The lecture was given as part of the Azrieli Fellows Program
Column in "Time for Education"
Article in Yedioth Ahronoth
Dr. Matan Barak interviews Prof. Yariv Feniger on motivation, self-efficacy, the dangers of ability grouping, and the opportunities heterogeneous teaching offers to create social change and promote equality.
Article in Haaretz
Dr. Matan Barak interviews Prof. Yariv Feniger on heterogeneous teaching in mathematics. Among other topics, they discuss the dangers of ability grouping in mathematics, explain self-efficacy, the ability to provide students with a dynamic approach to their capabilities, and the opportunities inherent in heterogeneous classrooms.
In this session, we will discuss research examining decision-making processes regarding student tracking into different ability levels. Students in middle and high school are sorted into different learning tracks. This tracking affects their chances of success in higher education and in the labor market. This study uses distributive justice theory to explain the logic that teachers employ when sorting students in pedagogical councils. Teachers navigate between the desire to respond to students' academic and emotional needs, the desire to maximize achievement, and their desire to "discipline" students by using tracking as a reward and punishment mechanism.
Presenter: Avner Zamir Respondent: Ido Argaman
Gender Differences in Science and Technology Education and the Free Choice Paradox - What Can Be Learned from a Comparison Between Arabic-Speaking and Hebrew-Speaking Schools in Israel? The research presented in this lecture shows that schools serving the Jewish population operate according to an ethos of "self-realization" through choice in different curricula, but the actual choice is largely made based on social stereotypes among both boys and girls.
Presenters: Halleli Pinson and Yariv Feniger
Respondent: Vanda Rabin
How do gender, nationality, and socioeconomic status affect student participation in classroom discussions? How do teachers influence this? And what can be done to promote equitable participation?
Presenter: Aviv Orner Respondent: Yael Boim-Fine
We spoke with partners from academia and the educational field about the unique process of partnership that improves, shapes, and engages with educational practice.
The opening lecture at the annual conference (2024) of the Center for Pedagogy Research - academic-field partnerships, was delivered by Prof. Adam Gamoran, President of the William T Grant Foundation.
Dr. Matan Barak interviews Prof. Adam Lefstein in a series of conversations about partnerships. On the challenges, opportunities, the people who comprise them, and the unique conditions that enable them to become reality.
Dr. Matan Barak interviews Prof. Adam Lefstein in a series of conversations about partnerships. On the challenges, opportunities, the people who comprise them, and the unique conditions that enable them to become reality.
Dr. Matan Barak interviews Prof. Adam Lefstein in a series of conversations about partnerships. On the challenges, opportunities, the people who comprise them, and the unique conditions that enable them to become reality.
Dr. Matan Barak interviews Prof. Adam Lefstein in a series of conversations about partnerships. On the challenges, opportunities, the people who comprise them, and the unique conditions that enable them to become reality.
Sharon Avni, cluster manager in the network, interviews teacher and principal Moshe Bachar about the initiative and the process he went through in the education system. Moshe is among the teachers who participated in the "Trailblazing Teachers" program, an initiative of the Center for the Study of Pedagogy - Academia-Field Partnerships, in collaboration with the Atid Education Network. From his position as a father, he understood that parent-teacher meetings are built on a problematic model, and thus decided to create a new model.
Sharon Avni, cluster coordinator in the network, interviews teacher Inga Danilov about a project she initiated. Inga is also among the teachers who participated in the "Trailblazing Teachers" program, an initiative of the Center for the Study of Pedagogy - Academia-Field Partnerships, in collaboration with the Atid Education Network. A story about creativity born from necessity, and how a real solution is found within rather than without.
Sharon Avni, cluster manager in the network, interviews teacher and principal Moshe Bachar about the initiative and the process he underwent in the education system. Moshe is among the teachers who participated in the "Trailblazing Teachers" program, an initiative of the Center for the Study of Pedagogy - Academia-Field Partnerships, in collaboration with the Atid Education Network. From his perspective as a father, he understood that parent-teacher meetings are built on a problematic model, and thus decided to create a new model.
