The Center for the Study of Pedagogy Research-Practice Partnerships

The Center has a large research team of faculty and student researchers who leads the research processes in the research and development partnerships. The Center's Board members are researchers specializing in a wide range of disciplines. The Center also has a team working to create meaningful connections between academia and practitioners to advance the relevance of the research and its products to practice. Many of the team members have experience in teaching, management and/or training.

Board of the Center

	Yariv Feniger Chair of the Center fenigery@bgu.ac.il Associate Professor at the School of Education at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Chairperson of the Center, and member of the Center's Board. I hold a Ph.D. in Sociology and Anthropology from Tel Aviv University (2009). My main fields of interest are inequality in education and education policy. My research focuses on class, ethnic and gender gaps in secondary and higher education, as well as the effects of national and international standardized tests on education policy and schools.
	Adam Lefstein Board member of the Center adam.lefstein@mail.huji.ac.il I am Director of the Seymour (Shlomo) Fox School of Education of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Board member of the Center. I founded the Center and was its first chairperson. My research studies focus on pedagogy, classroom discourse and interaction, dialogical pedagogy, teacher learning and educational change processes. I am particularly interested in the intersections between research and professional practice and how to conduct research that is scientifically meaningful and rigorous and practically helpful for educators. Before my current position at the Hebrew University, I was a faculty member of the Education Department at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and of the Institute of Education, London University. Before entering academia, I worked as a teacher and mentored teachers at the Branco-Weiss Institute for the Development of Thinking.
	Aliza Segal Board member of the Center alizas@bgu.ac.il I am a Senior Lecturer at BGU's School of Education and a Board member of the Center. My educational background is in the field of Anthropology of Education, and I study classroom discourse and teacher professional discourse, with emphasis on issues of knowledge, culture and identity. My research on classroom discourse focuses on dialogical pedagogy and the teaching of culturally valued texts. My research on teacher pedagogical discourse among pre-service and in-service teachers includes arenas such as tool-appropriation by teacher teams, narratives in teacher pedagogical discourse, teacher identity in relation to their roles and disciplinary fields, and more. My research group at the Center studies literacy coaching in underperforming elementary schools serving students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, in partnership with the Meisharim Initiative.
	Assaf Meshulam Board member of the Center assafmsh@ bgu.ac.il Senior lecturer at BGU's School of Education and Board member of the Center. I hold a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin (Madison). I study the relationship between education and the distribution of power in society, and my focus is on critical educational theories and education for social justice. My research projects deal with schools that educate for democracy, such as two-way bilingual immersion schools in Israel and the United States; as well as educational policy, such as educational choices of parents from minority and majority populations and the democratization of the educational space. Before entering academia, I taught in informal and formal educational settings and was a counselor for at-risk youth.
	Idit Fast Board member of the Center fast@bgu.ac.il Lecturer at BGU's School of Education and a Board member of the Center. I study implementation of education policy in schools and its results, models of integration in education, as well as parent-school relationships. I hold a Ph.D. from the Sociology Department of Rutgers University in the United States, and subsequently continued my postdoc at the Sociology and Anthropology Department at the Hebrew University. In the past, I have taught in informal education settings—at an immigration absorption center, an Ulpan class, and a vocational school.
	Dorit Tubin Board member of the Center dorittu@bgu.ac.il Associate Professor at the School of Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Head of the Unit for Consulting and Organizational Development in Education, and Board member of the Center. I hold a Ph.D. in Education from Tel Aviv University and am a Fulbright fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. My research focuses on principals of successful, mediocre, and weak schools, school organizational structures and routines, and Israeli culture and the school. I also headed the Avney Rosha training program for principals at Ben Gurion University (2010-2021) and am a consultant to local authorities and school principals.
	Gidon Dishon Board member of the Center gdishon@bgu.ac.il Lecturer at the School of Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a Board member of the Center. My main research interests are the philosophy of education, critical perceptions of educational technologies and learning sciences. My current research project focuses on the study of social perspective taking in dialogical learning environments, characteristics of the pedagogical discourse on digital technologies, and alternative approaches to education. I hold a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Education. I also have a master's degree from the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas as well as a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Comparative Literature, both from Tel Aviv University. Besides my research work in the field of education, I taught literature and mathematics at Rom-Prat, a pre-academic program specializing in working with students diagnosed with learning disabilities, and I also coached a female basketball team.
