David Yellin Academic College will join a network of teacher residency programs around the country which provide high quality clinical teacher training
Jerusalem is one of the low performing cities in Israel with regards to mathematics and the sciences. Currently, there is a growing shortage of physics teachers in the Jerusalem area, which has already contributed to five high schools closing their physics tracks in recent years due to the retirement of veteran teachers which is due to increase in the coming years . This shortage will become more severe because of system-wide implementation of the wage reform this year, which prevents teachers from teaching in more than one school.In response to this need, the Jerusalem-based David Yellin Academic College of Education is planning to launch a Teacher Residency Program for physics teachers. The college is proposing to train 35 new physics over three cohorts. At the first stage, new courses with a clinical focus will be developed in consultation with other teacher residency programs supported by the foundation. Applicants will be selected via a rigorous selection process, following a targeted marketing campaign to attract highly talented career-changers, who hold a degree in mathematics, physics or electrical engineering.
The training program is planned for three days per week to include two days per week of practical training in schools, where they will observe an experienced teacher and gain teaching experience themselves. In workshops, they will analyze and discuss the lesson observations, and will use video simulations to train how to teach students who experience various types of difficulties. One of the courses will be dedicated to teaching particularly strong and weak students in the same, advanced-level class, conducting research experiments in the school laboratory, and dealing with common errors and misconceptions.
Following the one-year training program, graduates will receive hands on assistance with placement in schools, and coaching for one year. The college will monitor their integration into schools, and the success of their students at the five unit matriculation examinations. If approved, the proposed program will join a network of ten teacher residency programs around the country in partnership with the foundation, which provide high quality clinical teacher training programs for different populations.