Physics & Industry 2000-2017

Leading team

  • Prof.  Emeriti Bat Sheva Eylon, Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science
  • Rami Arieli, Davidson Institute of Science Education
  • Dorothy Langley, Davidson Institute of Science Education

Project members

Development and implementation team

  • Shay Soffer – Elbit Systems
  • Zvi Arica, Dr. David Sela, Dr. Yaakov Sheinbaum – Ministry of Education
  • Yehuda ben UHur, Dr. Avi Golan, Dr. Yarden ben Horin, Dr. Ariel Heimann – Davidson Institute of Science Education
  • Boaz Lubashitz, Dr. Avinoam Kalma, Mr. Avigdor Zeidmann – Elbit Systems Engineers; Dr. Eran Grinvald, Dr. Liran Shimshi – Physics Department in WIS; Projects’ Mentors
  • Mordechai Moshizky, Mr. Sasson Levi, Mr. Yosef Susnovsky, Mr. Alex Rubstein – Laboratory team, Davidson Institute of Science Education
  • Jacob Helfman – Systematic Inventive Thinking

Project partners

  • Haim Russo, Dr. Alexander Ayalon, Elbit Systems
  • More in extensive list

Summary

The “Physics & Industry” program pioneered an effort to organize credit-carrying, out-of-school, regional frameworks fostering excellence and providing a link to physics-based industries amongst 11th &12th grade, high ability students. The program was an elective, out-of-school, accredited program for high school physics majors, who met on a bi-weekly basis for 15 months. The program implemented a project-based learning instructional approach. Student pairs, coached by industrial engineers and the project team, designed and constructed a working model providing a solution to an authentic, open-ended technological problem, employing school based physics knowledge and advanced principles of electro-optics. The instructional design enhanced four learning dimensions to support the students: Learning to apply knowledge; Learning to use technological and cognitive tools; Learning to communicate; and Learning to become a member of a community.

Project history and evolution

The Physics & Industry program was active between 2000 -2017, and formed the basis for research and development leading to various programs run by the Davidson Institute of Science Education and the Department of Science Teaching in the Weizmann Institute of Science.

The program was initiated by prof. Bat Sheva Eylon in collaboration with Mr. Haim Russo, CEO of the El-Op industry  (today part of Elbit Systems).  The objective was to connect interested and talented high- school physics majors with the world of science-based industries.

The program was first implemented at the HEMDA science teaching center in Tel Aviv, and continued, from 2004, in the framework of a regional class at the Davidson Institute of Science Education, which attracted students from many areas across Israel. The program offered the opportunity of breaking away from the limitations imposed by school-based equipment and instruction. The program’s concept was adopted in other academic centers. The Oranim College activated the program with gifted 10th grade students focusing on medical engineering in conjunction with a near-by large medical center.

Students participating in the program attended bi-weekly, after school meetings, in an advanced laboratory at the Davidson Institute of Science Education. They studied physics content extending the school-based advanced physics curriculum (e.g. various sensors and detectors, semi-conductors) and technological content dealing with basic principles of project management and “Systematic Inventing Thinking” – an innovative approach to fostering technological creativity, which has been implemented in many industrial plants in Israel and world-wide. The students were required to study the full physics curriculum and carry out all school experiments, and were exempted from 2 sections of the physics matriculation examination.

The students spent a major part of the program developing a system responding to a significant technological problem, mentored by active electro-optics engineers and the project team. Towards the end of the 12th grade, the students underwent an official examination by an examiner appointed by the Ministry of Education. Students with exceptional abilities had the option of individually carrying out an advanced project for which they could earn an additional advanced grade (carrying extra university credit), beyond their advanced high school physics grade.

Over 200 students, a third of them girls, graduated the program and were accepted into advanced technological units during their army service. Later many continued into academic studies in engineering and medicine. Long term contact with some of the graduates has been maintained over the years.

