The number of students studying mathematics at the level of five study units in the Southern District is relatively low. In 2012, only 967 students took the matriculation exam in mathematics at the level of five study units, which constitutes 13% of all students who take the matriculation exams in the district, compared with 24% of the students who take the exams in the Central District and 25% in the Tel Aviv District. Among the reasons for this is the socio-economic background and the proliferation of small schools scattered throughout the South, making it difficult to open classrooms to a limited number of students.
The Achva Academic College proposes to address these issues by establishing a clinical training program for 50 new mathematics teachers at the level of five study units. Through a competitive selection process, the college will recruit outstanding candidates with academic degrees in mathematics-intensive subjects. Their training will be based on the model of school-based clinical training, in which teaching students experience practical work in schools. They will be closely accompanied by multi-master teachers, will observe the lessons of veteran teachers and will also learn when veteran teachers watch their lessons, and will receive feedback on this. Practical teaching experience will form an integral part of the academic knowledge they will require and at the same time will also be a source of this knowledge.
To date, the Trump Foundation has supported the establishment of five such programs at Lewinsky, Beit Berl, Oranim, Kibbutzim Seminars and Tel Aviv University, all in the north and center of the country. The program offered by Achva College is designed to join the network cluster of these programs. Graduates of the program will serve in schools in the south of the country to help lead to an increase in the number of students who choose, persevere and succeed in completing their high school studies in this field.
Achva College, which serves the southern region, has about 3,500 students and employs 450 lecturers in 20 different fields. The college is experienced in both the theoretical and practical aspects of training teachers and academics who undergo professional retraining for teaching. The program will be conducted within the Department of Mathematics, headed by Dr. Marita Barbash, and will be led by Dr. Yelena Naftaliev, both researchers in the field of mathematics education.
