The study of advanced Mathematics and Physics in Israeli high schools is on the decline. In 2005 approximately 15,000 twelfth grade students sat the matriculation exams at the advanced level in Mathematics. By 2009 this number had fallen to 11,000 students. In the same year, only 45 university graduates became Mathematics teachers in high schools […]
Much of the material from across the world of education on effective and high-quality teaching is only available in English. These books and articles represent cutting edge knowhow on teaching practice, particularly on methods to implement clinical classroom proficiencies, which is very much needed in Israeli schools, and particularly for mathematics and science teaching in […]
The practical knowledge of teaching is best manifested by teachers in classrooms and schools. However, in Israel teachers’ knowhow is not well documented and therefore is rarely shared or transferred between teachers. As a result, teacher practice is often very lonely, individual and isolated. Teacher learning leans heavily towards the theoretical and is removed from […]
In 2011, the Israel National Academy of Sciences commissioned a comprehensive survey of mathematics teachers in Israel from the Central Bureau of Statistics. The survey was based on official national data and presented a broad snapshot of mathematics teachers including age, experience, education, scope of work and additional roles.The results of this survey, which revealed […]
Secondary school science and mathematics teachers are at the heart of the foundation’s work. We cannot take meaningful steps towards improving the quality of teaching without being attuned to the needs of teachers, and the everyday realities of classroom teaching and school organizational culture, as seen through their eyes. Therefore, consulting with teachers and engaging […]
In Israel there is no wide-reaching survey of teachers and as a result little is known about their opinions and experiences. In practice, teachers are rarely consulted, even when decisions made affect their practice. It is not uncommon for government policy, research plans or program initiatives to be prepared without adequately considering the perspectives of […]
Students and parents often refer fondly to a specific teacher who influenced their lives in a transformative manner. However, it is not clear what makes these teachers great. Is it their attention to the needs of individual students or their effective teaching of the curriculum? Is it the way they instill their students with knowledge […]
Students studying the advanced 5-unit mathematics track in high school face a tremendous challenge. The learning process is highly demanding, it requires continuous effort, and grasping the material entails acquisition of deep knowledge. As the pace of teaching is fast due to the high standards of the curriculum, many students find the mathematics hard to […]
It is assumed that if mathematics teachers were able to analyze student thinking and stages of learning, they would find it easier to diagnose their difficulties, and respond to them on an individual basis, helping students overcome specific challenges. However the common assessment tools allow teachers only to check on student performance, as expressed by […]
Over the past few years, we have been encouraging the use of classroom-based videos, which allow teachers to observe, reflect, analyze, discuss, and receive feedback on their teaching practice. We have done so in order to help shift the professional development of teachers from concentrating on content and material towards a focus on student thinking […]
Secondary school science and mathematics teachers are at the heart of the foundation’s work. We acknowledge that in order to take meaningful steps towards improving the quality of teaching we need to be attuned to the needs of teachers, and the everyday realities of classroom teaching and school organizational culture, as seen through their eyes. […]
In 2012, the Foundation approved a three-year grant to the Weizmann Institute to develop a database of filmed mathematics lessons to advance the professional development of five-unit high school mathematics teachers. The VIDEO-LM (Viewing, Investigation, and Discussing Elements of Learning Mathematics) project is a pioneer in this field in Israel, and since its inception has […]
The average size of a physics class at the beginning of the matriculation track in 10th grade is 23 students, while by the end of the 12th grade; approximately half of the classes have less than 10 students remaining. A fast-paced teaching method which is not customized to individual students is apparently significant in causing […]
The Trump Foundation opened its doors at the end of 2011 with a promise for Israel’s education which relied on a hypothesis: if strategic philanthropy is executed wisely, it can help the education system expand the circle of excellence in mathematics and science studies. By nurturing advanced teaching capacity and focusing on student learning, the […]
As part of the Trump Foundation’s efforts to nurture the clinical skills of mathematics and science teachers in Israeli secondary schools, we have explored the use of video recordings of classroom practice and their analysis. This innovative approach is gaining grounds around the world and has been the subject of a number of the foundation’s […]