Project partners (extensive list)

The Physics and Industry program owes much of its success to the school-based support by school principals and physics teachers who encouraged their students to participate – Mr. Boris Epstein, Mr. Dov Rochkes, Ms. Irina Veisman, Ms. Anna Ostrovsky.

The Hammer high school in Bat Yam and its principals, Rev. Noam Sassi and Mr. Aharon Kazav, provided the program with the opportunity of involving urban periphery students. Several organizations were instrumental in supporting the program. Amongst them the MOFET school network, the Bat Yam, Rehovot and Rishon LeZion municipalities, and the Alliance Israel “Kol Israel Haverim” organization.

Development: During the many years of the Physics and Industry’s activity, a considerable amount of instructional materials (presentations, videos, project and experiment instruction sheets etc.) was developed, as well as a variety of evaluation and management tools. Annual events supporting the program goals were held (opening and graduation ceremonies, poster sessions, expert lectures and an excursion to the El Op plant).

Research: Throughout the program, research was performed using questionnaires, and varied documentation of instruction, learning and student products. These provided the raw material for research that was presented in many international conferences (primarily GIREP), as can be seen in the “Further reading” list.

Links for further reading

  • Langley, D. & Arieli, R. (2016). An inquiring look into plane mirrors: Initial steps to physics inquiry. Proc. 2nd World Conf. on Physics Education (WCPE 2016), Contemporary Science Education and Challenges in the Present Society: Perspectives in Physics Teaching and Learning, São Paulo, Brazil, 10-15 July 2016 (61-68)
  • Langley, D. & Arieli, R. (2015). Ask the simulation: Challenging questions and visual answers for project-oriented learning. Proc. 20th Int’l. Conf. on Multimedia in Physics Teaching and Learning  (MPTL 2015Munich, Germany, 9-11 September 2015 (31-38)
  • Langley, D., Zadok, Y., & Arieli, R. (2013). Exploring spatial relationships: A strategy for guiding technological problem solving.  Journal of Automation, Mobile Robotics & Intelligent Systems (JAMRIS).       Proc. 4th Int’l. Conf. on Robotics in Education (RiE2013)
  • Langley, D., Arieli, R., & Eylon, B.S. (2010). Enhancing four science learning dimensions: The Physics & Industry experience.  GIREP-ICPE-MPTL 2010 Int’l. Conf. on Teaching and
    Learning Physics Today: Challenges? Benefits?  Reims, France, 22-27 August 2010 (108-109)
  • Langley, D. & Arieli, R. (2010). Magical elves and formulas as a key to technological inventiveness: The case of non-contact distance measurement. GIREP-ICPE-MPTL 2010 Int’l. Conf. on Teaching and Learning Physics Today: Challenges? Benefits?  Reims, France, 22-27 August 2010 (109-111)
  • Langley, D. &  Arieli, R. (2010).  Digital photography for scaffolding project-based learning.
    Proc. GIREP-EPEC & PHEC Int’l. Conf. 2009: Physics Community and Cooperation
    Selected Contributions, R. Raine, C. Hurkett, L. Rogers (Eds.),  Lulu/The Centre for Interdisciplinary Science, Leicester, England, 17-21 August 2009 (308-323)
  • Langley, D. & Arieli, R. (2008). Fostering a view of optical systems as products of design-based problem solving. Poster presented at the GIREP Conf. – Physics Curriculum Design, Development and Validation, Nicosia, Cyprus, 18-22 August 2008.
  • Langley, D. & Arieli, R. (2007). Building the concept of colours of light. Poster presented at the GIREP-EPEC Conf. – Frontiers of Physics Education, Opatija, Croatia, 26-31 August 2007.
  • Langley, D., Arieli, R., & Eylon, B.S. (2006). Mini-projects: Bridging the gap between school knowledge and model design. Paper presented at the AAPT Summer Meeting: Syracuse, NY, USA, 22-26 July 2006.

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