There may be no better candidate for a pathways approach to learning than environmental education, which is part of any complete STEM curriculum.

The digital age brings a seemingly endless number of options for today’s learners. But it’s also easy to get lost. Enter learning pathways.

Back in November, more than 400 educators, artists, students, and learning experts came together for the Pittsburgh Learning Pathways Summit. There, they exchanged ideas and envisioned pathways that would harness the region’s diverse learning opportunities. Now, seven working groups are looking for feedback from fellow subject-matter experts.

Experts say the learning kids are doing on their own time, outside of schools, needs more attention. How do we recognize this learning? How do we take better advantage of the new kinds of information and online collaboration available to today’s young people? One possible answer that got some traction in 2014 is Open Badges.