A Simulation-based Training Program for 200 High School Principals on How to Prepare their School to Expand Five-Unit Mathematics Studies

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 […]

Training a Cadre of 15 Physics Teacher-Leaders to Coach 300 Teachers to Organize their Diagnostics-Based Instruction by Using a Technological Platform

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 […]

Second Cohort of a Course for Leaders of City-Based Programs to Advance Excellence in the Teaching and Learning of High School Mathematics

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 […]

Transalting Academic Papers on Professional Learning Communities

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 […]

Gala Event for Grantees and Partners About Quality Teaching

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 […]

Online Professional Learning Communities

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 […]

Program About Clinical Teaching Training For New Teachers

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 […]

Networks Grant

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 […]

Books About Quality Teaching

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 […]

Study Visit To The US For Experts & Practitioners

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 […]

Studies About Relevant Subjects To The Foundation Strategy

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 […]

Developing Real-Life Proficiency-Based Mathematics Tasks

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 […]

Developing PISA Related Tasks

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 […]

Appointing Experienced Experts To Be Consultants

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 […]

Developing A Mathematical “Growth Mindset” Module

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 […]

Coaching For School Principals In The Social Periphery

“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 […]

Updating Goals Of ‘Sheatufim’

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 […]

Activating Middle-Schools Teachers Communities In Haifa

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. […]

Creating professional Mathematics Teachers Communities In Modi’in

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 […]

Developing ”Growth Mindset” Programs

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 […]

Publishing Mathematics Challenges & Tasks About PISA

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 […]

Development Of Mathematics Diagnostic Teaching Kits

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 […]

Course on Clinical Teaching For Mathematics Instructors

“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 […]