Maghar is a city in the Northern District with a mixed population of 24,000 Druze, Christians and Muslims. It was officially declared a city only recently, in October 2021. It has two middle schools and two high schools. Expanding matriculation in the five-unit mathematics track has been unstable and fluctuating, with 14.3% of the students […]
Bnei Akiva Yeshivot and Ulpanot Center is an educational organization for Jewish religious students established in1954. It operates more than 60 institutions, from middle schools to colleges, spread from the North of Israel to Eilat in the South. It has 58 middle and high schools serving 14,772 students, divided in 23 schools for girls and […]
In June 2020, the foundation approved a grant to the Branco Weiss Institute for a program to implement applied mathematics assignments in 240 middle school excellence classes and high ability groups in the Central District. When implementation of the program began, there was a huge demand for it from Hebrew-speaking schools. This year, 500 teachers […]
The 2018 PISA research results exposed a significant gap between Hebrew-speaking and Arabic-speaking students in Israel. The average result in mathematics for Arabic-speaking students declined by 12 points to 379 (one of the lowest in the world), in contrast with an average score of 490 for Hebrew speakers (which is also the OECD average). Looking […]
In the 21st century, with computers and robots implementing routine tasks, the modern work place requires much more sophisticated skills from its human employees. As a result, education systems around the world are transforming their curricula and pedagogy, so that students learn how to think deeply, plan thoroughly and interpret intelligently. In mathematics, procedural fluency […]
This year will mark a decade since the Trump Foundation began its activity in Israel. During this special year, we will be proposing a series of events and publications celebrating success, excellence and collaboration. As part of this package we are suggesting to give a modest gift to Teacher’s Day, an initiative originated by the […]
Israel prides itself on being the “Startup Nation” with thousands of entrepreneurs constantly creating technological startups and development centers. Dozens of exits, mergers and IPOs are signed every year, feeding the Israeli economy with creativity and resources that make it strong and prosperous even in difficult times. As a result, many parents hope their children […]
In the landscape of philanthropy, the Trump Foundation is perceived as unique. We practice an approach called “Catalytic Philanthropy” which focuses on solving a national problem. This approach creates a highly transparent outcome-driven strategy, convenes an ecosystem of stakeholders and weaves networks of knowledge sharing and collaboration, and makes our case very interesting for colleagues, […]
In 2019, the foundation approved a grant to the Center for Educational Technology to establish an online program in high order mathematical thinking for Arab-sector middle school students. The goal of the program was to reach 1,500 students within five years. A grant from the foundation was sought to fund the development of materials and […]
A year ago, the Technion started developing a physics course focusing on kinematics, which uses advanced mathematics modeling. When the proposal was considered by the foundation, the reviewers feared that since kinematics is not part of the curriculum, teachers would have minimal motivation to teach it and therefore take it only as an enrichment activity […]
The PISA framework in mathematics inspires the foundation’s roadmap in middle school. It was intentionally designed to mirror the skills needed for work and life in the 21st century. Therefore, in the past three years, the foundation supported the development of learning materials which promote high-level mathematical thinking aligned with the excellence levels of PISA. […]
The Druze community in Israel comprises 143,000 citizens living mainly in the north of Israel. Daliyat al-Carmel (18,000 residents) and Isfiya (13,000 residents) are two local councils with a majority of Druze residents. In 2003, these two councils were merged to form Carmel City, however the new city was dissolved in 2008 and the two councils […]
Teaching students how to solve complex applied mathematical problems by using modelling and reasoning skills requires distinct classroom pedagogy. Over the past three years, the foundation has been collaborating with the top educational developers in Israel to prepare new learning assignments that apply these skills and align with the PISA 5-6 proficiency levels. As a […]
The city of Ashkelon, in the South of Israel, is home to approximately 160,000 residents, including new immigrants from South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ethiopia and Russia. Thirty-three thousand students are enrolled in the city’s education system of which 10,500 attend 13 secondary schools. The middle schools offer 13 excellence classes in 11 schools, serving 456 […]
Beit Shean is a local council in the Northern District with approximately 20,000 residents. Its education system comprises 4,970 students, of which 1,553 in four secondary schools, all run by the ORT network. Only two of the schools operate an excellence class in middle school, attended by 40 students. The Beit Shean council is part […]
