Dr. Shulamit (Shuly) Kapon – PI

Shuly is an associate professor of physics education at the Faculty of Education in Science and Technology, where she leads the physics education track. Her current work mainly focuses on students’ sensemaking of and with physics, and the development and appropriation of disciplinary-based epistemic practices and habits of mind, and in physics teacher education. To read more…

 

Dr. Asnat Zohar – Research Associate

Asnat joined the group on April 2022. She holds a B.Sc. in chemistry from Tel Aviv University, M.Sc. in Chemistry Cum Laude from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a Ph.D. in Educational Technology from the University of Haifa.

 

Ms. Ada Abes – Ph.D. Student

Ada is a product strategy and innovation consultant. She is a retired IDF Navy Commander with extensive experience in project management and system engineering for large scale high-tech military systems. Since her retirement she has been involved also in STEM education initiatives that aim to enhance students’ participation in STEM. Ada holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering (1994) from the Technion and a PMI-PMP certification (2014) and an MBA (2019) from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. She joined Kapon’s group in October 2020 as an M.Sc. students and was transferred to direct Ph.D. on March 2022. The title of her doctoral study is ‘Collaborative knowledge construction in interdisciplinary learning settings’.

Ms. Lilach Ayali – Ph.D. Student

Lilach holds a B.Sc. and M. Sc. in electrical engineering, both from the Technion. She is also a graduate of the Technion Views program for additional B. Sc. in education (mathematics) summa cum laude. Lilach is an experienced high school mathematics teacher, an advisor for physics and mathematics teachers at the Ministry of Education, an expert in mentoring research projects of high school students, and a leader of a community of physics teachers who mentor students’ authentic research projects (Acheret Center). Lilach is one of the developers of Israeli Research Physics program for high school students, and taught in its professional development program.  Lilach joined Kapon’s group as a Ph.D. student in February 2021 and serves as a teaching assistant at the Technion physics teacher education program. The title of Lilach’s doctoral study is ‘Mathematical Modeling in Physics and Mathematics Education: Theory and Practice’.

Ms. Wisal Ganaiem – Ph.D. Student

Wisal is a recipient of the Ariane de Rothschild Women Doctoral Fellowship and a recipient of the Hagit Rafaeli Mishkin award for contribution to the educational system. She holds a B.Ed. in special education, M.Ed. in educational counselling. She is a Mandel leadership program graduate, and is one of the founders of Alrowad for Science and Technology – a nonprofit grassroot organization for promoting STEM education in the Arab community of Israel. Wisal joined Kapon group in February 2021 to lead an exploratory research. As of April 2022 became a full-time doctoral student under the joint supervision of Professors Shulamit Kapon and Fadia Nasser Abu Alhija. The title of her doctoral study is ‘Precollege Arab youth as facilitators of STEM outreach activities in their community: Nurturing the emergence of science capital’.

Ms. Amany Hawari Abu Nasrah, – Ph.D. Student at TAU (joint supervision with Prof. Fadia Nasser Abu Alhija)

Amany has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, in the excellent research program of Tel Aviv University, a master’s degree in teaching science and technology and a teaching certificate in physics, both from Tel Aviv University. She also worked for 5 years as a high school physics teacher. Amani is a PhD student at Tel Aviv University, under the joint supervision of Professors Fadia Nasser Abu Alhija and Shulamit Kapon. Her PhD topic is ‘Exploring the Growth of Science Kapital of Precollege Arab Youth as Facilitators of STEM Outreach Activities in Arab schools in Israel during the Gap Year Program’.

Mr. Tom Reshef-Israeli, Ph.D. Student

Tom holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in physics, both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is an experienced high school physics and math teacher, as well as a teaching assistant in physics and physics education courses both at the Hebrew University and the Technion. In addition, Tom served as teachers’ instructor at the Israeli ministry of education, and as a script writer and presenter in an online Physics course (MOOC) for secondary school students, developed in the group. Tom joined Kapon’s group as a Ph.D. student in October 2023. The title of Tom’s doctoral study is ‘Unpacking collaborative sensemaking in physics education.’