Our Team
	Hadar Baharav Center Director baharavh@bgu.ac.il I believe that collaborative work with various interest groups in the field of education –practitioners, policymakers, and researchers - promotes relevant action and brings each group closer to realizing its purpose. Before joining the Center, I worked at the Stanford University School of Education in California at a Center for collaborative applied research. At Stanford, I managed research projects in partnerships with educational/social organizations to improve policies, processes, and action for the target populations. I also mentored regional organizations and partnerships in developing research skills and organizational learning for strategic leadership and the establishment of process and result indicators. I hold a Ph.D. in education, with an emphasis on quantitative research methods, from the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), a master's degree in organizational-social psychology from Bar-Ilan University, and a teaching diploma from Seminar Hakibutzim College. I am the mother of Eli and Itamar, and a catchball player in the Mamanet League in Ramat Gan.
	Noga Knoller Director of Knowledge-sharing knoller@bgu.ac.il I deal in the development, accessibility and sharing of research-based knowledge products (including brochures, practical tools, videos, etc.) that were developed in the studies conducted as part of the Center's partnerships. I have a master's degree in Curriculum and Teaching and a bachelor's degree in Education and Communications from Ben-Gurion University. My thesis investigates ways in which teachers partnered in the Productive Pedagogical Discourse Program navigate between conflicting goals in discussions in language classes - between promoting participation and basing the discourse on student voices and creating cohesion in the discourse and learning the content planned for the lesson, new concepts for the students and content related to the discipline of literature. I have also taught in informal education settings, teaching dance and heading a tribe in the Scouts Movement.
	Matan Barak Director of Development barakmat@bgu.ac.il I am the Director of Development at the Center. My responsibilities entail supporting the development processes in research-practice partnerships, including strategy formulation, collaboration and learning, design of development products and their dissemination. I also engage in the study of these joint development processes. I hold a Ph.D. from Ben Gurion University of the Negev. My thesis dealt with the integration of dialogic pedagogy and the challenges of changing the discourse in the classroom. In conducting the research, I led the development work in the Productive Pedagogical Discourse Program, coached and worked with teachers and instructors in the development of professional tools and resources. In the past, I worked for a decade as a homeroom high-school teacher, after which I was a fellow at the Mandel School for Educational Leadership, and then in research and development at the Avney Rosh Institute. I live in Tel Aviv with my partner and two children, like to cook and try to run.
	Shirli Ofer Director of the Partnerships Shirliof@bgu.ac.il Pedagogical Partnership Director and a member of the core team of the Center. My responsibilities include coordinating the work interfaces and the Center's collaborations with educational entities. I hold a double master's degree in Education Systems Management and Curriculum Studies and a bachelor's degree in Special Education. I have nineteen years of experience in the education system, seven of which as a school principal.
	Dvorah Kremer Administrative Coordinator dvorak@bgu.ac.il I have been working at Ben Gurion University of the Negev for about twenty years in a variety of positions. During these years, I have gained experience and many skills as an administrative coordinator. I hold a general bachelor's degree. I am passionate about art and traveling.
	Islam Abu Assad Postdoctoral Fellow abuasaad@post.bgu.ac.il My research focuses on the impact of the social context on the acquisition of literacy skills in the first and second grades. I hold a Ph.D. from Ben Gurion University. The subject of my thesis under the supervision of Prof. Adam Lefstein is the interface between Hashkafa - a national movement for teacher leadership and improving the quality of teaching and learning - and the local culture in Arab schools in Israel. While studying for my doctorate, I was a member of the Laboratory for the Study of Pedagogy and mentored leading teachers in schools in Israel's Central District participating in the program. In recent years, I have been engaged as a lecturer and pedagogical instructor in the Arab teacher training program at Sakhnin Academic College, and in the past four years have worked as a supervisor and researcher at the Simulation Center. I have also guided a community educational process in social emotional learning (SEL). I have previously been involved in the development of training curricular for preschool and kindergarten teachers in Arab education, such as learning to live together, emotional-social development of kindergarten and preschool children, discourse with children and among children, and video instruction. I live in Nazareth with my partner and our three children.
