Leading team:
- Prof. Michal Armoni
- Dr. Ofra Brandes
Project team:
- Anat Ben-Yaacov
- Dafna Minster
- Dr. Ronit Ben-Bassat Levy
- Karin Shelli
- Areen Matar
- Lina Daher
- Esther Appelbaum
Brief
PeTeL-CS is a digital learning environment for computer science (CS), developed by the Department of Science Teaching.
The environment includes a large collection of interactive activities that reflect a consistent and comprehensive pedagogy aligned with the high-school CS curriculum. This pedagogy addresses fundamental ideas in CS, fosters deep thinking among students, and promotes a deep understanding of the subject and its nature.
Teachers can modify and adapt the activities to their needs by controlling their content and mode of use (e.g., for practice or assessment). The environment also includes diagnostic activities, through which teachers can obtain immediate and accurate information about their students’ level of understanding. Teachers can use ready-made courses or create their own teaching programs for their classes. PeTeL collects information on students’ progress, knowledge, and understanding, enabling teachers to monitor the learning pace at both the individual and class levels.
A current study (the doctoral research of Anat Ben-Yaacov) focuses on the professional development of teachers who use PeTeL-CS. It aims to promote the teaching of the fundamental ideas of CS through a training course that integrates PeTeL-CS resources and their accompanying pedagogies. During the course, teachers engage in in-depth work with PeTeL-CS, enabling them to become familiar with the teaching resources and their potential, and to effectively integrate them into their teaching practices.