Pearson Canada and Destination Imagination Launch 21st Century Learning Alliance

CHERRY HILL, NJ and TORONTO, ON, Jan. 9, 2013 /CNW/ - Destination Imagination and Pearson Canada announce a 21^st Century Learning alliance to develop Destination Imagination: Classroom Edition for Canadian schools.

Destination Imagination: Classroom Edition is designed to engage students in grades 3 to 9 in a positive learning environment through Challenges. These are rich cross-curricular problem-solving opportunities that foster the development of social and emotional skills and the 4 Cs -- collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication -- arguably the core of 21^st century learning.

Destination Imagination: Classroom Edition Challenges are adapted from Destination Imagination's library of Challenges created for its extra-curricular program. The Challenges are enhanced by Pearson's world-class expertise in assessment for learning, and professional development. They are correlated to the subject area curricula of each province in Canada.

Internationally, educational leaders have recognized that facility with the 4 Cs is essential for students to thrive in the global knowledge economy. The alliance between Destination Imagination and Pearson Canada was formed to address the growing need for in-school resources and teacher professional development designed to advance these 21^st century skills and competencies.

For students to succeed in a 4 Cs learning environment, teachers will need appropriate tools and new expertise. Many teachers across Canada are already shifting focus to become facilitators of learning rather than sources of knowledge. This alliance will benefit that effort. Destination Imagination: Classroom Edition will feature extensive professional learning resources and services for teachers, school administrators, and district leaders, to ensure the successful implementation of the program and 21^st century learning.

Fourteen proof-of-concept classroom pilots of Destination Imagination: Classroom Edition were successfully completed in six provinces in the spring of 2012, and a robust, scalable program is now being developed to be accessible on Pearson's Canadian Learning Exchange (CLE) system.

"Destination Imagination is delighted to be joining forces with Pearson…their experience in Canada's classrooms, knowledge of working with teachers, curricula and assessment expertise and track record of success all make for a winning combination," said Chuck Cadle, CEO of Destination Imagination, Inc.

"We are honoured to form an alliance with an organization that is a leader in providing proven 4 Cs programming to students. Based on the success of the early pilots, we have every confidence that this new program will become a must-have standard in classrooms across Canada", explained Marty Keast, President, School Division, Pearson Canada.

About Pearson Canada
Pearson Canada, Inc. is part of Pearson, the world's leading learning company. Pearson has global reach and market-leading businesses in education, business information and consumer publishing (NYSE: PSO). Pearson has one defining goal: to help people progress in their lives through learning. Pearson champions innovation and it invests in models for education that deliver on the promise for effective, accessible, and personal learning from early literacy, college and career readiness to professional education, through data informed instruction and inventive applications for mobile and digital learning.

About Destination Imagination
Destination Imagination, Inc., is a non-profit organization operating in more than 20 countries around the world, including 47 US states, all 10 Canadian provinces and two territories. Through the efforts of more than 30 000 volunteers—educators, industry experts, and parents-—Destination Imagination supports thousands of student teams, who compete in developing and presenting solutions to annual Challenges, culminating each May in the Destination Imagination Global Finals hosted by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN. During its 30 year history, Destination Imagination has mastered the art of engaging students' desire to learn, and has helped millions of students around the world develop key 21^st century skills that last a lifetime.

SOURCE: Pearson Education