Moretech
The MoreTech Teacher Center focuses on improving leadership skills among teachers across various technological and engineering disciplines, including advanced transportation, biotechnology engineering, electrical engineering, electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, and science-engineering. The MoreTech Teacher Center is led by Prof. Yehudit Judy Dori and Dr. Amona Abu-Younis Ali. It established several strategic objectives to foster teacher professional development and enhance engineering and technological education. MoreTech emphasizes pedagogical expertise and managerial competencies, aiming to deepen educators’ knowledge of interdisciplinary topics and advanced teaching methodologies. These activities equip educators with the skills to design and implement comprehensive educational frameworks for encouraging students to major in engineering domains. One notable domain includes the electrical engineering track, which consists of 4,944 students, 230 high school teachers across 90 high schools. The advanced transportation track represents a mid-sized domain with 3,722 students and 205 high school teachers in 75 high schools.
The Center prioritizes the identification and integration of innovative technologies into the curriculum, as well as the promotion of advanced, effective pedagogical approaches. Emphasis is placed on project-based learning and advanced technological tools to cultivate students’ understanding of emerging technologies. For example, the Center has initiated the development of curricula tailored to meet the demands of the Israeli industry while following the Ministry of Education’s guidelines. A notable example is the autonomous unmanned systems initiative, which focuses on developing projects and creating educational materials in this field. This initiative fosters competitions related to the challenges posed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, preparing students for the labor market of the 21st century.
MoreTech bridges the gap between academic knowledge and industrial application by fostering partnerships and collaboration. To achieve its objectives, the Center promotes the implementation of technological programs to optimize learning processes and address individual needs, contributing to societal and economic development. A primary focus of the Center is the expansion of tailored training opportunities for educators, ensuring they are well-equipped to navigate the rapidly evolving technological landscapes. The Center maintains its relevance and efficacy through regular committee meetings, where goals and policies are evaluated and refined to align with the latest educational advancements and requirements. Over the past five years, the Center has demonstrated a robust commitment to professional development and educational support. The Center conducted about 20 (60-h or 30-h) comprehensive teacher professional development programs, underscoring its focus on enhancing educators’ skills and knowledge. The Center organized about ten day-long seminars with about 120 participants per seminar, providing opportunities for in-depth learning and discussion on various educational topics. The Center also facilitated three conferences, creating platforms for educators to share insights and collaborate on innovative teaching practices. The Center has developed 32 educational material resources to support teachers in fostering higher order thinking skills and quality instruction. We launched several new initiatives such as Standardizing the evaluation of final projects in engineering and technological education and Professional development programs for autonomous unmanned systems. All those activities reflect the center’s proactive approach to addressing emerging needs and fostering educational innovation. The Hebrew version of the MoreTech website offers a wealth of resources and materials and attracts thousands of visitors annually. These activities, highlight MoreTech’s ongoing dedication to improving technological education and supporting educators through comprehensive training, resources, one or two newsletters each year, and innovative initiatives.
