School principals are central to the effort of implementing clinical teaching and expanding the circle of 5-unit mathematics in their schools. They need to define ambitious goals based on data and to mobilize their staff and harness external resources to achieve these goals. They need to help create school-based communities of practice, develop a coherent […]
In recent years, physics classes have become larger and more diverse, and the failure rate from these classes increased to more than 20%. The foundation prepared for this moment by nurturing the development of diagnostic assignments, helping teachers identify learning difficulties of individual students in real time and respond immediately. Two grants to the Weizmann […]
In recent years, the foundation established city-based programs and partnerships with 17 municipalities that have prioritized excellence in mathematics and science studies in their cities. Underlying these programs are ambitious goals, set by city mayors to increase the number of students successfully graduating 5-unit mathematics. In the coming year, the foundation intends to expand the […]
An investment in programs and professional development of physics teachers in recent years has led to a 45% increase in the number of physics students – 7,892 students took the 5-unit matriculation in 2011 and 11,500 in 2017. The side effects of this sharp growth are more diverse classrooms and higher dropout and failure rates. […]
Over the last five years, at the initiative of the foundation’s partners, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) for science and mathematics teachers have sprouted up across the country. Focusing on student learning and clinical teaching, these PLCs have become a significant platform for teachers’ professional development. With the proliferation of the PLCs, the Ministry of Education […]
Over the past seven years, the Trump Foundation and its partners have worked together to expand the circle of mathematics and science excellence in Israeli high schools. Our portfolio of grants and projects has grown, developed and diversified, and today we are working with close to 250 grantees, partners and stakeholders to achieve impact on […]
As five-unit mathematics classes become larger and more diverse, mathematics teaching is shifting to attempt to address the abilities and difficulties of each student. At present, a growing number of teachers are seeking tools and methods based on analyzing student understanding, that will enable them to be able to respond to the needs of every […]
Over the last six years, Israel has seen a 20% increase in the number of advanced-level physics students that complete 5-unit physics matriculation, from 7,892 students in 2011 to 9,483 students in 2016. This trend is strongly felt in the ORT-Israel school network, where 1,900 students are studying physics in 12th grade in 2018. ORT-Israel […]
Since 2015, the Trump Foundation has placed a growing emphasis on creating networks and convening partners in order to increase coherence, collaboration and effectiveness between programs, and to encourage sustainability of the foundation’s strategy among its partners. Our strategic roadmap describes convening as an “amplifying activity” to our strategic programs and in response to feedback […]
In 2013, at the initiative of Prof. Yoram Harpaz, the foundation approached the Branco Weiss Institute and the Yediyot Aharonot Publishing House, to curate, translate and publish a series of books on quality teaching. Four books have been translated to Hebrew thus far, representing a diversity of thought on the topic by scholars from around […]
Rahat is a Bedouin city in the South of Israel with a population of 64,500. It is the largest Bedouin city in the world and is on the lower end of the national socio economic scale in Israel. Rahat is home to 8,000 high school students who study in eight high schools, all operated by the municipality, […]
As the foundation’s focus shifts to expanding the pipeline of excellence, and broadening and deepening our work in junior high school, we are eager, together with the foundation’s partners, to learn the best way of working with junior high schools to advance excellence in five unit tracks and form our policy and specific strategy in […]
Over the past six years, the Trump Foundation has developed a portfolio of programs to advance its goal to help expand the circle of excellence in mathematics and science studies in high schools. The programs are designed in line with a strategic roadmap, harnessing talent into teaching, nurturing clinical teaching expertise and supporting high quality […]
At the core of the international PISA tests are skill and proficiency-based tasks that reflect real-life challenges. The mathematics test invites 15 year-old students to use mathematics reasoning as well as quantitative thinking in order to solve daily life problems. Contexts vary from determining accurate dosage of antibiotic drugs, calculating the levels of energy needed […]
Student selection of five-unit mathematics in high school has become more straightforward in recent years. The motivation is practical, as it provides students with a ‘golden key’ to enter prestigious technology units in the army, competitive departments in universities, and high paying jobs in the labor market later on. Students receive individual matriculation grades, which […]