The podcast featured an interview with Aviv Orner, the lead researcher in the partnership, and Dafna Tzadok, pedagogical director at the Center for Gender Equity in Education, who accompanied the development process. Together they discussed the project, its findings, their personal connection, and working in partnership.
Conversations about literacy in light of the cognitive, emotional, social, and cultural changes students experience, as well as the importance of rewriting, engaged and reflective reading, writing as a tool, and the hero’s journey as it relates to adolescents’ own journeys.
What Happens to Students? What Do Teachers Feel? What Else Needs to Be Done? What Is the Connection to AI Use, and Why Is It Important to Know How to Rewrite?
What types of works will we choose? What questions will we ask? How will we integrate writing? What tasks will we prioritize? How does this model fit the unique place where students are in middle school?
How can language help students tell their own life story to themselves? How can literature help students cope with challenges in their lives?
How can identification help adolescents and their teachers? How do we facilitate a discussion around heroes' journeys? What in the hero's journey can promote literacy, and why?
How do the transition to middle school, the physical changes of adolescence, and the cognitive and emotional changes affect students and their readiness for reading and writing? What kind of materials do we need to make accessible to them in order to engage with their emotional turbulence?
What changes in the transition from elementary school to middle school, and how does this change affect the students? Is the problem only Israeli? What is the main difficulty for the students?
Conversations about poverty awareness, education, social structures, insights, and practices within the already complex and demanding role of homeroom teachers.
How do teamwork and the creation of a shared school language around the issue of poverty help teachers cope? How does the way we relate to educators affect their ability to assist students facing poverty? What is the importance of processes that emerge from academia-to-field collaboration?
How can identifying injustice lead to real change in classrooms? How do we develop critical consciousness through genuine recognition of the mediating role of classroom educators?
How does the fact that a student comes from a family of lower socioeconomic status affect the treatment from the teacher, the system's expectations, and the education he or she will receive? What is the role of the education system in the diverse world from which students come?
What happens to us, and what do we think when we meet men and women facing poverty? Do we feel different from them? Do we judge them for their situation? Or do we believe that they are trying to change the reality of their lives, but without success so far?
Conversations about the social, emotional, and motivational processes arising from the use—or absence—of ability grouping in mathematics; inequality and ways to reduce it; and the support mechanisms that should accompany challenging systemic changes, such as delaying ability grouping in mathematics.
How do we support the process of postponing ability grouping? How does individualized support, beyond learning in small groups, integrate into this process? How do we implement such an organizational change in schools?
How do students from more challenging backgrounds experience learning in educational institutions compared to students from stronger backgrounds? What difficulties accompany the move toward such ambitious teaching? What are the opportunities despite the challenges?
How does the message conveyed by division into ability groups affect students? How do different learning environments affect students? How does this impact motivation and self-perception?
Why is it important to maintain heterogeneous classes specifically in middle schools? When is it more appropriate to divide into ability grouping? What happens in other countries around the world?
At what stage does students' educational career begin to take shape? How does the education system currently attempt to address heterogeneity in classrooms?
Conversations about poverty awareness, education, social structures, insights, and practices within the already challenging and complex role of homeroom teachers.
What are the emotional tools that will help teachers provide their students with an inclusive environment, in light of the unique challenges they face? How do we nurture the teachers themselves and attend to their emotional needs?
Cultivating poverty awareness is not the work of individuals, but rather requires developing a professional culture and creating appropriate conditions for its implementation. Michal and Matan discuss systemic aspects that will support the creation of sustainable poverty-aware education.
What are the tools that will help teachers address the challenges their students face, and how do they impact the reality of their lives?
What is the connection between intimacy and radical hope? How can one truly be interested in the reasons behind actions?
How do we resist the social narratives we have about poverty? How do we understand poverty as something that does not stem from a student's character?
How does awareness lead to action? How is poverty related to the distribution of social resources? How can insights about social structure lead to behavior toward those living in poverty?
