K-12 Mathematics Education in Israel

Issues and Innovations

Nitsa Movshovitz-Hadar

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9789813231207
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Educational Policy

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The book provides the reader with a multifaceted picture of mathematics education in Israel, put into an international perspective where relevant. It is intended to give an overview of a wide range of topics covering issues such as raising and maintaining motivation, search for excellence, treatment of difficulties, teacher education, language issues, minorities issues, curriculum changes over the first 70 years of the state of Israel, and many more. This includes aspects of research and practice into the teaching and learning of mathematics, innovation, developments, policy, achievements, and implementation with some international comparison as well.

--> Contents:

• Issues and Innovations Related to the Structure of Mathematics Education in Israel:
  • Highlights in the Development of Education and Mathematics Education in the State of Israel: A Timeline (Michael N Fried, Hannah Perl and Abraham Arcavi)
  • How Did a Crisis in Mathematics Education Lead to a Positive Reform? (Muhana Fares)
  • A Start-Up Nation at Risk: Israel's Quest for Excellence (Eli Hurvitz)
  • Supervision of Mathematics Teaching by the Ministry of Education (Hannah Perl, Dorit Neria, Ruth Segal and Niza Sion)
  • Mathematics Education in Israeli Religious High-Schools (Thierry (Noah) Dana-Picard and Sara Hershkovitz)
  • Excellence in Mathematics in the Ultra-Orthodox Community: Fantasy or Reality? (Reuven Gal, Yehuda Morgenstern and Yael Elimelech)
  • Mathematics Education in the Arabic-Speaking Sectors in Israel (Shaker A Rasslan and Amal Sharif-Rasslan)
• Issues and Innovations Related to Mathematics Education at Preschool and Primary School (Grades K-6) in Israel:
  • New Developments and Trends in Preschool Mathematics Education in Israel (Ornit Spektor-Levy and Taly Shechter)
  • Origametria — Paper Folding for Teaching Geometry in Preschool and Primary School (John Oberman)
  • Educating the Eye: The Agam Program for Visual Thinking (Rina Hershkowitz, Zvia Markovits, Sherman Rosenfeld, Lea Ilani and Bat-Sheva Eylon)
  • Professional Development for Preschool Teachers: The CAMTE Framework and Repeating Patterns (Dina Tirosh, Pessia Tsamir, Esther Levenson and Ruthi Barkai)
  • Time to Know — A Socio-constructivist Initiative to Integrate Computers in the Teaching and Learning of Primary Mathematics (Dovi Weiss and Tali Wallach)
• Issues and Innovations Related to Mathematics Education at Middle and High School (Grades 7–12) in Israel:
  • Exhausting Students' Potential in Mathematics: A Comprehensive Approach to Promoting Both Struggling and Promising Students (Orit Zaslavsky, Liora Linchevski, Noga Hermon, Drora Livneh and Iris Zodik)
  • Middle School Mathematics Curriculum Based on the Power of Open Technological Tools: The Case of CompuMath Project (Rina Hershkowitz and Michal Tabach)
  • Mathematics at the Virtual School: Why? Why not? Who? What? And So What? (Yaniv Biton, Osnat Fellus, Dafna Raviv, David Feilchenfeld and Boris Koichu)
  • Nurturing Students with High Mathematical Potential (Abraham (Avi) Berman and Roza Leikin)
  • The Bar-Ilan University — ICAMS Program for the Advancement of Mathematically Talented Youth (Zvi Arad and Elisheva (Gerstein) Fridman)
  • Mathematical Excellence: The Mofet Way (Tamara Avissar-Zeldis)
  • The Advancement of Mathematics Studies in the ORT Israel Educational Network — Policy and Implementation (Lea Dolev and Eli Eisenberg)
  • Promoting Advanced-Level Mathematics in Diverse Populations in the Amal Educational Network (Ronit Ashkenazy and Anna Vaknin)
  • Problem-Solving Forums on Social Networks that Accompany the Learning of Mathematics in Israeli High Schools (Boris Koichu, Yaniv Biton, Olga Gendler and Nelly Keller)
