Al-Ma-da
Providing elementary schools with a STEM learning environment.
Today's students live in a 21st-century world of rapid change. New technologies replace old faster than ever before. Information is available at lightning speed in unprecedented quantities. When everything is unpredictable, Israel must prepare its young people to excel at solving the problems of the future.
Teach students to think - scientifically - creatively - mathematically - out of the box.
Train teachers to teach passionately, make their classrooms dynamic, and help their students grow.
Children become young scientists, mathematicians avid to explore and learn.
Training teachers to inspire their students.
Al-Ma-Da does exactly that. It is ICEE's teacher training and curriculum development program for grade-level elementary school students. The program presents each science and math learning unit as a mystery, piquing students' interest and enlisting them as investigators who carry out experiments to discover the answer. Along the way, they learn essential scientific and arithmetic concepts as well as critical thinking skills.
Al-Ma-Da provides schools with everything they need to become thriving STEM learning environments. ICEE outfits each school with the lab resources it needs for the program. We develop and distribute easy-to-follow teacher manuals and classroom materials. We facilitate online learning platforms, contests, and math applets.
Most important, we provide participating teachers with 2 years of extensive training in how to implement the program. We ensure their continued success through ongoing coaching and classroom visits for up to 4 years.
Starting with just 4 Jerusalem schools in 2011, Al-Ma-Da has grown rapidly. It now operates across Israel, in every cultural and religious sector. For the year 2017, there was authorization to add 50 schools; 350 applications were received. The Ministry of Education has approved the expansion by 100 schools in 2018-2019. In 2018-19 will train about 550 teachers and directly impact about 17,000 students. ICEE has become the address of choice for schools seeking exceptional teacher training, and even with the expansion the demand from principals and teachers is not fulfilled.
Written by an Al-Ma-Da teacher training participant:
"The Al-Ma-Da teacher training was fascinating and refreshing. I love the idea of opening each class with an interesting and curiosity-arousing activity to capture students' attention and keep them motivated. I can't wait to get back to the classroom to implement these ideas! Looking forward to the next training session!"