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Since 2012, ICEE in cooperation with the Ministry of Education has operated the ““AL MA DA”” program. “AL MA DA” represents an additional approach which has more rapidly brought excellence in education to the entire country by having invited various and multiple municipalities to transform their education system. Already, we have implemented exciting changes in the way education is delivered to middle and high schools, by adapting the treasure of intellectual property (IP) developed and proven over the past several decades. This IP is adaptable and can fit all schools. Using the unique materials developed for grades 4 – 6, we are raising the level of education throughout the country.
ICEE plans to systematically and rapidly raise the level of education in Israel. We have partnered for decades with the Ministry of Education to implement a range of educational improvement programs in schools throughout Israel, reaching thousands of teachers and almost 100,000 students.
“AL MA DA” revolutionizes the way Israeli elementary schools teach science and math. It is structured on the Ministry of Education’s Core Curriculum for grades 4 – 6 and is approved by the Ministry but goes well beyond. “AL MA DA” is a transformational STEM curriculum for elementary schools (grades 4 – 6). Our exceptional team of educators at ICEE has developed this curriculum. It is a unique curriculum for science and math in elementary schools. Each learning unit is presented as a mystery, piquing students’ curiosity, and enlisting them as investigators who carry out experiments to discover the answer. Along the way, they learn essential scientific and mathematic concepts, as well as critical thinking skills.
Instead of frontal teaching, teachers are trained in the benefits of hands-on teaching. They are trained to make their classrooms dynamic and help their students grow through training and new methodologies. Students are taught to think scientifically, creatively, mathematically, out-of-the-box, with experiential and multidisciplinary activities. They become young scientists and mathematicians avid to explore and learn. There is no more memorization or algorithms in math. Rather, puzzles, mysteries and games make math fun instead of something to be feared.
The “AL MA DA” program includes an easy-to-use curriculum comprising teacher handbooks and student materials adapted to culture and language for each community; 2 years of teacher training by ICEE expert educators; and 3 years of class observation, support, and constructive feedback from ICEE Field Coaches.
“AL MA DA” has already proven that it is expandable and replicable. Since its inception in 2012, it has grown exponentially within Israel – just over the past three years we have grown from 40 municipalities to the current number of 86, not including the municipality of Jerusalem. In total, the number of schools, over the past three years grew from 62 schools to 186 schools currently in the program. However, more important than those numbers are the numbers of TEACHERS who have been trained in the “AL MA DA” program. Frequently, teachers may leave one school for another – and they will bring with them what they have learned, and often encourage their new school to join the “AL MA DA” program, if they have not yet already done so! Three years ago, the total number of teachers participating in the program was 228 and today over 700 teachers have participated in the program (including Jerusalem).
The “AL MA DA” training program includes an extensive and up-to-date pedagogical toolbox which we have developed. It is presented in a way that permits teachers to experiment on their own, gain confidence in the latest teaching, and then to impart critical 21st-century skills to students, such as questioning, experimenting, exploring, analyzing, drawing conclusions, and explaining phenomena.
This “pedagogical toolbox” has already been replicated for use in all the municipalities and schools wherein which the “AL MA DA” program operates. It has also been translated into Arabic for use in the Arab and Druze sector schools. Making this “toolbox” available for use and implementation of our program in other countries would be relatively simple. All the materials are there.
Additionally, we are helped in our efforts to expand across Israel by the support of and partnership with the Ministry of Education, various municipalities and their educational governance, and other institutions and foundations, both within and outside of Israel.
Parents worldwide want better education for their children. Education delegations from many countries come to Israel to explore methods to improve their education systems. These partnerships inspire education systems around the world to bring excellence in education to their countries.
By empowering teachers to awaken their students’ love of learning, the program reignites teachers’ passion and motivation to educate and improves the learning of tens of thousands of students in the years to come.
Bob Asher is a founder of the Israel Center for Excellence Through Education and the Israel Academy of Science and Art.
Mr. Asher was born in Chicago where he also studied, married, and started his family and his business. He and his wife continue to live in Chicago and most of his three children and sixteen grandchildren also call Chicago home.
In 1989, Bob, along with the Israeli educator, Rafi Amram, who passed away in 1997, co-founded Matan – Factory Arts and Culture Youth, an organization aimed at identifying and nurturing youngsters with talent in the arts in Israel. Bob also founded the Association for Excellence in Education, and the Israeli Center for Excellence Through Education.
Asher has dedicated his life to the US-Israel relationship and to promoting academic excellence in Israel and the US. In addition to serving as the chairman of the ICEE, he is also a past president and current chairman emeritus of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Asher is a member of the International Board of Governors of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot and a past president of the Feinberg Graduate School, and he holds an honorary doctorate from the institution.
Over the years he has participated on the boards of various national organizations in the United States. Today, Mr. Asher continues to devote much of his time to contributing to community needs.
Moish Berdichev is the VP/Program Manager at ICEE and he manages the “AL MA DA” program. Mr. Berdichev holds a BA from Tel Aviv University with a specialization in ornithology. Before joining the Israel Center for Excellence Through Education, Mr. Berdichev worked for 13 years at the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). There, he was the Director of Educational Programming for the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He currently manages the leading education programs at the Israel Center for Excellence Through Education.
Bob Asher is a founder of the Israel Center for Excellence Through Education and the Israel Academy of Science and Art.
Mr. Asher was born in Chicago where he also studied, married, and started his family and his business. He and his wife continue to live in Chicago and most of his three children and sixteen grandchildren also call Chicago home.
In 1989, Bob, along with the Israeli educator, Rafi Amram, who passed away in 1997, co-founded Matan – Factory Arts and Culture Youth, an organization aimed at identifying and nurturing youngsters with talent in the arts in Israel. Bob also founded the Association for Excellence in Education, and the Israeli Center for Excellence Through Education.
Asher has dedicated his life to the US-Israel relationship and to promoting academic excellence in Israel and the US. In addition to serving as the chairman of the ICEE, he is also a past president and current chairman emeritus of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Asher is a member of the International Board of Governors of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot and a past president of the Feinberg Graduate School, and he holds an honorary doctorate from the institution.
Over the years he has participated on the boards of various national organizations in the United States. Today, Mr. Asher continues to devote much of his time to contributing to community needs.
Moish Berdichev is the VP/Program Manager at ICEE and he manages the “AL MA DA” program. Mr. Berdichev holds a BA from Tel Aviv University with a specialization in ornithology. Before joining the Israel Center for Excellence Through Education, Mr. Berdichev worked for 13 years at the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). There, he was the Director of Educational Programming for the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He currently manages the leading education programs at the Israel Center for Excellence Through Education.
