Discovery Education Expands Partnership with West Vancouver Schools to Support Transition to New British Columbia Curriculum

Stephen Wakefield, Discovery Education
240-662-5563, Stephen_Wakefield@discovery.com

– Discovery Education’s Digital Techbook Supports Educators as They Shift Instruction and Enhance Learning –

Silver Spring, Md. (Jan. 25, 2017) – Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today announced an expansion of their partnership with West Vancouver Schools (WVS) in British Columbia. This new phase of collaboration supports WVS’s adoption of the new British Columbia K-12 curriculum and empowers educators to shift instruction to better help students learn not only the basics of reading, writing, and math, but also the collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills so important for success beyond secondary school.

In the fall of 2015, British Columbia’s Ministry of Education began modernizing the K-12 curriculum in an effort to give all provincial students the skills and abilities they need to succeed after secondary school – in university, college, and skills training, as well as in the workplace. This modernization effort is based on both leading practices from around the world and research on how children and teens actually learn.

One of the highest performing school systems in the province, the West Vancouver Schools have been at the forefront of the region’s transition to the new curriculum. In the latest phase of the school system’s partnership with Discovery Education’s Canadian subsidiary Discovery Education Canada, all WVS educators teaching K-8 students will be supported in their efforts to transform teaching and learning with Discovery Education’s Science Techbook™, a digital textbook featuring hands-on labs, digital explorations, an interactive glossary, and data analysis activities that help teach students how to read, write, and think like scientists. Since 2012, Discovery Education has partnered with the West Vancouver Schools to thoughtfully integrate digital content into classroom instruction and create modern learning environments that support the success of all learners.

“At West Vancouver Schools, we seek to provide all students with a learning experience based on the needs, interests and aspirations of the individual learner,” said Chris Kennedy, Superintendent of West Vancouver Schools. “Our new partnership with Discovery Education helps deliver the resources, services and know-how needed to continue fulfilling this mission in our rapidly changing world.”

Discovery Education’s Techbooks are breakthrough digital textbooks that are aligned to provincial outcomes, support a comprehensive curriculum, and are updated regularly at no cost.  Utilizing an inquiry-based format built on the Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate (5E) model, each Science Techbook includes, outcomes-aligned content such as video, audio, text, interactives with hands-on activities, and virtual labs that help educators differentiate instruction and provide a rich and engaging learning experience for all students. Additional student features include bilingual text-to-speech and leveled reading tools, as well as note-taking and highlighting capabilities. Currently, Discovery Education Techbooks are used by more than 3 million students in several Canadian provinces and all 50 U.S. states.

The Science Techbook also includes valuable STEM resources. STEM Project Starters encourage students to connect math, technology, and engineering to their understanding of science concepts to produce creative solutions to real world problems. In addition, the STEM In Action resources help students connect their work to STEM careers, which promotes a clearer understanding of how skills used in school can be applied to jobs “in the real world.” 

Embedded formative assessment opportunities help educators monitor student progress, and like all Discovery Education digital textbooks, the Science Techbook works on any device and can be implemented in a variety of instructional settings. To ensure each WVS teacher is fully supported in their transition to the Science Techbook, Discovery Education experts will provide WVS’s Science faculty with high-quality professional development to support the integration of the digital textbook into classroom practice.

A study conducted by independent research firm Merola Research, LLC found that usage of Science Techbook is associated with higher science achievement scores in elementary school students.  To view this research, visit: https://www.discoveryeducation.com/RockHill.

The Discovery Education Community will also continue supporting West Vancouver’s educators in their efforts to transform students’ learning experience with digital media. A global community of education professionals, the Discovery Education Community connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing, and inspiration. 

“Discovery Education is pleased to support the work of Superintendent Kennedy and the rest of the talented team at the West Vancouver Schools,” said Discovery Education Canada Director of Educational Partnerships Austin Dolan. “We look forward to working hand-in-hand with educators across the school system on our joint mission to create great innovative learning experiences that support the success of all students.”

For more information about the Discovery Education Techbook series for Canadian classrooms, or other services and resources from Discovery Education Canada, visit: www.discoveryeducation.ca.

About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in curriculum-based digital content for primary and secondary classrooms, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional development, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education’s services are used in classrooms across North American, 50 percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries worldwide. Discovery Education Canada partners with districts, provinces and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of Canadian education at www.discoveryeducation.ca.

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