CV

Professional responsibilities

Professional responsibilities
2006-present Chair of the Teaching Committee of the Department of Science Teaching of the Weizmann Institute of science
2000-present

A high school earth science teacher (12 hr. a week) in "Gimnasia Realit" Rishon Lezion.

1996-present

Head of the earth and environmental sciences group of the Department of Science Teaching of the Weizmann Institute of science.

1988-present Coordinator of Earth science education, Ministry of Education.

Professional developemnt

Professional developemnt
2013-present

Professor in the Department of Science Teaching of the Weizmann Institute of science.

2000-2012

Associate Professor in the Department of Science Teaching of the Weizmann Institute of science.

1995-2000

Senior researcher in the Department of Science Teaching of the Weizmann Institute of science.

1992-1995

Researcher in the Department of Science Teaching of the Weizmann Institute of science.

Education

Education
Ph.D.
1985-1990

Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science.
Thesis topic: "Educational field trips in high school geology:Development - Implementation - Evaluation".
 Supervisors: Profs. Emmanuel Mazor and A. Hofstein.

M.Sc.
1982-1984

Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science.
Thesis topic: "Development and evaluation of a geology curriculum: Igneous and Metamorphic rocks, Eilat-Timna".

B.Sc.
1977-1980

Geology and Biology.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Honors and Awards

Honors and Awards
2001

The Israeli Geological Society Medal for contribution to the society through earth science education.

1992

The British Council scholarship for research in England (Collaboration with Dr. D. Thompson and Prof. R. Kempa, University of Keele).

1990

The Lady Davis Postdoctoral Fellowship for research in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (in Collaboration with Prof. P. Tamir).

Membership of professional organizations:

  • The Israeli Geology Society.
  • The Israeli Association for Research in Education.
  • The National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST).

Local Projects and Initiations

Local Projects and Initiations
1990- 1995 Initiating and leading the establishment of the Earth science as an independent discipline in the high school.
1995- 2000 Heading the development of the of the Earth sciences high school curricula. This project was supported by the Ministry of Education by about 500,000 IS.
1994 – 1996 Leading the process of introducing the Earth science as integral part of the new science for all curricula from K-10.
1994 – 2000 Heading the curriculum development of the Earth sciences component of the Junior high school “Science for All” program.  This project was supported by the Ministry of Education by about 750,000 IS.
1993 – 1998 Heading the Junior high Science Teachers’ Center in Dimona. This project was supported by the Ministry of Education by about  1,000,000 IS.
1998 – 2000 Heading the “Thinking Science” project for Junior high schools, which include population of Ethiopian origin students. The project was supported by the JOINT by about $500,000.
2003 – 2007 Heading the Elementary School Science Project (ESSP). This $1,000,000 project is supported by the Kesaria Foundation and involves the development of the whole science curriculum for the elementary school.
2000 – present Initiation, establishment and chairing of the National Center for the Outdoors Learning Environment (NCOLE).

International Projects and Initiations

International Projects and Initiations
1997 – 2000 Initiation and chairing the International Geoscience Education Organization (IGEO).
2004 – 2007 Chair of the program committee of the first International Geoscience Education Olympiad.
2006 – present Leading member of the international research group of Deep Time Perception.

Invited lectures and workshops

  1. A five-days workshop for Portuguese secondary science teachers on the topic: “The outdoor as a learning environment – Theory and practice”. Invitation of the University of Aveiro, Portugal, 1997.
  2. “The computer as a learning environment for earth science education – theory and practice”. The 2nd International Conference on Geoscience Education. University of Hawaii at Hilo, USA, 1997. 
  3. "Environmental education and the outdoor learning environment”. Invitation for the joint conference of the EEC and the Weizmann Institute of  Science. Brussels, Belgium, 1998.
  4. “Implementation of new teaching strategies in different learning environments within the science education”. Invitation by the Ministry of Education of Portugal for the Symposium on Reform in the Secondary School Curriculum., Evora Portugal, 1998.
  5. “Earth science education: From theory to practice – implementation of new teaching strategies in different learning environments” Invitation by The University of Aveiro, Portugal for the Symposium on Geoscience in the Secondary School Curriculum, 1998.
  6. “Cognitive aspects of environmental education”. Invitation by the program committee of the 7th International conference of the Israeli Society for Ecology and Environmental Quality Sciences, Jerusalem,  Israel, 1999.
  7. “The cognitive aspects of learning within the earth systems approach”. The 3rd International Conference on Geoscience Education. University of Sydney Australia, 2000.
  8. “The earth systems approach as the new platform for the earth science education”. Invitation by the Spanish Earth Science Teachers Association for the Annual Meeting of the Earth Science Teachers Association. Santander, Spain, 2000.
  9. “The integration of the Earth sciences within the educational system: From theory to practice”. Invitation by National Science Council of Taiwan for the 2001 Joint Geosciences Assemblage, Teipe, Taiwan, 2001.
  10. “The Role of The Computer Learning Environment. Invitation by the University of Cyprus, Nicusia Cyprus, 2002.
  11. "Promoting geoscience education worldwide - at school level". A keynote speaker at the at the 32nd International Geological Congress. Florence, Italy. (2004).
  12. "Innovative approaches for learning and teaching Earth sciences". Invitation by the international conference on IESO. Seul, Korea (2004).
  13. “A holistic approach for science education for all”. Invitation by the Turkish National Science and Mathematic Education Congerss. Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey (2006).