of Education in Angola on a ground-breaking project to revive indigenous languages that are under threat of extinction.
Research suggests that children learn more quickly and effectively, with higher levels of numeracy and literacy over the longer term, if they are taught in their mother tongue for the first few years of schooling. The new programme provides textbooks in seven national languages in Angola and is expected to reach more than one million children in 2009.
