About the plan
An MSc (with thesis) and PhD graduate program in Science and Mathematics Teaching at the Feinberg Graduate School
This program is attended, on average, by 30 students each year (both new and continuing), most of them PhD students. The formal requirements and regulations for the graduate program are similar to those in the other programs in the institute. Admission requirements include a strong disciplinary background and, preferably, some experience in mathematics or science education, although this experience may be obtained during the course of graduate studies. The program is tailored for the research students’ backgrounds and offers disciplinary courses, mathematics and science education courses, and general education courses such as research methods, curriculum development, and cognition. Graduate students are core members of the department’s research and development groups, and are given many opportunities to experience a rich array of topics in mathematics and science education which prepare them for a variety of career choices upon graduation. Many graduates of this program occupy academic positions in science and mathematics education in Israeli universities and colleges, while others hold a variety of leadership positions ranging from school principals to national science supervisors at the Ministry of Education. Many of our graduates’ theses have significantly influenced Israeli curricula and teacher development programs and, as a result, have had a profound impact on science education in Israel. These theses have also contributed to the international mathematics and science education community, both as conference presentations and as papers in highly regarded journals.
Additional information is available at the FGS website.
Guidelines for Academic Reports
With the goal of (a) minimizing the time students spend on preparing academic reports rather than focusing on the actual research and the preparation of publications related to the research and (b) minimizing the reviewing load of the accompanying committee’s members, these are the structural guidelines for the preparation of the various academic reports that are milestones in the students’ progress towards graduation:
For all Reports
- Spacing 1.5 lines
- 12 pt font
- Lengths indicated below do not include references or supplements
- Report must be comprehensible without having to read the supplements
- Reports can refer to previous reports and do not need to repeat what has already been written there but need to be comprehensible without having to read them.
- All reports other than proposals must list funding source and contributors – who collected data, who did analyses, etc.
- Either Hebrew or English are accepted, English is preferred
MSc
Proposal
- Up to 15 pages
- Should include abstract, introduction, theoretical framing, research questions, proposed methods, timeline, and declaration regarding AI assistance
Thesis
- Up to 50 pages
- Should include abstract, introduction, theoretical framing, research questions, methods, results, discussion, implications, limitations, and declaration regarding AI assistance
PhD
Proposal
- Up to 30 pages
- Should include abstract, introduction, theoretical framing, research questions, proposed methods, and declaration regarding AI assistance
- May include preliminary results
Interim report
- Up to 50 pages
- Should include abstract, introduction, changes to theoretical framing that may have occurred since approval of the proposal, research questions, methods, preliminary results, future steps, and declaration regarding AI assistance
Final report
- Up to 70 pages
- Should include abstract, introduction, theoretical framing, research questions, methods, partial results, preliminary discussion, and declaration regarding AI assistance
Thesis
- Up to 120 pages
- Should include abstract, introduction, theoretical framing, research questions, methods, results, discussion, implications, limitations, and declaration regarding AI assistance
Description of each Section
If the description below do not fit the needs of a particular study, please coordinate an alternative structure with the Board of Studies before preparing the report.
- Abstract - the purpose of the study, its principal findings (when applicable), its conclusions and implications for the field (when applicable)
- Introduction – rationale for the study (what is known and what is still missing)
- Theoretical framework – literature review and the background for the perspective taken in the study
- Research questions – are derived from the two previous sections
- Methods – the context of the study, the procedure, the sample, instruments, and analyses
- Results – a full description of the findings, including figures and tables as needed
- Discussion – a discussion of the results obtained by the study in light of what is known in the literature
- Implications – possible research implications and/or practical implications to the classroom
- Limitations – what limits the study’s conclusions and their generalizability
- Declaration of GenAI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, similar to the following statement: “During the preparation of this work, I used/did not use ChatGPT (or another AI-based technology) in order to assist with translation and to improve readability [list other functions, such as data analysis]. When interacting with GenAI systems, I did not upload any unpublished, confidential, proprietary, or otherwise sensitive information. All content generated with AI assistance was subsequently reviewed and edited by the author, who takes full responsibility for the final version of the manuscript.
Including Papers in Theses and Reports
The thesis may include materials sourced from published paper(s), as well as work in preparation. These materials may be presented as chapters within the reports or thesis. These chapters should constitute a self-contained and coherent body of work, and that the included research represents the intellectual contribution of the student. Reprints of published papers, and/or photocopies of parts thereof, may not be included in the thesis, including not as a supplement.
Conflicts with the Requirements Appearing on the WSOS Website
These requirements of academic reports differ from those appearing on the WSOS website. Whenever there is a difference, the requirements here take precedence.