Mr. Tal Peer – Ph.D. Student

Tal holds a B.A and a M.Sc. in physics both from Ben Gurion University. He is a high school physics teacher, a leading research mentor at Acheret Center, and an expert in engineering, maker-based inquiry projects in physics at the high school level. The title of his doctoral study is ‘Maker based physics challenges as a platform for teaching physics’.

 

Mr. Guy Raviv – Ph.D. Student

Guy holds a B.Sc cum laude in electrical engineering from the Technion and a M.A. cum laude in science education from Bar Ilan University. He is a high school physics teacher, and a member of the research and development team in the group who design and implement a MOOC course in physics (kinematics) for junior-high students. The title of his doctoral study is ‘Developing mathematical literacy in an on-line physics course in kinematics’.

Ms. Amal Dahle – M.Sc. Student

Amal holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Physics from the Technion. She joined Kapon’s group in October 2023 and is currently on a maternity leave.

Ms. Gilit Porat – Curriculum Designer ,Collaborating Teacher (and a former M.Sc. student)

Gilit holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the Technion, and a M.Sc. summa cum laude in physics education which she did in Kapon’s group, and on which she received the Kaplan Award for excellence on the category  contribution to the education. She is an experienced physics teacher and curriculum developer, and an expert in integrating educational technologies into the instruction of physics. She serves as a teaching assistant at the Technion physics teacher education program, and is a recipient of the Technion best teaching assistant award. She co-led the induction program for novice physics teachers (Physics in Chavruta), and currently she coordinates the design of a MOOC course in physics for junior-high students that the group is developing.

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Alumni

Dr. Avital Elbaum-Cohen – Visiting Fellow

Avital holds a B.A. in physics and mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in mathematics education from the Weizmann Institute of Science. She is also an experienced high school mathematics teacher, and serves as a consultant of the Mathematics Education Research Group at the Department of Science Teaching at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Avital was a visiting fellow in our group (analogous to part time postdoc) during her sabbatical from school, between October 2019 and July 2020. During this time, she helped us in characterizing high school students’ mathematical discourse while engaged in research apprenticeships in physics.

Dr. Hagar Veksler – Research Associate

Hagar was a research associate in the group from March 2017 till December 2019. She led the curriculum development of a textbook and teacher guide on electromagnetic radiation for non-science majors and was also involved in a comparative study of the scientific output of high school students’ research apprenticeships. Currently Hagar is a research fellow at the Haifa research center for theoretical physics and astrophysics at the University of Haifa.

Dr. Avraham Merzel – Visiting Fellow

Avi was a visiting fellow (analogous to part time postdoc) in the group from October 2015 to September 2017. He worked on a project entitled ‘Helping physics and engineering students become high school physics teachers.’ Currently he is a lecturer (tenure track) at the School of Education, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

 

Dr. Lulu Garah – Ph.D.

Lulu graduated (Ph.D) on June 2024. She is a recipient of the Neubauer Doctoral Fellowship for Minority Students, and the Kaplan Award for excellence in Research. She holds a B.Sc. in biomedical engineering and a M.Sc. in science education, both from the Technion. Lulu joined the group in June 2019. The title of her doctoral study is ‘Arab high-school students engaged in open physics inquiry: An in-depth examination of discourse, mentorship, and learning processes’. She currently works at as a high school physics teacher..

Dr. Maayan Schvartzer – Ph.D.

Maayan graduated (Ph.D) on August 2023. The title of her doctoral thesis is ‘Open inquiry in Physics at High School: Characteristics of mentorship and students.’ She holds a B.Sc. summa cum laude in biomedical engineering from Ben Gurion University, and an M.Sc. in biomedical engineering from the Technion. Currently Maayan works as the physics coordinator, at the Technoda, the Israeli Museum for Science and Technology in Hadera, designing outreach activities in physics and training the facilitating staff.

Dr. Salih Farage – Ph.D.

