Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy Lab Members

alefstein@gmail.com	Professor Adam Lefstein, Co-Director Shane Family Professor of Education and Chair of the Department of Education at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. I research and teach about pedagogy, classroom interaction, teacher learning and educational change. I take a linguistic ethnographic approach to research, in which I seek to bring together the holistic interpretation that characterizes ethnography and the rigorous tools and systematic approach of linguistics. I also count phenomena, so don't call me "qualitative". I am particularly interested in the intersections between research and professional practice and how to conduct research that is meaningful, rigorous and helpful for educators.
gdishon@bgu.ac.il	Dr. Gideon Dishon I am a lecturer (tenure-track) in the Department of Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. I hold a PhD in education from the University of Pennsylvania. I conduct theoretical and empirical research at the intersection of philosophy of education and the learning sciences. Currently, my main research projects focus on critical studies of educational technologies, the study of social perspective taking, and alternative approaches to education. Link to CV
segalaliza@gmail.com	Dr. Aliza Segal I am a researcher in the field of anthropology of education. I received my PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. My fields of interest include classroom discourse and teacher professional discourse, with emphasis on issues of identity, power relations, and religious education. My research on classroom discourse focuses on dialogical pedagogy and on the teaching of culturally valued texts. My research on teacher professional discourse focuses on such issues as: tool-appropriation by teacher teams; narratives in teacher pedagogical discourse; facework and other interpersonal processes; and ways in which these various tools and genres can contribute to or impede teacher learning. I also study broader issues of identity and agency in the context of school reform, and I am currently conducting a school ethnography examining the implementation of a rapidly-scaled intervention program.
abecher@edu.haifa.ac.il	Dr. Ayelet Becher I am a postdoc fellow at the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy. In my doctoral research, I investigated dynamics of knowledge between university and workplace bodies in PE curricula, in teaching and social work. My research interests focus on: mentoring and mentored learning; workplace professional learning; professional education; and curriculum development in higher education. I am particularly interested in the ways in which ideological, normative, and epistemological encounters between institutional contexts (often called Discourses) shape structures and practices of teaching and learning. I teach a graduate course on teacher professional learning in the Department of Education at Ben-Gurion University. I also instruct a teacher community of learning in the Southern District of Israel on pedagogical discourse for professional learning, as well as mentor teacher-leaders in schools. I have wide experience as a teacher educator at both pre- and in-service levels and have taught in special education, adult education, and informal education frameworks.
pedlabbgu@gmail.com	Dana Meshulam I am the Administrative Coordinator of the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy. I coordinate the administrative activity in the Laboratory, provide support for the Laboratory's researchers and personnel, and assist in the editing of Laboratory and researcher publications.
ladydi74@gmail.com	Dikla Baum-Feldman I am a research assistant in the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy. I am currently completing my MA thesis in the Department of Education, Ben-Gurion University, under the supervision of Professor Adam Lefstein. I have an MA in Education in the Age of Information Technology. For thirteen years I worked as a homeroom teacher, seven of which I was the online-learning coordinator at the school. My research interest focuses on consultations between teachers on social networks.
eranhakim@gmail.com	Dr. Eran Hakim I am post-doctoral fellow in the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy. I support the leading teachers of an elementary school in Ashkelon and assist the professional development team that guides leading teachers with respect to student motivation in Ashdod and Ashkelon. My MA thesis focused on homogamy in Israel as a mechanism that produces inequality. During my MA studies, I served as Chair of the Tel Aviv University Junior Academic Staff Association, a position that allowed me to research and write about the connection between the characteristics of thesis supervision in universities and violence patterns, specifically, the nature and frequency of sexual harassment in these institutions (see here). My doctoral dissertation focused on elementary school pupils who are experiencing bullying, rejection, or ostracism. I studied the child culture that produces and maintains social rejection, the sociological characteristics of pupils who suffer from ostracism in Israel (see here), and rejection patterns in schools that integrate Jewish and Arab students. I joined the Laboratory after conducting a year-long ethnographic study in a school, during which I observed teachers' work and the difficulties they contend with and students and the difficulties they face. My research goal is to better understand these life conditions while researching and developing scaffolding for improved life experiences in school.
hemyram@gmail.com	Dr. Hemy Ramiel I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy. My research focuses on processes of education policy implementation and enactment at different sites in the system. I also study the interplay between educational discourse and the techno-business field. I am an anthropologist by training, with a PhD from the Science, Technology and Society Program at Bar-Ilan University. I have worked as a teacher and educator and in areas of informal Jewish education. In the Laboratory, I am engaged in the implementation of the Authentic Intellectual Work framework and other projects.
