LWG Members
 | Dr. Iris Tabak Learning, Instruction & Technology, Chair Department of Education Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Email: itabak-AT-bgu.ac.il URL: http://www.bgu.ac.il/~itabak Role in CoReflect: Principal Investigator |
Dr. Iris Tabak leads the BGU CoReflect team. She is a senior lecturer in the Department of Education at BGU. She holds a B.S.E. in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University. Iris Tabak is an Associate Editor of The Journal of the Learning Sciences, and President Elect of the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS).
Her research includes design of computer-based learning environments, and related empirical research. She studies how interactions between teachers, peers and computational media facilitate (or hinder) science learning as well as the development of personhood. Prior research in this area includes development of The Galapagos Finches software and associated classroom studies. Through her work in CoReflect, Iris hopes to further our understanding of how scientific practices can be represented so as to scaffold students in thoughtful and critical inquiry. In particular, she hopes to explore the ways in which rigorous scientific reasoning can be achieved in emotionally charged contexts, such as the ones presented by many socioscientific dilemmas, and how these practices might be influenced by cultural and epistemological dimensions.
 | Dr. Itay Asher Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Education Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Email: asher.itay-AT-gmail.com Role in CoReflect: Research associate |
Dr. Itay Asher is a Postdoctoral Fellow and project manager for CoReflect at BGU. He has a B.A. in Psychology and a PhD in Computational Neuroscience from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Academic teaching experience: Hebrew University (Physiology, Cell Biology, Statistics, research methods), Bar-Ilan University (Neuroscience, Neuroanatomy). Informal education: Society for Protection of Nature in Israel (youth from 8th to 12th grades, including groups of new immigrants from Ethiopia).
Itay’s research interests include promoting quantitative thinking in Biology, with a focus on graphic literacy, i.e. the production and critical reading of graphically presented data, teaching data analysis skills using simulated data and incorporating interdisciplinary approaches into science education.
 | Dr. Michael N. Fried Graduate Program for Science and Technology Education Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Email: mfried-AT-bgu.ac.il URL: http://www.bgu.ac.il/~mfried/ Role in CoReflect: Cooperating Investigator |
Dr. Michael N. Fried is a senior lecturer in the Program for Science and Technology Education. He has a B.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.A, a M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics from SUNY at Stonybrook, and a Ph.D in the History of Mathematics from Tel Aviv University. He has conducted international investigations and has published on the topic of humanistic mathematics—regarding the teaching and learning of mathematics as a human activity embedded in social context. Although his main interests are mathematics education and history of mathematics, he also has a long standing interest in science education generally.
 | Dr. Idit Katz Educational Counseling Department of Education Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Email: katzid-AT-bgu.ac.il Role in CoReflect: Cooperating Investigator |
Dr. Idit Katz is a lecturer in Education. She holds a B.A is Occupational Therapy from the Hebrew University, a M.A. in Educational Counseling from Tel Aviv University and a Ph.D. in Education from Ben-Gurion University. She has extensive experience working with and studying children with special needs from underserved populations.
Idit studies the effect of the environment on students' intrinsic motivation and interest. She has published a number of articles that advance our understanding of the deep features of provision of choice and autonomy support on interest and intrinsic motivation.
Through her work in CoReflect, Idit hopes to further our understanding of how different environments can facilitate students’ intrinsic motivation and interest and to understand more about the ways in which adults, both teachers and parents, can set an optimal challenging and supporting learning environment.
 | Dr. Michael Weinstock Educational Psychology Department of Education Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Email: micwein-AT-bgu.ac.il Role in CoReflect: Cooperating Investigator |
Dr. Michael Weinstock is a lecturer in Education. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University. Dr. Weinstock has published extensively on topics in epistemological reasoning across formal and informal domains and across the lifespan. His research in this area includes studies on relationships between epistemological understanding and argument and on factors, such as cultural values, academic experience, and social experience, in the epistemological development.