8200 Alumni Association, the Azrieli Foundation and the Ministry of Education are excited to announce:
A first-of-its-kind national challenge!
Why Did We Start?
Students are still taught using the same methods used since the industrial revolution, even though the world has evolved and changed beyond recognition
Today’s education system faces more social and emotional challenges than ever before; and there are larger gaps in the students’ knowledge. When combined with the teachers’ heavy workloads , these factors make providing a personal response to each student a real challenge. Traditional education methods do not fulfil these needs:
Increasing reports regarding loneliness and mental distress among students
The number of students indicating loneliness and mental distress is growing, while the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly worsened the students’ mental state.
Content gradually becomes irrelevant
The world is changing rapidly. A significant part of the curriculum gradually becomes irrelevant; and students require new tools and skills to help them cope with the changing reality.
The social and economic gaps are growing
The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the social and economic gaps in Israel, and many students find it difficult to access beneficial high-quality education; and consequently, they are not given an equal opportunity.
The Solution
Personalized learning in classrooms with an emphasis on development of social and emotional skills
Personalized learning for each student, based on his or her pace, strengths, and interests, as well as social-emotional skills development, such as awareness and self-management, empathy, and teamwork, have been shown to improve student success at school, work, and in relationships, as well as improving their happiness and well-being
We are not trying to reinvent the wheel. Studies conducted in recent decades have shown that development of social-emotional skills –
Raises the students’ happiness index, as well as their motivation and optimism
Improves the students’ academic accomplishments
Reduces mental distress and dangerous behaviors
Improves and strengthens the student-teacher relationship
Despite the general consensus, teachers of various subjects are still lacking tools that can allow them to teach each student in accordance with his or her needs and develop his or her social and emotional skills
The Challenge
A challenge for startups to develop solutions for personalized social emotional learning with a prize of NIS 1 million!
On 2021 we launched the challenge – A national competition for startups to develop technological solutions that will enable 7th grade English and Science teachers to teach in a way that promotes emotional-social learning, which is personalized, for each and every student in their class.
The winning startup won a prize of one million shekels, and all the startups that competed are working in hundreds of schools across the country!
