Grant amount
NIS 70,000
Educational Tour In The Netherlands For Mathematics Teachers
Study Visit to the Netherlands and a Learning Group for Six Mathematics Master Teachers Focusing on the PISA Mathematics Framework and Assignments
Study Visit to the Netherlands and a Learning Group for Six Mathematics Master Teachers Focusing on the PISA Mathematics Framework and Assignments
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 benchmark for the foundation’s program in middle schools.
The response from the Ministry of Education revealed disappointment and surprise. In a public announcement, the Ministry informed of their intention to appoint a committee which will explore the reasons for this decline, with specific focus on the low results among Arabic speaking students. The response of many teachers was that they are not familiar with PISA and its content, which is not included in the Israeli mathematics curriculum.
At present, the interim government is looking into possible policy measures, in anticipation of a new permanent government. Researchers from universities are taking initial steps to learn the PISA framework, using development grants from the Trump Foundation. So far, teachers were not approached to listen to their professional opinion, and schools have not yet been exposed to any of these preparations.
In order to bring the teachers on board, to engage them in a professional dialogue and to allow the teachers to take a leadership positon in this emerging effort, we approached the Levinsky College of Education. We asked them to convene an elite group of six mathematics master teachers and engage them in a learning process. The idea is to study in depth the PISA mathematics framework, as well as its content, proficiency levels and applications in teaching.
The group will be comprised of Shlomit Davidovich, a teacher in Netanya and the head mathematics instructor of the Central District; Anna Vaknin, head of mathematics teaching at the Amal School Network; Rina Zavodnik, director of mathematics teaching at the ORT School Network; Ada Levy, National instructor of mathematics in secondary schools; Fatena Marjie, National instructor of middle school mathematics in Arabic speaking schools; and Magdoleen Hazran, mathematics teacher in the Druze village of Yarka and winner of the 2019 Trump Master Teacher Award.
The group will conduct four workshops with experts from Levinsky to learn together how high order mathematical thinking is applied in PISA and how PISA assignments are prepared and taught. Subsequently, in March 2020, the group will conduct a study visit to the Netherlands, a country that is ranked at 7th place in the rate of excelling students in mathematics (after six countries of the Far East, and before Japan), in order to learn from its success.
In the Netherlands, the group will meet with experts from the Freudenthal Institute, a center of expertise in the development of “real mathematics” education. They will also meet with officials from the Dutch Ministry of Education, as well as with teacher leaders and teams of mathematics teachers in schools. Following the visit, the group will prepare a detailed report and plan how to disseminate their learning with many other Israeli teachers.