Teaching applied mathematics which involves solving real life problems requires a shift in pedagogy. In other countries that have already made this transition, teachers moved from the traditional constructivist method, towards an approach that encourages self-regulated learning and peer discussions. In order to facilitate a similar transition in Israel, developers of applied mathematics tasks in […]
High-tech has been Israel’s growth engine for the past 30 years, with hundreds of new startups created every year and dozens of mergers, IPOs and exits announced on an almost weekly basis. In the face of economic and health crises taking place around the world, Israeli tech companies keep on succeeding, helping the economy to […]
Poland is one of the top 15 countries on the PISA international assessment, with 16% of its students excelling in mathematics (compared to 8.8% in Israel). Over the past 20 years, Poland has demonstrated a remarkable improvement, the result of a comprehensive reform of its education system. Commencing in 1999, the reform included structural change […]
There are very high demands and prerequisites for studying in an advanced mathematics course, particularly the five-unit level in high school. In order to determine whether students are indeed prepared for this difficult learning track, they are typically assessed by their teachers with reference to their mathematical knowledge. Rarely is there any formal reference to […]
The first phase of the foundation’s roadmap in middle school concentrated on development of new learning material, training teachers to use it and opening of additional excellence classes where the new material is now taught. This was a necessary three-year stage to prepare and showcase the practice of teaching applied mathematics at high level and […]
As problems in the 21st century become more complex, their solutions require the use of sophisticated, quantitative modeling and high-order thinking. As a result, the importance of studying mathematics in Israeli schools is as important as ever. Many surveys and focus groups reveal that students are convinced of the importance of studying mathematics to their […]
The foundation’s middle school portfolio is comprised of an arsenal of development, training and implementation programs. All of the programs are tasked with the mission of incorporating high-level mathematical modeling and reasoning, aligned with the PISA framework. Many of these programs rely on teacher leaders to help deploy the new material in schools. The teacher […]
The foundation’s portfolio includes an arsenal of development, training and implementation programs that teach mathematics in real-world contexts. This content is very different from the traditional learning material, which favors technical skills and abstract thinking. Teaching the new content however, requires a very different approach by teachers. Traditionally, they use constructivist methodologies that build knowledge […]
Middle school students interested in enrolling and succeeding in the five unit track in high school need a solid base of knowledge, along with thinking skills, strong motivation and the ability to cope with complex problems. In order to strengthen the connections between middle school and high school, and to facilitate a smoother transition between […]
The pandemic underlined the specific weakness of middle schools in Israel. During the crisis, all schools closed their doors immediately for in-school learning, however when pandemic conditions gradually improved, middle schools were the last to reopen. Elementary schools were important because they teach the basics and take care of younger children. High schools were more […]
In 2018, the Shfaram municipality began an effort to increase the number of its five-unit graduates from 7.5% in 2017 to 14% by 2021. After a hesitant beginning, student achievement has slowly been improving. This year, 28% of the students are enrolled in the five-unit track in 10th grade, however, still only 11% are about […]
כשהקרן תכננה את הצעדים הבאים של פעילותה הפילנתרופית מתוך שאיפה להעלות את רמת לימודי המתמטיקה בחטיבות הביניים, המיקוד היה בשני תחומים עיקריים: בהקמת מאגר של חומרי לימוד מאתגרים, שיעוררו את רצון התלמידים ללמוד ולעסוק בחשיבה מתמטית מסדר גבוה וביישומיה במדע; ובפתיחת עוד כיתות מצוינות והקבצות א’, שבהן ילמדו את התכנים החדשים תלמידים המעוניינים להשקיע בלימוד […]
In recent years, the southern city of Kiryat Gat has been undergoing a process of growth and now has 63,000 residents. Within the next few years, the city’s population is expected to increase to 100,000. This growth has also led to a much more diverse social fabric and a variety of cultural, ethnic and economic […]
The pandemic caught the Israeli education system unprepared. School facilities instantly closed in mid-March 2020, forcing teachers and students to tackle the new circumstances through distance teaching, independent learning and pedagogical initiatives. Teachers and students had to find creative ways to maintain educational continuity from their homes. The Ministry of Education tried to provide them […]
In 2018, the foundation established a city-based partnership with Holon to increase the percentage of five-unit mathematics graduates from 17% to 26% (500 students) by 2021. The program is now in its third and final year, with 43% of the 10th grade students enrolled in the five unit track and 25% (487 students) of the […]