	Livat Eshchar Netz Researcher livat@post.bgu.ac.il I hold a Ph.D. from Ben Gurion University. In my doctoral thesis, I investigated teacher learning in professional learning communities with emphasis on status disparities, power and hierarchical dynamics influencing the professional learning opportunities and the degree of inquisitiveness of the teachers and the productiveness of the discourse in the community. As part of my research, I mentored leading teachers and the mentors of leading teachers, participated in the R&D team and taught several teacher training courses on the principles of productive pedagogical discourse, conducted a probing study in light of representations from the classes and reflective observations of teaching practices. My current focus of interest is on issues of critical education and especially critical literacy from a socio-cultural perspective. Through this lens, I examine methods of teaching and learning in the classroom. In the past, I worked as a teacher, coordinator, and district instructor of biblical studies. I also taught at the BINA Organization, the secular yeshiva. I live in Beer Sheva with my partner and our four children.
	Etan Cohen Postdoctoral Researcher etanc@bgu.ac.il I am interested in the professional knowledge of teachers, the way they develop and share their knowledge on teaching, and ways for supporting teachers and teaching. In my doctoral studies, which I completed in 2020 at the University of Haifa, I studied professional learning communities in technology-enhanced learning environments that I also helped to design. In the past, I was a teacher of Jewish Thought and a homeroom teacher at Maccabim-Reut Mor High School. I live in Modiin with my wife and our four children, and in my free time I like to climb walls.
	Tal Carmi Postdoctoral Researcher talcar@bgu.ac.il I am interested in the learning and professional development of teachers and teacher educators during the training phase and throughout their careers. My research focuses on mentorship relationships and on professional learning communities and how these frameworks are connected to the professional development of educators. In the past, I worked as a drama teacher, a lecturer at the Seminar Hakibutzim College, and a writer and knowledge developer as a member of the Hashkafa R&D team.
	Aviv Orner Doctoral Student Doctoral student at the Seymour (Shlomo) Fox School of Education of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem . I am interested in the connections between languages and gender in the public linguistic landscape, in the media, on social networks, and especially in educational contexts. My Ph.D. thesis focuses on gender equity in classroom discourse in elementary schools. In this context, I investigate how gender equity can be advanced in classroom discourse by designing criteria for detecting, measuring, and understanding gender biases in classroom discourse, developing, experimenting, and improving methods to mitigate these biases, and examining the results of the implementation and its consequences. My interest in the world of education began as early as high school and during my military service, when I volunteered for a year as part of the HaNoar HaOved v'HaLomed youth movement and later served in the Nahal Corps as a Gadna (Cadet Corps) commander at the Sde Boker Base. I have a bachelor's degree in Hebrew Language and Communications from Oranim College of Education, and a master's degree in Multilingual Education from Tel Aviv University. In the past, I served as Chairperson of the Student Union at Oranim College, worked as a Hebrew teacher at the Ministry of Education, and led the digital transformation community of government employees at the headquarters of Digital Israel. I live in Tel Aviv with my partner Oren and our sweet dog Ash. I love traveling, music and art.
	Noy Dali Doctoral Student dalin@post.bgu.ac.il I graduated with a master's degree in Organizational Sociology and a double major bachelor's degree in Education and Sociology-Anthropology from Ben Gurion University. Today I am a research assistant in a research partnership between the Center and Avney Rosha on the subject of "The Principal and Middle Leadership - Structure, Function and Implications". My doctoral thesis also focuses on middle managers in schools and their contribution to school cohesiveness, based on health, cohesiveness, salutogenic and organizational resilience-related approaches. My main fields of interest are teacher induction and development and school structure and organizational routines. In the past, I worked as a research assistant at the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Education and tutored the courses 'Introduction to the Sociology of Education' and 'Israeli Society'. I currently teach the course, 'Fundamentals of Pedagogical Measurement' in the program for evaluation and measurement coordinators in the Unit for the Advancement of Professionalism in Education at Ben-Gurion University.