Over the past four years, we have been gradually collaborating with municipalities across Israel that prioritize the advancement of mathematics and science studies in high school. We chose to work with cities, because in Israel they are directly responsible for high schools, hiring their personnel and allocating their budget. We have joined their effort to […]
The traditional approach in teaching mathematics and science in Israeli high schools has been exclusive and selective. Teachers tended to focus on teaching the material in depth and at pace, while relying on the students to self-regulate their effort. In practice, the first months of tenth grade and the first matriculation of eleventh grade, served […]
“Mathematics First”, the National program for increasing the number of 5-unit graduates began in 2015 in a rush – it was launched after the beginning of the school year and quickly recruited 100 schools to the program. Together with the Education Ministry, we approached the Center for Educational Technology (CET) and asked them to reach […]
The ‘collective impact’ coalition around excellence in mathematics and the sciences is acknowledged as an important element in the national effort to increase five-unit graduation rates in high school in Israel. The convening of dozens of stakeholders from government, industry, academia and the civil sector to jointly focus on a shared mission has had a […]
The foundation is currently collaborating with five school networks (ORT, Amit, Darca, Amal and Branco Weiss), in order to increase the number of five units graduates in mathematics. Among these, ORT is the largest network with 100,000 students in 205 educational institutions throughout the country, 90% of which are located in the social periphery. A […]
In the past, most professional development for teachers in Israel has taken place in off-campus institutions, delivered by external experts, disconnected from daily school life and challenges. However, in recent years, following best practice of high performing education systems around the world, there is a growing tendency in Israel to encourage in-school peer-to-peer professional development. […]
Clinical professions develop from within practice, through documentation and joint analysis by the practitioners. To encourage such collaboration between teachers of mathematics and the sciences, the Trump Foundation is supporting the development of routine student-centered professional learning communities (PLCs). These communities are now spreading all over the country, mostly on a regional basis, gathering teachers […]
The basic assumption of someone who believes in public education is that excellence knows no boundaries. In Israel in particular, excellence in mathematics and the sciences holds a promise for social mobility. Today, with the growing number of five unit students across the country, it is encouraging to see the relative growth in remote areas. […]
OECD studies revealed that Israeli students believe that talent is the best predictor for success in mathematics studies at school, in contrast to Korean students who pointed to effort as the primary factor. In conversations we held with teachers in Israel’s social periphery, we found out that especially there, the Israeli way of thinking might […]
In the past few years, municipalities across the country have joined the national program of doubling the number of 5-unit graduates. Fourteen of them decided to respond to this opportunity and create deeper professional infrastructure around the five-unit goal. To do so, we created a joint program with each of them in order to nurture […]
Several months ago, the foundation approved a unique pilot venture with the goal of exposing 15-year-old students to skills-based proficiency tasks in mathematics. The intention is that the tasks will be aligned with those of the PISA examinations, which will take place in March 2018. Presentense, a nonprofit organization, encouraging grass root social initiatives across […]
Over the past few years, we have gradually begun working at the junior high school level, in order to help more students prepare for the advanced five-unit tracks. Currently, approximately 40% of the foundation’s portfolio is dedicated to helping high schools to smooth the transition from junior high to senior high school. However, we have […]
In order to help more students prepare for the advanced five-unit levels, we have gradually begun working at the junior high school level. However, we have learned that there seems to be no clear motivation for junior high school students to invest and excel in studying mathematics and the sciences at advanced level. At the […]
In 2014, the foundation approved a Weizmann Institute program for the development and implementation of 45 diagnostic assignments covering the 10th grade curriculum of the advanced 5-unit track. The assignments are presented to the teachers in kits that include the task itself, a detailed indicator for analyzing student answers, and suggestions for follow-up tasks for […]
“Mathematics First”, the national program for increasing the number of 5-unit graduates began in 2015 with a sense of immediacy – it was launched after the beginning of the school year and quickly recruited 100 schools to the program. Together with the Ministry of Education and the Centre for Educational Technology (CET), the foundation launched […]