Grant amount
NIS 145,000
It’s Time for Education 2014 – Social Media Program
Developing and expanding interactive facebook education community to improve perception and attract talent into teaching of High School mathematics and the sciences
Developing and expanding interactive facebook education community to improve perception and attract talent into teaching of High School mathematics and the sciences
The expected imminent retirement of many mathematics and science teachers is both a challenge and an opportunity for Israel’s education system. In order for talented people to enter the shoes of veteran teachers, according to our strategy, talented people will need to be persuaded that they are making the right career choice. They will need to be convinced that education in Israel is changing course, that their work yields important and tangible results, and that their environment is supportive of their decision and chosen career path.
In preparation for implementing our program to help create the next generation of science and mathematics teachers, we commissioned a public poll and focus groups, which was conducted in 2012. This revealed that 8.6% of Israelis with academic degrees are interested in switching their career to teaching mathematics and science in high school. We also learned that potential teaching candidates are mostly secular 35-45 year olds, who reside in the center and the north of the country, and are interested in teaching because they love science; they wish to give back to society and aspire for job security and better family lives.
Following this revelation, we have decided to work on both the supply and demand for excellent teachers. Teacher Residency training programs have been established in a number of colleges, offering clinical and school-based expertise. In parallel, since early 2013, we have been working on a social media effort to engage the potential pool of candidates, to evoke their interest in education and teaching, and to provide them with relevant information regarding joining the teaching force.
With advice from experts we launched a facebook-based community, ‘Higia Zman Chinuch’ (‘It’s Time for Education’), which targets the 68,000 facebook users whose characteristics correlate with the profile of potential teaching candidates. The content is rich and diverse, ranging from links to new training programs, knowledge-sharing among teachers and teaching candidates, as well as inspirational teaching stories of students, parents and teachers. Since its inception, Higia Zman Chinuch has become the most active education community on Facebook in Israel, with a membership of 22,000 and a weekly distribution of approximately 100,000. As a result of the page’s proliferation, the Facebook HQ offered us professional tutoring free of charge to assist with maintaining an expanding its success.
In November, we decided to push the boundaries of this experiment even further, by initiating a National Teachers` Day. Started as an initiative of the social media community, the Teachers` Day initiative attracted many partners, including municipalities, school networks, and the teacher union. On the day itself, students and parents arranged activities in schools to thank their teachers, adults sent letters to their beloved teachers, and administrators awarded prizes to excellent teachers. The events were covered by the national media, and the Education Committee of the Knesset convened a special meeting, which was broadcast on the Knesset television channel, to which members of Knesset invited their memorable teachers.
In early 2014 we will learn the results of an in-depth qualitative survey, which is currently underway, examining the daily habits of potential teaching candidates; shedding light on how they consume media and information; who influences their decision making, and so forth.
We will then fine-tune the social media activity accordingly, with specific goals in mind:
a). to expand the reach of the community to 25,000 members.
b). to engage its members in activity outside Facebook and the internet domain; and
c). to provide those members who are considering changing careers to teaching with online, updated information and reviews about training opportunities.
* The text above shows the grant as approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors / Grant 111