The Davidson Institute will prepare 40 outstanding teachers to serve as the coaching and leadership elite reserve for the mathematics teaching community
The Education Ministry operates an instructional support system for mathematics teachers on a national scale. The system relies on seven national-level instructional coaches (responsible for high-school, middle-school, Arab sector, integration of technology, information and knowledge, matriculation exams, and teaching accreditation) as well as eight district instructors. In parallel, each District operates its own coaching system, in which a veteran teacher is appointed as an instructional coach for mathematics teachers at a number of schools, to assist them with pedagogic innovations, didactic skills, and curriculum.
Over the next few years, the leading cohort of this professional coaching structure is expected to retire. Since instructional coaching is not currently perceived as a glamorous position and does not offer attractive pay, there is concern that it will be difficult to find quality candidates to replace the veteran instructors. Seeking to address this need and opportunity, Nirit Katz, the Central Supervisor for Mathematics at the Ministry of Education, approached the Davidson Institute. Together, they are proposing a training program for 40 outstanding teachers who will serve as the coaching and leadership elite reserve for the professional mathematics teaching community.
These teachers, who will be approached individually and recruited selectively by the present coaches, will have at least five years’ teaching experience, a B.Sc. in Mathematics at the very least, and have a character suited to leading the mathematics teacher community. The proposed program consists of two cycles, each lasting two years, with one full day of classes in the first year. It will include pedagogy and didactics, incorporating clinical teaching skills developed in various foundation projects; coaching and guidance skills; and individual professional support for their work with teachers. In the second year, workshops will be held once a month, alongside practicums guided by the program’s staff and the schools’ coaches.
The program will be overseen by a steering committee, headed by the Central Supervisor for Mathematics, whose members will be representatives from the instructional coaching framework and experts in mathematics teaching from the Weizmann Institute. As the educational arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Davidson Institute is a natural partner for this endeavor. The Institute’s Teacher’s Unit operates a range of programs and courses for mathematics and science teachers, including annual and summer workshops, seminars, and conferences.
The proposed program is intended to create a new cohort of trainees, who will serve in building the next generation of instructional coaches for mathematics. The foundation recognizes a great opportunity in collaborating with this effort so that to ensure the next generation of instructional coached is equipped with the clinical teaching expertise, which is at the heart of the foundation’s strategy.