The National Center for Physics Teachers
Leading team
- Prof. Edit Yerushalmi – Academic Adviser
- Prof. Yaron Lehavi – Director, of the Center and Editor of the Physics Teachers Journal
- AVI RAHAV Website Manager
Summary
The National Center for Physics Teachers was established in 1995 in the Department of Science Teaching at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The center is operated within an integrated framework including the national center for teachers of “geography – human and environment” and “Earth science”. The activities of the National Center are coordinated and carried out in full cooperation with the Ministry of Education physics teaching superintendence.
The National Center for Physics Teachers is committed to the professional development of physics teachers in Israel and to the advancement of their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The center is involved in the development and assimilation of frameworks and tools that support the professional development of teachers in collaboration with central projects led by academic institutes throughout the country, such as the Technion, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and in particular – the Physics Education group at the Science Teaching department at the Weizmann Institute:
- The “physics teacher communities” project, preparing leading cohort of teachers that guide high school physics teacher communities all over the country.
- The “Research Physics” Project – Training Program for teacher mentors for additional programs for physics students that focus on inquiry portfolios and long-term research projects.
- “Gateway to Physics” project, preparing middle school physics teachers to guide inquiry oriented learning and teaching in advanced level Physics classrooms
- The physics component of PETEL- Personalized Teaching and Learning digital environment
- Video Didactics project – a program for training physics teachers in moderating an inquisitive, exploratory, non-judgmental peer discourse with their colleagues, based on authentic video-evidence.
And more…
The center supports the different projects both in operating frameworks for professional development (Yearly communities and short-term workshops, assisting and empowering teachers’ in their everyday practice and introducing novel strategies and tools), as well as in developing various aids for teaching physics as booklets in Hebrew and Arabic.
The center operates the National physics teachers center website, publish the journal “Tehuda” (edited by Prof. Yaron Lehavi), holds the yearly National Physics Teachers’ conference and supports additional seminars.
Our thanks to the Ministry of Education for its support
Administration
Links for further reading
- The National Center for Physics Teachers.
- Tehuda, The Israeli Physics’ Teacher.
- Bagno, E., Levy, S. & Eylon, BS. How can a Website for Physics Teachers Serve as a Tool for Professional Development?. J Sci Educ Technol 15, 215–219 (2006).