The group of eight educators is led by Prof. Elite Olshtain of the National Council of Jewish Women Research Institute for Innovation in Education, and by Ayala Berkovitch, the Institute’s assistant director.
The project will be spread over three months, during which educators will be guided in implementing the program in eight schools across Australia. The unique method of teaching the group will promulgate is called the Yachad Accelerated Learning Project. It is based on a model developed at the Hebrew University in which tutors work on an individual basis with weaker students to improve their language and mathematics skills.
“We are very excited about this mission, which presents a serious challenge in dealing with a different educational and cultural system,” said Prof. Olshtain. “We have attained a great deal of experience in working with populations in need of enrichment and this is a new opportunity for us for us to apply this knowledge.”
The project aims to reduce the gap between the weaker and stronger students within groups, to achieve a more integrated classroom learning environment. It also seeks to guide the Aborigine educators and provide them with the tools for implementing the tutorial program on a highly professional level.
The project is being implemented in cooperation with the Melbourne and Monash universities in Australia, with $5 million in funding from the Australian government and private sources.
Prof. Olshtain believes that with the proper implementation of the institute's methods, the most disadvantaged situation can be overcome - "including that prevailing among the Aborigine communities of Australia,” she said.
The project will be spread over three months, during which educators will be guided in implementing the program in eight schools across Australia. The unique method of teaching the group will promulgate is called the Yachad Accelerated Learning Project. It is based on a model developed at the Hebrew University in which tutors work on an individual basis with weaker students to improve their language and mathematics skills.
“We are very excited about this mission, which presents a serious challenge in dealing with a different educational and cultural system,” said Prof. Olshtain. “We have attained a great deal of experience in working with populations in need of enrichment and this is a new opportunity for us for us to apply this knowledge.”
The project aims to reduce the gap between the weaker and stronger students within groups, to achieve a more integrated classroom learning environment. It also seeks to guide the Aborigine educators and provide them with the tools for implementing the tutorial program on a highly professional level.
The project is being implemented in cooperation with the Melbourne and Monash universities in Australia, with $5 million in funding from the Australian government and private sources.
Prof. Olshtain believes that with the proper implementation of the institute's methods, the most disadvantaged situation can be overcome - "including that prevailing among the Aborigine communities of Australia,” she said.