hillata@gmail.com	Dr. Hilla Tal I am a post-doctoral researcher in the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy. My research explores organizational aspects of change, innovation and entreprenuership processes in the education system. I am interested in the connection between the actions and conceptions of individuals within school organization and the ability to enact innovation and sustainable change. In my work at the Laboratory, I coach and facilitate school teams seeking change. In addition, I am engaged in program evaluation and in consultation and evaluation capacity buliding within educational organizations. I am an instructor in the Unit for the Promotion of Professionalism in Education as part of the school evaluation coordinator training program.
ido.gideon@gmail.com	Dr. Ido Gideon I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy and a leading teacher coach and facilitator of a mathematics teacher learning community. I hold a PhD in Philosophy of Education in civic education in Israel. My doctoral research explored the connection between classroom discourse and the public political sphere. While writing my doctorate, I was also an instructor in a teachers training program, primarily on the theoretical aspects of pedagogical knowledge. I am particularly interested in the connection between theory and practice, and my research in the framework of the Laboratory explores the way in which pedagogical knowledge is created from moments of uncertainty about the teacher’s work.
iabuasaad@gmail.com	Islam Abu Asaad I am a doctoral student in the Department of Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a researcher at the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy. My research focuses on professional pedagogical discourse patterns of teachers in Arab education in Israel. My research goals are to identify the professional discourse patterns of teachers in team meetings in Arab schools, in comparison to team meetings in Jewish schools, and to examine how the socio-cultural context shapes these patterns and, consequently, structures the learning opportunities for the teachers. In addition, I am an instructor in the Arab teacher training program at Sakhnin Academic College and, in the past, participated in the development of training curricula for preschool and kindergarten teachers in Arab education
livatnetz@gmail.com	Livat Eshchar Netz I am a doctoral student in the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy. My research focuses on the participation of veteran teachers alongside new teachers in team meetings and the impact of the participation on teachers' positioning, the hierarchical dynamics, and the extent to which the discourse is productive and inquisitive. In the framework of my work at the Laboratory, I have coached and facilitated a language arts teacher team and am currently coordinator of the Laboratory's facilitator team. In my previous professional experience, I was a high-school Biblical studies teacher and instructor. I am also an instructor in the teacher training program in in the Unit for the Promotion of Professionalism in Education at Ben-Gurion University.
barakmatan@gmail.com	Matan Barak I am a doctoral student in the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy. My research focuses on social and cultural contexts of dialogic pedagogy and critical analysis of change processes in classroom talk. Over the last few years and as part of my research project, I have coordinated the design and development team in the Academically Productive Dialogue program – a research practice partnership with Israel Central District. The team, which includes teachers, teacher coaches, and researchers, engages in developing dialogic curricular units for Hebrew language arts instruction and developing tools and resources for promoting and improving dialogic pedagogy. I am currently coaching new teachers in the program, while continuing to coordinate the design and development process. My previous professional experience includes working as a high-school Jewish studies teacher. I also served as Director of the Israeli operations of the Bronfman Youth Fellowship and was a fellow at the Mandel School for Educational Leadership. I then spent four years as a senior researcher and developer at Avney Rosha, the Israel Institute for School Leadership, where I led the development of a new national program for training district supervisors, as well as designing models for distributed leadership, coaching, and professional learning for school principals.
knoller@post.bgu.ac.il	Noga Knoller I am a MA researcher at the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy. I have a double BA in Education and Communications from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. I am currently doing my MA in Curriculum and Instruction in the Department of Education, Ben-Gurion University.
shirliof2@gmail.com	Shirli Ofer As the Educational Partnership Coordinator in the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy, I coordinate the Lab’s collaborations with our MoE, District, and third sector partners. I hold a BA in Special Education and an MA in Education System Management and Curriculum Studies. I have nineteen years of experience in the education system, for seven of which, I was a school principal.
furmantamar@gmail.com	Dr. Tamar Kenner Furman I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy. I hold a PhD in Learning Disabilities from Haifa University. My doctoral research explored arithmetic ability at different ages. My main research areas are special education, with focus on learning disabilities. I am currently engaged in research on how teachers speak about learning disabilities and how classroom discourse can be shaped to respond to classroom heterogeneity. In the framework of my work in the Laboratory, I collaborate on a program for implementing learning through productive pedagogical dialogue.