  • Designing Mathematics Textbooks: The Case of the Integrated Mathematics Curriculum Program (Alex Friedlander, Ruhama Even and Naomi Robinson)
  • Introducing All High School Students to the True Nature of Contemporary Mathematics: Meeting the Challenge (Nitsa Movshovitz-Hadar)
• Issues and Innovations Related to Teacher Education — Training and Professional Development in Israel:
  • Mathematics Teacher Education in Israeli Colleges of Education: Past Trends, Current State of the Art and Future Plans (Atara Shriki and Tili Wagner)
  • The Rothschild–Weizmann Master's Program for Practicing Mathematics Teachers (Ruhama Even, Zvi Artstein and Avital Elbaum-Cohen)
  • Mathematics Teacher Education for Secondary Schools: Bridging Between University Courses and Field Work (Pessia Tsamir, Dina Tirosh, Ruthi Barkai and Esther Levenson)
  • STEM Teaching as an Additional Profession for Scientists and Engineers: The Case of Mathematics Education Track of Views (Orit Hazzan and Iris Zodik)
  • Second Career Teachers Shifting from High-Tech and IDF Emeriti to Teaching Mathematics and Their Perceptions of Their New Career (Aya Steiner and Shai Caspi)
  • Club-5: Communities of Practice of High School Mathematics Teachers Who Teach Advanced-Level Mathematics (Roza Leikin, Varda Talmon, Geula Sever, Irina Gurevitch and Revital Aisik)
  • National Centers of Mathematics Teachers: Bridging Between Theory and Practice in Mathematics Teaching (Varda Talmon, Geula Sever, Gila Ron and Roza Leikin)
  • Making Educational Excellence in Mathematics Accessible to Disadvantaged Children: The Case of Teach First Israel (Shlomit Amichai and Saleit Ron)
  • Teacher Residency Programs for Secondary School Mathematics: Different Models, Similar Challenges (Talli Nachlieli, TiliWagner, Dalia Imanuel-Noy, Ruthi Barkai and Atara Shriki)
  • Enhancing Mathematics Teachers' Knowledge and Reflection Through Peer-Discussions of Videotaped Lessons: A Pioneer Program in Israel (Abraham Arcavi and Ronnie Karsenty)
  • Mathematics Teachers Documenting, Sharing, and Improving Their Work Using a Newly Developed Software (Nitsa Movshovitz-Hadar)
• Issues and Innovations of General Interest Related to Mathematics Education in Israel:
  • Creating a Modern Hebrew Language for Mathematics (Leo Corry)
  • Technology for Mathematics Education: The Case of CET (Sara Hershkovitz, Osnat Efrat and Maureen Hoch)
  • Challenges Teachers Face When Designing Their Resources: The Case of Technology-Based Formative Assessment (Michal Yerushalmy and Rachel Hess-Green)
  • The Commognitive Theory Framework: From Theory to Implementation (Einat Heyd-Metzuyanim and Michal Tabach)
  • The Story of Mathematics Education in the Kibbutz Movement (Ilana Lavy)
  • Math Literacy in Israel: What Does PISA Tell Us That We Did Not Know Before? (Zemira R Mevarech)
  • Kidumatica: A Multicultural Fulcrum for Leveraging the Israeli Periphery's Untapped Reservoir of Mathematical Excellence and Talent Toward Academic and Professional Success (Miriam (Miri) Amit)
  • Opening the Door to Ethnomathematics in Israel (Ada Katsap)
  • Mathematical Learning Disability, Diagnosis and Intervention: An Examination of the Israeli Education System (Sarit Silverman, Nitza Mark-Zigdon and Sarit Ashkenazi)
  • Through the Looking Glass: Research in Mathematics Education as Reflected at the Jerusalem Conference on Research in Mathematics Education (Talli Nachlieli and Michal Tabach)
• Appendix: Israeli Mathematics Curricula (K-12): A Concise Form Based Upon the Hebrew Original Published by the Ministry of Education (John Oberman)

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--> Readership: General public, students, mathematics educators, researchers, educational policy makers. -->
Keywords:School Mathematics;Israel Education;National Mathematics Curriculum;System of Education;Pre-School Mathematics;Mathematics Education at the Elementary Level;Junior High School Mathematics;Senior High School Mathematics;Mathematics Teacher Education;Mathematics Teachers' Professional DevelopmentReview: Key Features:

