Two MIT professors traveled to Jordan this month to help kick off a new initiative called Blended Learning Open Source Science or Math Studies (BLOSSOMS), a joint international collaboration of educators from the United States, Jordan and Pakistan.
Richard Larson, director of the Center for Engineering Systems Fundamentals and Mitsui Professor of Engineering Systems and Civil and Environmental Engineering; and Walter Lewin, professor of physics, traveled to meet counterparts in Jordan -- including educators from Jordan University, the Jordan University of Science and Technology and the Jordan Educational Initiative -- who will help run the BLOSSOMS program.
BLOSSOMS aims to develop a large, free repository of science and math interactive video modules for high school students created by gifted volunteer teachers from around the world, seeded initially by MIT faculty members and partnering educators in Jordan and Pakistan. The project seeks to develop deeper and richer skills in high school students, to enhance their critical-thinking skills and to motivate them to pursue careers in science, math or engineering.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on November 19, 2008 (download PDF).