The teaching and learning of mathematics in Israel is facing a troubling decline. One symptom of this is that currently, there is no approved national curriculum for junior high or high schools. This is largely due to the fact that professional committees comprised of mathematics researchers and mathematics educators appointed by the Ministry of Education […]
The Bedouin comprise about 3.5 % of the population of the State of Israel, of which 220,000 Bedouin live in the south of the country. Their academic achievement at high school level is weak – in 2014, the percentage of students eligible for matriculation among the Negev Bedouin was 30.3 %, compared with 47.9 % […]
With the imminent retirement of a large number of mathematics and science teachers, the coming years will witness a growing shortage of teachers in these disciplines. Over the past two years of the Trump Foundation’s activity, we have initiated a number of grants whose goal is to address this shortage by attracting highly talented individuals […]
The professional training of teachers in Israel is conducted in universities and academic colleges, and focuses more on theory than the skills of teaching practice. Academic and theoretical studies alone do not sufficiently prepare new teachers for the challenges of the classroom, nor strengthen teachers’ ability to tailor their instruction to the individual learning needs […]
Teachers of the advanced mathematics track are professionally isolated. They rarely participate in professional development workshops, have little interaction between themselves and receive very limited support. They are a group of elite-quality professionals coping with complex challenges, but with no outlet for professional support and knowledge sharing. It is a reasonable assumption that membership in […]
Teaching Mathematics and the Sciences could be perceived in a number of different ways: complex, dry, routine; or alternatively ‘cool’, inspiring and innovative. As in other professions, the teaching craft combines both attention to detail and adhering to protocol, but it also requires creativity, ingenuity and self-expression. We believe that potential excellent candidates for teaching […]
Typical professional development courses for teachers involve lectures by academic experts, enriching the participants with theories and innovations. As this sort of training has proved to have limited effect on the quality of teaching, successful education systems around the world have decided to make their in-service training programs more practical, by using different tools that […]
The teaching profession in Israel lacks effective personnel management, planning, recruitment and high quality placement of teachers. Such management is vital for identifying position openings, sourcing for new teachers to fill them, and integrating supply with demand. Poor practice of personnel management is particularly damaging to mathematics and science teaching, where there is a growing […]
A mathematics teacher in a regular Israeli classroom needs to know his students well in order to be able to assess the abilities, the needs, the learning style, and the learning pace of each one. This need is very hard to fulfill, especially in large and heterogeneous classes, in which students have varied knowledge and […]
As a result of the shortage of suitable teachers, some schools are giving up on opening a 5-unit math study program. In light of this, the Ministry of Education, colleges and universities are making great efforts to attract quality candidates for mathematics teaching training programs. These programs, including graduate programs and graduate programs, succeed in […]
Comprehensive data on the education system in Israel is vital for any attempt to understand and then improve its performance. When the Trump Foundation began its work in Israel we looked for in-depth and accurate statistics to inform the design of our strategy. In discussion with the Education Ministry, we learned however that such data […]
התכניות להכשרה קלינית של מורים למדעים ולמתמטיקה בישראל מצויות בשלבים ראשונים של פיתוח והפעלה. מ-2013 מסייעת הקרן להקמת ארבע תכניות מסוג זה, במכללות לוינסקי, הקיבוצים, אורנים ובית ברל. תנאי הקבלה לתכניות אלה גבוהים ביותר והמועמדים עוברים תהליך מיון קפדני. התכניות ממוקדות בכישורי הוראה קלינית לצורך התאמה ללמידה אישית של כל תלמיד. הן מתקיימות בבתי הספר, […]
Schools of Education in universities, which are perceived to hold high academic standards, are formally responsible for the training of high school teachers. However, in practice, due to the theoretical nature of their programs, they are able to attract only a very small number of teaching candidates. For example, over the past few years, all […]
Two years ago, the foundation established an online community, under the brand name: “It’s Time for Education”. It has quickly become the most active Facebook education community in Israel with membership of 24,000 comprised of teachers, potential teaching candidates, and people interested in mathematics and science education. This unique platform allows the foundation to interact […]
In 2012 the Trump Master Teacher Award was launched in order to recognize excellent teaching of mathematics and the sciences. The award aims to convey to the public a clearer sense of what constitutes effective teaching. Our intention is to reward and celebrate master teachers of mathematics and the sciences, and introduce them to the […]