• The book is a unique source of information about a wide spectrum of issues typical to mathematics education in the state of Israel
• More than 40 different chapters written concisely addressing a plathora of issues, authors by the best mathematics educators in Israel
• A unique collection of ideas and data covering a wide range of topics

Part I

Issues and Innovations Related to the Structure of
Mathematics Education in Israel

Chapter 1

Highlights in the Development of Education
and Mathematics Education in the
State of Israel: A Timeline

Michael N. Fried

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
[email protected]

Hannah Perl

Israel Ministry of Education, Israel
[email protected]

Abraham Arcavi

Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
[email protected]

This chapter provides a timeline for what the authors consider to be the most significant and influential events in mathematics education from 1900 until today, with special emphasis on the years since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Commentary corresponding to each date in the timeline is also given.^a

1.Introduction

It is nearly impossible to reduce history to the neat sequence of events and dates that make up a timeline, as every historian knows. The moment one begins to investigate an “event”, it becomes increasingly clear how unclear the borders of the event are, not only as to when the event began and when it ended, but also more importantly what the event really was. In a much abbreviated timeline such as this one, where any thought of thoroughness must be banished, these problems are compounded by the necessity of choosing merely representative events. Still, a timeline of mathematics education in Israel, even a short one, can be a useful tool as a means to coordinate events discussed in more detailed accounts, such as those included in other chapters of this book, and as a springboard for deeper questioning.

Besides the problem with the very idea of a timeline, there is a further difficulty in the phrase “in the State of Israel”. As can be seen in Chapter 35 by Leo Corry, the distinctive character of mathematics education in the State of Israel was, in many ways, already determined before the establishment of the State itself. Thus, besides the vocabulary adopted for teaching, many textbooks and approaches to mathematics teaching after 1948 continued to develop and change along a trajectory so completely grounded in earlier times that the War of Independence and induction of the State of Israel into the community of nations might appear as mere background events.

On the other hand, with the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948, education became a state affair. Questions of a national curriculum, equity, school standards, and so on became newly concrete and urgent. The Compulsory Education Law of 1949 (later modified in the State Education Law in 1953) was one of the very first pieces of legislation produced in the first Israeli Parliament. Mathematics education, in this regard, was subsumed under these more general educational and national issues.

For the presentation of our timeline below, these considerations have two implications. First, we cannot ignore developments before the creation of the modern State of Israel, even though our focus is on the post-1948 period. Second, many if not most of the events after 1948 are of a national character and shaped education in all disciplines in Israeli schools. Even where reforms were directed towards mathematics specifically, they were often embedded in developments having to do with mathematics and science education.

Finally, a word about the structure of this chapter. Each item in the timeline has a distinct year (sometimes with an adjoined letter, such as 1965a). The commentary is indexed by that year. In this way, the commentary provides extra details only about each item in the timeline: it is not meant to be a continuous text.

2.Timeline

2.1.1903–1934

1903	The establishment of the Hebrew Teachers’ Association
1905–1913	The founding of the first three Hebrew Schools: Herzliya Gymnasium 1905 (Tel Aviv), Jerusalem Gymnasium Rehavia 1909, Hebrew Reali School 1913 (Haifa)
1912	The cornerstone of the Technion in Haifa was laid
1918	The cornerstone of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) was laid
1928	The Establishment of the Mathematics Institute at the Hebrew University
c.1933	Introduction of the completion of secondary school examination, the “Bagrut,” including the mathematics examination
1934	The founding of the Daniel Sieff Research Institute, precursor of the present Weizmann Institute of Science

Commentary 1903–1934

1903: The Hebrew Teachers’ Association grew out of an earlier Hebrew teacher association in the 1890s, and it was dedicated to teaching in Hebrew. In 1928, the Hebrew Teachers’ Association became the Teachers’ Association (Histadrut ha-Morim) which remains a central teachers’ union today.

