While WORLDiscoveries^® is normally in the business of finding commercialization partners for technologies in our portfolio, some innovations are better suited to be sold direct to market.

Math Surprise, a line of mathematics and coding books, apps, and workshops are a prime example. Developed by George Gadanidis, a professor in the Faculty of Education and his team, Math Surprise has been incorporated into education programs across North America to help meet the growing demand for computer science education at the primary level.

What started as one standalone product has now grown to a dozen different products ranging from books to short stories and interactive web applications that can be easily integrated into a school’s curriculum. These learning activity resources help students and teachers engage with math and computer science on a more conceptual and emotional level. Gadanidis hopes to promote digital literacy, helping children become creators of the technology that surrounds them, instead of simply consuming it.

In the past year, Gadanidis and Lisa Floyd who co-authored their highest selling book, Coding for Young Mathematicians, received a Vanguard Award for being the first commercially successful direct to market product in the WORLDiscoveries portfolio. The book helps educators provide a low-floor, high ceiling, hands-on learning environment that better prepares students to succeed in a rapidly changing digital world. The book makes math concepts tangible, models them dynamically and gives students more control over the learning process. It is available to individual teachers, schools and entire school boards.

Gadanidis and Floyd have also embarked on offering professional development workshops to educators to better equip them to teach the curriculum so their students get the most out of the learning activities outlined in the book. WORLDiscoveries assisted Math Surprise with developing their workshop agreements and continues to provide marketing and technical support as requested. Math Surprise is one out of a handful of WORLDiscoveries direct to market products with the expectation of continued growth in years to come.

Source: https://worldiscoveries.ca/news/annual-reports/onward-outward/