Grant amount
NIS 1,500,000
Collaboration Between Mathematics Teachers & High-Tech Engineers To Teach Applied Mathematics
Collaboration between Mathematics Teachers and High-Tech Engineers to Teach Applied Mathematics in 40 Middle Schools
Collaboration between Mathematics Teachers and High-Tech Engineers to Teach Applied Mathematics in 40 Middle Schools
Teaching and learning takes place in a classroom which is by definition a sterile environment. Classes were intentionally designed in this way, uninterrupted by the outside world in order to allow for an effective educational process. As a result, students sometimes find it difficult to be motivated, to feel a sense of relevance, and they might not be able to translate what they learn in school into real-world applications. In order to overcome this hurdle, teachers occasionally bring examples into the classroom and conduct experiments that mimic real life experiences.
The PISA framework addresses this challenge by focusing on the implementation of class-learned ideas in different real life situations. The new program portfolio, currently seeded by the foundation, is aligned with this vision – teaching mathematics in context. The contexts are very diverse, ranging from personal to cultural and up to scientific and occupational. However, although these programs present problems from contexts in the outside world, they are still being taught in the classroom by the teachers.
In order to try out a more ambitious approach, we turned to Ta’asiyeda. Ta’asiyeda is the educational nonprofit arm of the Israeli Manufacturers’ Association. Founded 26 year ago, Ta’asiyeda operates joint programs between schools and industries. Thousands of students visit 400 factories and enterprises every year, some on a one-time basis, and many for a more intense project or internship. This activity receives significant funding from the Ministry of Education, as well as from municipalities and the companies themselves.
In order to provide a more hands-on experience for teaching applied mathematics, Ta’asiyeda consulted with Dr. Alik Platnik of the Hebrew University. Together they are proposing an innovative program that would operate in 40 middle schools over the coming three years. The mathematics teachers in these schools will be mentored by academic experts to work together with engineers from high-tech companies. They will jointly identify problems from the daily routine in the factory in which mathematics is a key element when considering possible solutions. These problems will then form a digital collection of 30 educational tasks aligned with curriculum topics, such as functions, linear planning, space geometry and statistics.
Teachers will be trained during 30 hours of professional development throughout the year to teach these tasks and follow a PBL (project-based learning) approach in which groups of students will conduct research in collaboration with the engineers. The program will work only in excellence classes in which two additional weekly teaching hours will be allocated for the program by the school or municipality. The program will include motivational workshops, as well as a variety of joint events between the schools and the companies, including hackathons and site visits to enhance the experience of real-life mathematics.
The success of the students in the program will be measured by using a diagnostic tool developed by CET, aligned with PISA levels 5-6.