Developing Middle School Statistics and Probability Materials and Training Mathematics Teachers
The national high-school mathematics curriculum at the five-unit level does not currently include any reference to the domains of statistics and probability. In middle school, these subjects appear formally in the curriculum, but over the past decade they have been taught only marginally, reflecting the lower priority given to them by the Ministry of Education. Following the weak performance of Israeli students on international assessments, where statistics and probability receive significant weight, the Ministry is now reconsidering its policy.
As statistics and probability form essential building blocks of artificial intelligence, the Ministry’s interest in these domains has grown further. We therefore identify an opportunity to advance this field in a systemic and comprehensive way. Given their foundational importance to both PISA and AI, it would be crucial that the subjects be taught not merely as a technical set of terms and formulas, but in a manner that emphasizes deep understanding and the development of critical statistical thinking.
To this end, we approached Professor Emeritus Dani Ben-Zvi of the University of Haifa, a world-renowned scholar in the field of statistics education. Together with his colleague and successor, Dr. Michal Dvir, they propose a three-year program to develop 15 teaching units in Hebrew and Arabic for grades 8 and 9, aligned with the national curriculum. In addition, the program will produce a repository of 20 learning tasks adapted to the PISA conceptual framework, as well as a diagnostic test for students.
The program will cover data collection, organization and analysis, linking multiple representations, problem-solving through statistical models, and decision-making under conditions of uncertainty. It will focus on developing core concepts such as distribution, center, and variability, while engaging students in authentic statistical practices. Emphasis will also be placed on real-world data contexts and the use of technological tools.
Following the development phase, 20 lead teachers of excellence classes will be trained to pilot the materials in their classrooms, provide feedback, and lead other teachers. Subsequently, an additional 160 excellence-track teachers will gradually join professional learning communities, engaging in up to 60 hours of professional development while implementing the program in their schools. The Ministry of Education agreed to assume the costs of professional development for 160 teachers.
The program will be monitored by an evaluation that will assess the level of implementation and student achievement.
* The text above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors / Grant 635