Grant amount
NIS 75,000
Study Visit To Singapore
Study Visit to Learn How Singapore Nurtures its Mathematics and Science Teachers
Study Visit to Learn How Singapore Nurtures its Mathematics and Science Teachers
Singapore has one of the highest performing education systems in the world. In the 2015 international PISA test, Singapore was ranked first in mathematics and in science, for both boys and girls. The share of struggling students was the lowest among all participating countries while the rate of excelling students was the highest. Since 2004, the education policy in Singapore, titled: “Teach Less, Learn More”, has been emphasizing the use of student-centered teaching and engaging students in deep learning.
Teaching is a distinguished profession in Singapore. All teachers are trained at the National Institute of Education (NIE) of the Nanyang Technological University. This Institute is a center of expertise in the field of teaching, and it operates as a professional home for the ongoing learning and development of veteran teachers. The career ladder for teachers, from novice to master, is based on professional standards, certifications and accreditations.
At the initiative of Professor Lee Shulman, we received an invitation for the emerging Israeli National Institute for Advanced Teaching of Mathematics and the Sciences, to conduct a study visit in Singapore. Shulman will be the keynote speaker at the Singapore International Science Teachers’ Conference in November 2019, and the idea is to use this conference as an opportunity to meet the local Ministry of Education, the leaders of the NIE as well as to conduct school visits and meet with teachers and students.
We propose to send a delegation for 4-5 days, which will comprise three members of the founding team of the upcoming new Institute, to be joined by Peggy Brookins, a member of the foundation’s International Advisory Council and President of the US National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. They will be hosted by Chua-Lim Yen Ching, the Director of the Academy of Singapore Teachers. Upon their return to Israel, they will prepare a detailed report to be shared with the professional community.