Mathematics and Science-based Projects Addressing Social Causes in 20 Excellence Classes

The pursuit of excellence is sometimes portrayed in Israel as a mere instrumental path for individual success. However, acquiring excellence levels in mathematics, science and technology, holds a bigger promise that entails an additional dimension. In the 21^st century, excellence in these areas is becoming a powerful lever to solving major problems confronting humanity. Health agriculture, security, energy, and transportation – all these fields, and many more, require innovation and creativity, based on deep quantitative knowledge and expertise.

As we educate the younger generation in school, this dimension is sometimes lost, in front of the routine tasks of solving equations, conducting experiments, and writing algorithms. Students often understand the importance of doing all of this for their own future success but are rarely motivated to do so by the bigger picture. In recent years, nevertheless, as the PISA standards have been entering the formal curriculum, there are more options of getting a glimpse into the ability to use knowledge to solve real world problems. However, this exposure is still very much anecdotal and ‘on paper’.

To explore how to integrate between the day-to-day learning and the needs of the outside world, we turned to several nonprofit organizations that specialize in hands on entrepreneurial education. One of these is Unistream, established in 2001, by the Israel high-tech entrepreneur, Ronni Zarom. Unistream operates enrichment programs for youth, concentrating on how to envision a product, create business plans and establish startups. This effort is focused on students from the social periphery, providing them with ongoing mentoring from seasoned entrepreneurs on a volunteer basis.

In response to our approach, Unistream is proposing a collaborative program with Nachshon, a voluntary endeavor of the Talpiot Unit of the IDF and the Technion, operating excellence classes in 54 middle school across the country. The joint program is planned to engage 20 of these schools, offered to 500 students of 8^th and 9^th grades. During a 10-week period, students will work in mission-based teams, similar to the work model used in startup companies. They will meet once a week for a concentrated six hours of study. Together, they will analyze a concrete social problem and propose a solution, that is based on their knowledge in mathematics, science and technology. Their goal would be to develop a demo product or a prototype which will provide a solution to a social challenge they defined.

The homeroom teachers will go through 15 hours of preparation and 15 hours of tutoring by Unistream. Additionally, physics and mathematics teachers who will guide the students, will receive support by a mathematics consultant. Furthermore, Unistream will recruit professional mentors with backgrounds in high-tech, who will visit the schools to assist the students with their development process. Likewise, students will visit high-tech companies to become acquainted and connected with the world of high-tech and receive advice and feedback. At the end of the process, the groups will present their solution in a special event and competition. A steering committee will guide the program with the participation of teachers, mentors, and experts.

* The text above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors / Grant 506