The results of the 2018 PISA international research of education systems were released in December 2019. These troubling results for Israel led to a public outcry in the media. Israel declined in its average mathematics score, the gaps are wide and excellence levels decreased from 9.2% in 2015 to 8.8% in 2018. These results are […]
The city of Netanya has a population of about 250,000 residents, of which 75,000 are new-immigrants. The city’s 19 middle and high schools include state, state-religious, ultra-orthodox and special education schools. The social mosaic in the city leads to differences in the socio-economic status and academic performance between neighborhoods and schools. In the city today […]
When schools closed at a moment’s notice three weeks ago, teachers and students were expected to immediately make a transition from the physical classroom to online learning. Not without difficulties, many teachers rose to the occasion and are now using available platforms and tools. The Ministry of Education, school networks, education organizations and municipalities are […]
There is a handful of middle school mathematics teachers in Israel and abroad that already developed learning assignments using the context of the Corona pandemic. They created growth scenarios by devising formulas that take into consideration multiple variables, calculated effective social distancing measures according to known characteristics of the virus, and used algorithms to mine […]
Mathematics teachers who are now teaching online, report that they notice a growing gap between the synchronous lessons and the homework assignments. In the plenary classroom lesson, the microphones of the students are typically muted, while the teacher lectures by talking and demonstrating on a shared screen. From time to time, the teacher allows for […]
In an internet-based questionnaire we conducted last week among 147 mathematics teachers, the majority raised their need to join professional learning communities of teachers who are now also teaching online. They said they are overwhelmed with marketing proposals to use a variety of online learning material and technological platforms of diverse quality. They indicated that […]
The program will be based on the international Kangaroo initiative in mathematics, which offers competitions in mathematics for students around the world. The proposed program includes 30 mathematical riddles aligned with the 3-6 levels of PISA. The riddles will be presented over two weeks as a competition that will be introduced in two rounds and […]
The program includes the preparation of two daily online events over four weeks, comprised of mathematical riddles, aligned with the PISA mathematics framework. Topics will include proportions and statistics, relying on a refresher course that is currently in development by the Center. In each live event, riddles will be presented, on gradual levels of difficulty. […]
The program aims to attract middle school students to participate in competitions based on the PISA mathematics content. Students will be divided into groups of five according to their grade level. In the group, they will electronically meet with a teacher who will engage them in a very complex mathematical problem. The group that will […]
The program will present a daily mathematics riddle in the morning show of Channel 12 TV, the most popular channel in Israel. The very difficult riddles, based on real-life challenges, will be prepared by Oded Margalit, the Vice President for Research and Development of IBM in Israel, in collaboration with additional scientists, such as Dan […]
In the past 15 years, the five-unit matriculation exam in mathematics gradually incorporated more in-depth questions that require deep understanding. These questions demand high-level mathematical thinking skills and are therefore considered very difficult. The Ministry of Education orchestrated this shift, in order to adapt to a change in perception of what mathematics studies in high […]
The Trump Master Teacher Award was established in 2012 in order to recognize excellent teaching of mathematics and the sciences in Israel’s high schools. In alignment with the foundation’s strategy, the prize committee concentrated on identifying the best teachers of the five-unit tracks, particularly those who practice student-centered clinical teaching and lead professional learning communities […]
The results of the 2018 PISA assessment, published in December 2019, caused a big public concern. It revealed that Israel is still lagging behind, as excellence-levels are low and gaps are wide. Other countries, such as Poland, Norway and Estonia, that elevated the level of teaching and learning in middle school, have moved up significantly. […]
Kfar Kana is a small Arab city in the northern district of Israel located in the Lower Galilee with a population of 22,400, and 2,527 students attending middle and high schools. There are two middle schools in Kfar Kana, in which 25% (116) of the students graduate excellence classes in 9th grade. However, only 10% […]
Mathematical Reasoning, which is the capacity to formulate, employ and interpret mathematics to solve problems in real-world contexts, is the core of the PISA framework. Central among these contexts are issues that are facing humanity today, such as global warming, the growth of population, the scarcity of food, water and energy, and many more. The […]