Salih graduated (Ph.D.) on March 2023. The title of his doctoral thesis is ‘Teachers as research mentors: Participating in a new figured world’. He holds a B.A. in physics from Tel Aviv University, and a M.Sc. in physics education from the Weizmann Institute of Science. He is an experienced high school physics teacher, an advisor for physics teachers at the Ministry of Education, an expert in mentoring research projects of high school students, and a leader of a community of physics teachers who mentor students’ authentic research projects.  At the Technion, Salih co-teaches the practicum course for preservice physics teachers.

Mr. Yossi Wagner – M.Sc.

Yossi graduated (M.Sc.) in October 2021. He also holds a B.Sc. in physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is a high school mathematics and physics teacher. The title of his thesis is ‘Engaging low achieving high school students in a physics inquiry: A case study’.

 

Mr. Lior Keren – M.Sc.

Lior graduated (M.Sc.) in August 2021. He also holds a B.Sc. in electrical engineering from the Technion, and is a graduate of the Technion Views program (an additional B.A. in science education for Technion graduates, and a teaching certificate in a STEM discipline). Lior teaches electronics and physics in high school, and mentors high school students’ research projects in physics, as well as engineering projects in electronics and robotics. The title of his thesis is ‘Differences and interrelations between science and engineering – Experts’ perceptions and stereotypes’.

Ms. Gilit Porat – M.Sc.

Gilit holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the Technion, and a M.Sc. summa cum laude in physics education which she did in Kapon’s group, and on which she received the Kaplan Award for excellence on the category contribution to the education. She is an experienced physics teacher and curriculum developer, and an expert in integrating educational technologies into the instruction of physics. She serves as a teaching assistant at the Technion physics teacher education program, and is a recipient of the Technion best teaching assistant award. She co-led the induction program for novice physics teachers (Physics in Chavruta), and currently she coordinates the design of a MOOC course in physics for junior-high students that the group is developing.

Ms. Angella Halloun – M.Sc.

Angela joined Kapon’s group as an M.Sc. student in October 2013, while Shuly was still a faculty member at the University of Haifa, and continued to work with her as her as a primary thesis advisor after Shuly moved to the Technion. Angela graduated cum laude from the University of Haifa in October 2015. The title of her master thesis is ‘From playing digital games to solving algebraic equations’. The secondary advisor was Prof. Michal Tabach from Tel Aviv University. Currently Angela is working for the Ministry of Education at the Haifa school district as an advisor for mathematics teachers at the middle school level, and as a secondary school mathematics teacher.

Dr. Irit Aharon – Collaborating Teacher

Irit holds a B.A. in physics from Ben Gurion University, and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in education from the University of Haifa. She is an experienced physics teacher, the pedagogical coordinator of the Reali school, and an expert in mentoring new teachers. At the Technion, Irit co-teaches the practicum course for preservice physics teachers, and also co-led the induction program for novice physics teachers that was offered by the group (Physics in Chavruta) in 2019-2020.

Ms. Alina Colton – Collaborating Teacher

Alina is an experienced physics teacher and a recipient of The Amos de-Shalit Prize for Excellence in the Teaching of Physics (2009). At the group she led Physics in Chavruta (induction program for novice physics teachers) from September 2016 to August 2018. She currently works as the educational content specialist at SpaceIL, and was involved in initial conceptualization of a MOOC course in physics for junior-high students that the group has recently started to develop.

Ms. Vera Suprefine – Collaborating Teacher

Vera co-led Physics in Chavruta (induction program for novice physics teachers) from September 2017 to August 2019. She is currently a physics teacher and the department head of the Ort Binyamina high school, and an advisor for physics teachers at the Ministry of Education.

 

 

Mr. Gennady Akselrod – Collaborating teacher

Gennady co-led Physics in Chavruta (induction program for novice physics teachers) from September 2018 to August 2019. He currently works as a physics teacher at the Reali High school, and leads a community of physics teachers focused on mentoring high school students’ authentic research experiences.

 

Mr. Matan Maskit – Collaborating Teacher

Matan holds a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. in Civil engineering from the Technion. He is also a graduate (2016) of the Technion physics teacher education program (Views). Matan is a high school physics teacher and an advisor for physics teachers on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Education. He joined the group on July 2020 and led the professional development that supported the implementation of pilot chapters of a  MOOC course in physics for junior-high students that the group is developing.