The Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy is an interdisciplinary research group committed to investigation of schooling, classroom activity, and the multiple factors that shape teaching and learning processes. Lab members collaborate with teachers and educators to develop research knowledge that contributes to educational activity, the improvement of the education system, and the promotion of a just society. The Laboratory brings together researchers from a wide range of social science disciplines—including linguistics, sociology, discourse analysis, anthropology, and psychology. These scholars share an interest in issues that shape school education: pedagogy, teacher team discourse, professional development, teaching strategies, educational policy enactment, educational change processes, and academic "success" and "failure".
Central research projects at the Laboratory include:
Meaningful Learning through Academically Productive Dialogue: An experimental study examining the interrelationship between classroom discourse, cognitive skills, learning motivation, and academic achievement. The study is funded by the Israel Science Foundation, as a Center for Excellence, in collaboration with researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University.
Developing Pedagogical Leadership and Discourse: The study examines teacher discourse in teacher team meetings in schools and ways to improve that discourse. The study is conducted in collaboration with teachers, principals, coaches, and supervisors in two school districts, as part of a national movement for teacher leadership (hashkafa).
Inside Israeli Pedagogy: Analysis of teaching and learning practices, as well as teachers' discourse about those practices, in language classes in Israeli primary schools.