1905–1913: As discussed in Corry’s chapter, Hebrew was revitalized as a language for all affairs. “Hebrew Schools” were marked by an insistence not only to teach Hebrew but also to teach in Hebrew. It was in this context that Abraham (Baruch) Rosenstein at the Herzliya Gymnasium worked out the vocabulary and conventions for teaching mathematics in Hebrew, most of which are still in use.

1912: The Technion, which is one of Israel’s foremost universities for science, mathematics, and technology, was then called the Technikum. The first students were enrolled in 1924.

1918: Among HUJI’s board of governors were Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, and Martin Buber. The legitimacy of Hebrew school education was influenced by the international reputation of the Hebrew University (see below, 1933).

c.1933: The British authorities in Palestine threatened not to respect Hebrew secondary school certificates without a completion examination according to British standards. Hebrew high schools under the Department of Education of the Jewish National Council in Palestine led by Joseph Luria (1871–1937) developed and administered their own examination, the “Bagrut”, with the cooperation of the Hebrew University. The reputation of the Hebrew University sufficed to make the secondary school certificates recognized by universities outside of Palestine. It must be pointed out, however, that students could take the British exams as well, and many did.

The secondary school examinations are still critical for students wishing to pursue more advanced education. The central subject areas for the examinations have remained relatively stable: Bible (or Koran, or Druze heritage), Hebrew (or Arabic) grammar and composition, Mathematics, English, Civics, History, Literature, and at least one elective, including the various sciences. There have been, however, changes in how the examinations are administered as well as in the specific subtopics covered by them.

The name “Bagrut” means, literally, “maturity”, and is related nominally to old German Maturitätsprüfung or the Austrian Matura, both completion examinations of a similar type to the Israeli “Bagrut”.

1934: Although this institute was established as an institute for advanced studies in science and mathematics, the Weizmann Institute, which grew out of it, became a crucial center for science and mathematics education in later years (see below, 1968).

2.2.1948–1956

1948	May 14th: The State of Israel is officially established. The Declaration of Israeli Independence asserts, among other things, the universal right to education
1949	Compulsory Education Law
1953	State Education Law
1954	First journal for teachers of mathematics and physics (Pages for the Teacher)
1956	The first official curriculum for secondary schools (grades 9–12)

Commentary 1948–1956

1948: The section of the Declaration of Independence referring to education is very similar to article 26 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights published a few months afterwards. Living up to these principles would, however, continue to be a challenge for the country, a challenge not always met successfully.

1949: This was one of the first laws passed by the new Knesset which underlines the importance of education in the vision of the new state. The law stated that education should be free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 13 and for adolescents who had not completed their primary education (of which there were many from among the large population of refugees from the Arab countries and from post-war Europe). The law left in place three “trends” existing since the early 1920s — a general, socialist (associated with the Kibbutz and Moshav Movements), and religious trend — and even allowed a fourth ultra-orthodox trend. The politicization of the choice of trend, especially among new immigrants, quickly became political coercion. This led to a governmental investigation, the resignation of the Minister of Education, Zalman Shazar, and new elections. The fact that the government fell as result of the difficulties with the education law again brings into relief the centrality of issues connected with education; it also brings into relief the tremendous challenges the nation faced regarding massive immigration.

1953: The State Education Law (chinuch mamlachti) abolished the “trends” system and created two systems of State Education: one general and one religious. It also allowed for alternative systems which required the approval of the ministry of education; by that means, traces of the trend system persisted and still persist. The State Education Law asserted the full responsibility of the State for education for all its citizens; it set out the basic structures of education...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title
• Copyright
• List of Authors
• Editor’s Preface
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Contents
• Part I. Issues and Innovations Related to the Structure of Mathematics Education in Israel
• Part II. Issues and Innovations Related to Mathematics Education at Preschool and Primary School (Grades K-6) in Israel
• Part III. Issues and Innovations Related to Mathematics Education at Middle and High School (Grades 7--12) in Israel
• Part IV. Issues and Innovations Related to Teacher Education — Training and Professional Development in Israel
• Part V. Issues and Innovations of General Interest Related to Mathematics Education in Israel
• Appendix. Israeli Mathematics Curricula (K-12): A Concise Form Based Upon the Hebrew Original Published by the Ministry of Education (See References Below)
• Glossary