Israeli educators and researchers will attend a conference to discuss a study report on five countries which excel in the PISA mathematical exam
International longitudinal research of education systems opened the door for comparative learning. Therefore, as we approach the mission of increasing excellence in mathematics and science education in middle schools, it would make sense to try and study what excelling countries have been doing. What curriculum do they use, at what sequence and depth do they teach it, how do they organize the teaching and learning in schools and how do they train their teachers. If Israel aims to reach the top 15 excelling countries, we should make an effort to understand the ingredients that contribute to the success of these top performers.
Therefore, we approached the Initiative for Applied Education Research of the Israel Academy of Science and Humanities, to organize a learning process which will be based on a study on five countries which excel in the PISA mathematics exam: Singapore, the Netherlands, Estonia, Slovenia and Canada. In each country, at least 3 teachers and school principals will be interviewed about the structure, organization, content, sequence, testing and public support for mathematics teaching and learning in middle school at levels of excellence. The study report will present their insights in detail as well as a comparative summary.
The findings will be discussed at a one-day conference which is planned for April 2020 for 200 Israeli teachers, school principals, education department heads, researchers and government officials. The keynote speaker will be Jo Boaler, Professor of Mathematics Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Boaler specializes in the “growth mindset” approach, which aims to significantly increase the number of excelling students. Boaler’s talk, as well as the other sessions and workshops, will address questions such as who can become an excelling student and how could schools raise the bar and promote more students to levels of excellence.