Tamra is an Arab city in the northern district of Israel located in the Lower Galilee with a population of 32,800. In Tamra there are three high schools and four middle schools, with 2,915 students attending the high schools. Over the last few years, the city has already seen a significant improvement in their mathematics and […]
When a high school student decides which subjects to major in for matriculation, their selection is based on a number of factors. Similarly, when difficulties in the learning process arise, and they are debating whether to drop out or persevere, they weigh up a number of considerations. The ability to intervene and influence these important […]
Preferences for different science majors in upper secondary school seem to comply with a clear gender split. While male students comprise the majority in advanced physics and computer science electives, chemistry and biology classes are filled with predominantly female students. This spit continues to deepen in higher education and the labor market. Student achievements in […]
In the rural periphery of Israel, the study of Physics in secondary schools suffers from unique circumstances. Towns and villages are typically small in size, high quality teachers are few and far between, and laboratory equipment is scarce. Under these conditions the emergence of a regional Physics teaching center in the Western Galilee in recent […]
Mathematics and science teachers in Israel teach large, heterogeneous classes. Under these circumstances, diagnosing each individual student’s capabilities and difficulties in real-time and adapting teaching methods accordingly is challenging, even for the most skilled teachers. A consequence of this is that many teachers teach to the average student’s ability, and cannot dedicate the necessary attention […]
Several years ago, 15 small local authoritiesin the Eastern Galilee in the north of Israeldecided to map the pedagogical resources ofscience education in the region, and found a low number of students studying the sciences at advanced level. In order to confrontthis shortage, they decided to work together, to prioritize it as a joint goal […]
Physics is a demanding subject which requires high quality and creative teaching in order to attract and retain student interest. The accepted way of teaching Physics in Israeli schools is however very traditional, focusing on ‘chalk, talk and drill’ pedagogy. This method is not very popular both among excelling science students seeking intellectual challenges, and […]
The study of advanced Mathematics and Physics in Israeli high schools is diminishing. The number of students, who choose to study these subjects for high-level matriculation and perform well, is limited due to a number of factors. One of these factors is that most schools do not set a clear objective to continuously improve their […]
In most schools physics is taught as part of an integrated science subject until the tenth grade. Most science teachers at this level tend to have a background in biology, not physics. As a result, physics is somewhat sidelined and many capable students lack sufficient knowledge of the subject, which leads them to abstain from […]
Israel is facing a consistent and continuous decline in the number of high school graduates taking the advanced track of mathematics, from an average of 15% of the cohort to approximately 10%. There are various causes for this phenomenon, some of which relate to the perception by students and their parents, as well as by […]
Teach First Israel (TFI) recruits high achieving university graduates to teach for at least two years in challenging schools, and ultimately become leaders working to improve access to quality education. It is one of a number of such programs operating around the world, based on the highly successful model, Teach for America.In order to address […]
Khan Academy is an international initiative which was originally created to help students with their homework assignments. Founded by Salman Khan, a former high-tech engineer, the US-based project started by uploading ten-minute video clips to You-Tube, in which Khan himself presents and explains a number of different subject areas in a fun and interesting way. […]
There is a growing shortage of Mathematics and Physics teachers all over Israel. Older generations are retiring, and newly qualified engineers, scientists and mathematicians have many tempting alternatives to the teaching profession. This shortage means that many schools cannot open Advanced Science tracks, nor do they have much choice when hiring a Mathematics teacher. In […]
Amal is a veteran school network, which was established in 1928. Today it serves 40,000 students in 128 schools across Israel’s localities and communities, particularly in the social and geographic periphery. In recent years the network leadership noticed that performance in advanced mathematics of its students must improve. Although 27 of its 30 high schools […]
The overall decline in Israel in the number of high school students matriculating with mathematics and science majors has been felt even more keenly in the national religious sector. Testimonies from teachers point to a wider spectrum of unique factors adding to the negative trend in the religious education system. They stress that the student-body […]
