Trailblazing Teachers

“Learning in Motion” is a pedagogical model designed to narrow achievement gaps and foster active language learning. Instruction takes place during the school day in language classes, organized into three parallel stations where students work in homogeneous groups. The model enables students to progress individually through instruction that is tailored, active, and experiential, while engaging in dialogue, discussion, and independent task completion. The project is implemented in grades 5 and 6.

Salma Samara has led and coordinated the “Mathaf Bil-Arabi” (Museum in Arabic) initiative for the past eight years as part of the education team at the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art. The initiative connects schools, university students, educational staff, and groups from Arab society with the museum space and contemporary art through open dialogue in Arabic—a dialogue that does not necessarily rely on prior knowledge. Discussing art—and engaging in dialogue through it—fosters critical thinking and cultivates personal and interpersonal skills within a positive, safe environment.

Moshe, a teacher at a technological high school in Kiryat Motzkin, developed a new approach to parent–teacher conferences. Unlike the conventional model, students at Moshe’s school are required to meet with all their subject teachers before the conference and collect feedback on their academic performance and participation throughout the semester.

During the conference itself, the students present their educational and academic progress to their parents and homeroom teacher. They also set goals for the future and outline their own plan for achieving them. The students not only receive feedback but also provide it themselves, helping them develop essential skills such as self-awareness, constructive communication, and a nuanced understanding of social interactions.

To refine the initiative, Moshe draws on the theory of dialogic learning. He seeks to examine the different forms of dialogue expressed in the project, identify ways to improve it, and articulate its guiding principles before the model is shared more widely.

Rodina, a teacher at a technological high school in Yarka, has accompanied groups of Muslim and Druze youth on educational trips to Poland for several years, where students learn about the Holocaust of European Jewry. For Rodina, the journey is intended to help students develop an understanding of Jewish-Israeli identity and to foster connections between Arab and Jewish youth during the trip.

To prepare her students for the journey to Poland, Rodina developed a unique curriculum based on programs originally created for Jewish youth. As part of her participation in the “Groundbreaking Teachers” initiative, she aims to write a textbook that can be shared with other teachers who prepare Arab students for the journey and accompany them in Poland.

In this process, Rodina draws on a large-scale study conducted approximately 15 years ago by Israel’s National Authority for Measurement and Evaluation in Education among thousands of Jewish adolescents, adapting its insights to the specific needs of Muslim and Druze students in Israel.

Inge, a teacher at a technological high school in Kiryat Motzkin, has for years been running an educational initiative as part of the “Personal Commitment” program. Through this initiative, students—who study trades such as baking and cosmetology at the school—open the school’s doors to community members, providing them with free services and workshops. For instance, the students host groups from the Israel Cancer Association for baking workshops they lead themselves, aiming to support and uplift the patients. As part of the “Trailblazing Teachers” project, Inge is examining how her initiative aligns with the theory of authentic learning and plans to refine the program to make the students’ learning experiences more meaningful. At the same time, she aims to share the operational principles she develops with the broader teaching community.