	Netta Le Guennec Doctoral Student nettaleg@post.bgu.ac.il I am embarking on my doctoral studies in which I will investigate how perceptions of knowledge are expressed and shaped in teacher discourse. The study is a continuation of my master's thesis that investigated the effect of two epistemic models on reasoning processes. I hold a master's degree from the Department of Biblical Studies at the Hebrew University, and am a Bible teacher by profession. In recent years, I have been teaching in teacher training programs at the Seminar Hakibutzim College and recently also Kay Academic College of Education. I am married to Assaf and a mother of four.
	Moriah Omer Attali Doctoral Student moriaho@post.bgu.ac.il I am interested in the student's experience at school, with a focus on classroom discourse and interaction. My latest research focused on events of laughter in the classroom - what they reveal about balances of power in the classroom, how they affect classroom discourse, and what do they have to do with dialogical pedagogy. I have a bachelor's degree in law and a master's degree in Business Administration from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as well as a master's degree in Education Policy and Administration from Tel Aviv University. My work experience is diverse and spans from commercial litigation, editing the "Calcalist" financial news desk and managing economic development processes in the city of Lod. While studying and working, I volunteered in many educational settings until I chose to put education the center of my professional life. I have since worked in both formal and informal education settings, mainly in the United States. I am married to Ilan and mother to Lavi, Eitan and Aviv. I love traveling in nature, art, and esoteric pieces of information.
	Heli Amossi Levy Doctoral Student Heliam@post.bgu.ac.il Doctoral student, researcher in the project "The Principal and Middle Leadership - Structure, Function and Implications" in a partnership between the Center and Avney Rosha. I am interested in researching professional processes that include methods of consolidation, training processes and professional development of school administrators and teachers. I hold a master's degree in Organizational Sociology from the Department of Sociology-Anthropology and a double major bachelor's degree in Education and Sociology-Anthropology, both from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. My thesis dealt with consolidation processes in organizational consulting and the contribution of organizational consultants to improving schools. I worked as an diagnostician in the Century Day Project of the Adam Milo Institute, and tutored students in the statistics course at the Department of Sociology-Anthropology as well as in Introduction to the Sociology of Education at the Education Department. I am married to Sagi and am the mother of David.
	Edith Bouton Postdoctoral Fellow edith.bouton@mail.huji.ac.il Postdoctoral fellow at the Center. My research focuses on theoretical and operative definitions of productive pedagogical discourse in the classroom. I am particularly interested in the learner's experience, gains, challenges, interpersonal differences, and their effect on the ability to expand dialogical pedagogy in the Israeli system of education. In my doctoral studies, I examined quantitative methodologies for examining the quality of discourse in an attempt to expand and deepen the results of quantitative field studies using a modular coding system and epistemic network analysis. My thesis examined the sharing of learning resources through social networks among teenagers, students, and teaching students. I am also the mother of Ofri (15), Modi (13) and Charlie, a Belgian sheepdog, and a remedial teacher. My passions are food, clothes and watching TV.
	Limor Lotan Postdoctoral Fellow limorlot@post.bgu.ac.il Social worker. I conducted my doctoral research at the Hebrew University; it focused on the identity of adults who were adopted in Israel as toddlers. My experience as a social worker working with families living in poverty and social exclusion led me to take an interest in a poverty-conscious social work paradigm. At the Center, I participate [הב1] in a study that examines the integration of the paradigm among educational staff in schools.
	Miriam Babichenko Postdoctoral Fellow miriamba@post.bgu.ac.il I hold a Ph.D. in Education from the Hebrew University. My research focuses on teaching teachers in professional learning communities in teacher teams and individual instruction. I am particularly interested in how teachers learn (or don't learn) to adopt student-centered dialogical pedagogy practices as well as equity-oriented practices. In my research study, I examine teachers' discourse as a source of professional learning and combine qualitative and quantitative research methods for studying the discourse. In the past, I taught mathematics in junior high school and lectured in the teacher training track at the Hebrew University and in master's degree studies in education at Ben Gurion University. I also coordinated the research work at the Learning & Interaction Lab of Prof. Christa Asterhan at the Hebrew University. My partner and I are raising our four children in Motsa Elite.