Of all high school physics students in Israel, only 35% are girls. Similarly, the dropout rate for female students from the advanced track in mathematics is double than that of male students. There are many reasons for this phenomenon; including differences in the level of support from parents, schools advisors and teachers, as well the […]
The Trump Foundation is unique in the sense that it is highly concentrated to achieve a very specific measurable goal – to improve teaching so that more students graduate their high school studies with mathematics and science majors. The foundation’s portfolio reflects this focus, and although each project acts independently, they all share the same […]
Female students make up less than third of the student body of Physics and Computer Science in Israeli high schools and they constitute a minority in the advanced tracks in Mathematics. In disadvantaged areas this phenomenon is even greater, since schools tend to focus on the weaker students. Girls who have the potential to graduate […]
The city of Bat-Yam is located just south of Tel Aviv, and is home to 130,000 residents. The city has 9 secondary schools, which serve approximately 6,000 students. Over the years, the city has chosen to focus on the needs of its weaker students, aiming to improve their overall academic success and eligibility for matriculation, […]
The teaching profession in Israel lacks effective personnel management and long term planning, which are vital for retaining excellent teachers in the teaching profession; providing them with professional development; identifying and filling position openings, and integrating new teachers into schools. However, in Israel teachers are typically treated as if supply was much greater than demand, […]
In 2013 the foundation approved a three-year grant to Shiur Acher to conduct a pilot program aimed to integrate high tech employees on a voluntary basis as teaching assistants for mathematics and science teachers in secondary schools. The goal was to assist teachers of the sciences in junior high schools to prepare and encourage more […]
In recent years, fewer Israeli students are choosing the advanced Mathematics and Science studies in high school and many who do, eventually drop-out due to learning difficulties. Despite strong evidence that the quality of teaching is the main influence on student motivation and achievement, teachers are often not trained and sometimes are not encouraged to […]
Over the last 25 years, Israel’s education policy has been to expand access to higher education. The state supported the establishment of regional academic colleges and allocated them budgets to incorporate a significantly larger cohort of students. As a result, the percentage of undergraduates grew from 23% in 1990 to 48% in 2014, making Israel […]
Be’er Sheva, the southern city known as the “capital of the Negev”, is one of the largest cities in the country, with 200,000 residents. It has 14,500 students enrolled in 17 secondary schools (three of which do not prepare their students for matriculation examinations). In 2015, 9.2% of students took the 5-unit mathematics matriculation, meaning […]
The city of Ra’anana is located in the center of the country with a population of over 70,000. The city’s secondary schools are divided into nine middle schools and seven high schools, which serve some 6,000 students. Ra’anana is known as a city that offers its residents a high level of education and provides them […]
Amit is a long-established school network chiefly active in Israel’s national-religious sector. It operates some 100 educational institutions, including 50 secondary schools. Currently, the network is preparing to launch a new pedagogic center (called ‘Gogia’) that will provide schools in the network with support to develop their own coherent instructional system compatible with their individual […]
In Israel there are a number of excellent public schools that have risen above the difficulties they face to succeed. In these high caliber schools, students are not chosen by selection criteria and the schools’ funding and teaching corps is standard in comparison with others. They manage to lead their students to success, sometimes against […]
The Virtual High School for Advanced Level Mathematics and Physics was established two years ago, as a solution for highly motivated students whose schools do not offer five units of mathematics or physics for matriculation. The foundation provided a grant of 7 million shekels towards the first two years of development (out of four), while […]
Darca is a new school network, established in 2010 by the Rashi Foundation in partnership with Alliance and the Youth Renewal Fund. This academic year the network has 23 secondary schools in the periphery of Israel, attended by more than 12,000 students. Only 11% of its matriculating graduates complete 5 units of mathematics, and 10% […]
In recent years, there is an increasing shortage of chemistry teachers, particularly in the Jewish sector, and as a result there is a decline in the number of high schools which offer chemistry studies. Recent research has revealed that the average age of chemistry teachers in Israel is 51 and therefore the shortage is expected […]