International

I feel fortunate to be able to contribute to the consolidation of the new and emerging field of statistics education and I plan to continue doing so. I am a co-founder and co-chair (with Prof. Garfield) of the International Research Forums on Statistical Reasoning, Thinking, and Literacy (SRTL) – an international professional organization which, since 1999, runs a series of biannual research forums and scientific activities and publications, sponsored by various prestigious academic institutions. The Research Forums offer an opportunity for a small, interdisciplinary group of researchers from around the world to share their “half-baked” work, discuss important issues, and initiate international collaborative projects. These Forums have significantly advanced the understanding of statistical reasoning, and had a significant impact on the statistics education community.

I have been serving in several international key roles, including Vice-president of the International Association for Statistical Education and a member of International Program Committees of several conferences on learning and teaching statistics. I have co-chaired the Sixth International Conference on Teaching Statistics (ICOTS-6, 2002).I am currently a member of the Joint International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) and The International Association for Statistical Education (IASE) Study on “Statistics Education in School Mathematics: Challenges for Teaching and Teacher Education”. I am also a member of the Research Advisory Board Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education (CAUSE,USA),as well as an elected member of The European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN).

 

National

I have a leading role in the major research and development programs in statistics education in Israeli K–12 schools. The purposes of these activities are to add a data and chance strand to the national curriculum in mathematics, develop professional standards in this area, design curricular materials and tools and evaluate them, and plan professional development program for school teachers. To achieve these goals, I shall continue developing and studying high-quality statistics text books that will expose learners to statistics in various technology-rich learning environments.

 

In The University Of Haifa

In 2001, upon starting my work in the Faculty of Education at the University of Haifa, I have taken a lead in founding and developing the Educational Technologies Graduate Program, which is now entering its second year with the number of students three times as big as in the previous year. My plans as the current head of this new Program are to attract bright students, likely to become the future educational leaders in this field. I also intend to establish a national research center in this area.

In 2008, I was appointed head of the Computer-Assisted Teaching Unit and the Information Technology Support Center. My plans are to support the University core mission - to advance knowledge and educate students - by working in partnership with the faculty, students, and staff to maximize the value of information and learning technologies to their work.

As I look ahead, I see it as a main part of my educational mission to continue attracting good students and younger faculty members in the fields of statistics education and educational technologies through the activities I am involved in. I plan to use the experiences and ideas from my teaching and projects to help improve and advance the teaching for all students at the University.