The Influences of Global Trends in Teaching and Learning Chemistry on the Chemistry Curriculum in Israel

Abstract

I this paper, we survey and focus on developments in the chemistry curriculum in Israel over the past 70 years, as influenced by changes and reforms in the curricula around the world and specifically in the United States, by political, cultural and socio-economic factors, scientific and technological innovations, and theories and studies in learning and teaching. The mentioned studies refer also to the influence of the learners, the teachers, the content, the pedagogy of teaching and learning both in and out of school, and the assessment of students' achievement on the curriculum changes. Three periods of changes are discussed in the chemistry curriculum in Israel, from the 1960s to the beginning of the 21 st century, as influenced by the above factors.

A Computational Chemistry Course for Teachers: From Research Laboratories to High-School Chemistry Teaching

“…Chemistry teachers were invited to participate in the course and could join the research upon signing a consent form. The high-school chemistry curriculum includes the common topics of an introductory chemistry course and inquiry skills that are mainly used in the laboratory. , …”

“…In the past ten years only 8−10% of students have chosen to learn chemistry. 54 This course of study is similar to the university introductory chemistry courses in the United States. Its curriculum consists of mandatory modules as well as optional modules that are taught in Israel high schools.…”

“…The high-school chemistry curriculum includes the common topics of an introductory chemistry course and inquiry skills that are mainly used in the laboratory. 54,55 The…”

“…The content of the workshop exercises was designed to correspond to the Israeli high-school chemistry curriculum. 54 The aim of the workshop was to provide the teachers with hands-on practice of molecular modeling tools as learners. In addition to the lectures and hands-on workshops, the teachers completed two assignments during the course, in which they were asked to utilize the new tools and their knowledge, apply them to their own chemistry teaching, and reflect on this experience.…”

Women’s leadership in chemistry education: An interview with Rachel Mamlok-Naaman

“…More specifically, the professional development programs and models that I developed, implemented, and researchered over the last 30 years in the Jewish and Arab sectors in Israel, as well as in USA, Georgia, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan, Estonia, Japan, Tanzania, and other countries are based on research findings related to my topics of practice and the research that I mentioned above, as well as inquiry-based skills, e.g., argumentation, asking questions, postulating (Blonder, Rap, Mamlok-Naaman and Hofstein, 2015;Cai and Mamlok-Naaman (Eds. )., 2020), laboratory skills (Mamlok-Naaman and Barnea, 2012), and cultural aspects (Dkeidek, Mamlok-Namman and Hofstein, 2011;Markic, et al, 2016;Mamlok-Naaman and Taitelbaum, 2019).…”