The PISA assessment is taken by 15-year-old students in 79 countries, and is based on their common denominator of mathematical content knowledge. For Israel, it means that the PISA mathematical content is equivalent to what is mostly taught in 8th or 9th grades. The reason for this, is that the goal of PISA is not […]
A recently commissioned study found out that there are almost no learning materials available to middle school teachers that support high order and applied thinking skills in line with the PISA excellence levels. The mathematics curriculum in middle school is focused on procedural fluency and has almost no room for these advanced skills. Teachers therefore […]
Once every two years the Trump Foundation convenes its International Advisory Council, a voluntary body chaired by Lee Shulman and comprised of education researchers, education policymakers and teachers from Israel. The goal of the council is to provide the foundation with insights concerning the advancement of our philanthropic roadmap and to offer feedback, critique and […]
The PISA 2021 mathematics framework focuses on how students formulate and apply mathematics knowledge and thinking to solve problems in real-world contexts. The higher levels (5-6) of PISA require students to confront complex situations by identifying and selecting the most effective mathematical models, using advanced computational thinking, running simulations and evaluating their solutions in comparative […]
In a survey of middle school students commissioned by the foundation in March 2018, the students said that computer science is the third most important subject for their future, after English and mathematics. However, today only a minority of students, those who study in excellence classes, learn basic coding, algorithms and computational thinking in middle […]
Israel’s middle school students are still falling behind their peers in OECD countries in the PISA mathematics tests on their average score, the high ratio of struggling students and the low rate of excelling students. The increase in the number of high school students graduating the five-unit tracks, has not yet trickled down to middle […]
In the past few years the foundation created partnerships with 25 municipalities that targeted excellence in mathematics and science education. Each municipality collected and analyzed its data, defined goals, invested resources and organized its teams accordingly. The foundation helped with professional development for the teachers and management support for the heads of education and […]
The foundation’s roadmap in middle schools requires an effective organization within the schools. Schools need raise the bar, open more opportunities for excellence, develop teaching capacities, implement mangement routines, collect data, engage the staff and smooth the transition to high school. The ultimate goal is to create pathways to excellence for at least 40% of […]
Many teachers find it difficult to determine if their students are fully prepared to the five-units track in high school, in terms of knowledge, skill, learning habits and emotional readiness. The reason is that the middle school curriculum was created independently from the high school curriculum, and that these two schools are operated separately, with […]
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 […]
The Branco Weiss school network comprises of 14 high schools with a diversity of socio-economic backgrounds throughout Israel. During 2016-2019, the network has collaborated with the Trump Foundation and set a target to double the number of students who graduate five-unit mathematics to 22% and physics to 14%. The goal in mathematics has been achieved, […]
The city-based partnership in Be’er Sheva to increase the study of five units in mathematics is bearing fruit. From 5.4% of the 12th grade graduates in 2012, the city tripled the five-unit graduation rate in 2018 to 15.7%. The rate of physics students graduating five-units gradually improved during the program, to 11.5% in 2018. The […]
Back in 2013, in collaboration with the Rashi Foundation and Intel-Israel, we turned to Sheatufim, to create a cross organizational partnership around excellence in mathematics and the sciences education in Israel. The partnership, titled “5p2”, aimed to spark a movement focusing on doubling the number of high school graduates with five units in mathematics, science […]
Since 2016, the foundation has partnered with Professor Yoram Harpaz and the Branco Weiss Institute to translate to Hebrew and publish six books on quality teaching. These books represent some of the most important work published around the world on the topic of teaching, offering a combination of academic research and practical knowledge. The goal […]
Israeli adults still do not have high expectations of middle schools. In surveys, parents report they are satisfied with the quality of their children’s schools and with the level of their teachers. They see social relationships as the main goal in middle school, rather than learning and academic achievement. Although parents want their children to […]