A. Personal Details
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E-mail: alon.pinto@weizmann.ac.il Cellphone: +972 (0)54-4963069 Work Phone: +972 (0)8-9342430 Mailing Address: Department of Science Teaching, The Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl St., Rehovot, 7610001, Israel |
Date of birth: 15/6/1977 Country of birth: Israel Citizenship: Israeli Military service: 3 Years Number of Children: 3 |
B. Education
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2006 – 2011 |
Ph.D., Mathematics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Thesis Title: Product Decompositions and Splitting Theorems of Busemann Non-Positively Curved Spaces Advisor: Prof. Tsachik Gelander |
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2003 – 2005 |
M.Sc., Mathematics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Thesis Title: Cellular Approximation of Groups Advisor: Prof. Emmanuel Dror Farjoun Graduated Cum Laude; GPA: 95.5 |
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2000 – 2003 |
B.Sc., Mathematics and Computer Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Graduated Cum Laude; GPA: 92.8 |
C. Employment
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2019 – |
Senior Scientist, Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel |
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2016 – 2019 |
Senior Intern, Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel |
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2014 – 2016 |
Post-doctoral fellowship, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, USA Mentor: Prof. Alan Schoenfeld |
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2012 – 2014 |
Post-doctoral fellowship at Weizmann Institute of Science, Department of Science Teaching. Mentor: Prof. Abraham Arcavi |
D. Scientific Recognition
Research Grants |
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2021 – 2023 |
Principle Investigator, Coronavirus Challenges in Education - Internal Grant of the Weizmann Institute of Science, for the study of “Conceptualizing flipped classrooms as a tool for hybrid learning in elementary school mathematics” $50,000 (Joint project with Dr. Ronnie Karsenty) |
2020 – 2023 |
Principle Investigator, Israeli Science Foundation, for the study of “Processes of utilizing tertiary mathematics to inform and enhance classroom instruction at the secondary level” 432,000 ILS. |
2018 – 2021 |
Principal Investigator of a "Quality plan" work-package, Erasmus+, in the international consortium "Innovative Teacher Education in Mathematics" of 17 European universities and institutions (The consortium is coordinated by Prof. Konstantinos Petridis, Technological Educational Institution of Crete. It is a joint project with Boris Koichu and Ronnie Karsenty who are also PIs of the "Quality plan" work-package), €88,000 (out of €1,000,000). |
2017-2020 |
Principal Investigator, Teacher-Research Alliance for Investigating Learning (TRAIL). Funded by Weizmann Institute of Science ($250000) and the Ministry of Education ($55000) (a joint project with Boris Koichu). |
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2014 – 2016 |
2014 NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Research Fellowship ($55,000) |
2014 – 2016 |
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel ($38,000) |
2014 – 2016 |
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Alan Schoenfeld, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley ($38,000) |
2003 – 2005 |
M.Sc. Excellence Scholarship, Einstein Institute of Mathematics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel |
Academic Awards |
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2010 |
Klein Prize for Outstanding Graduate Students in Mathematics and Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel |
2002 |
Dean's Honorary List of Excellence, Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel |
Committees |
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2019 – |
Member of the Committee for the new elementary school mathematics curriculum, appointed by the Minister of Education, Israel |
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2019 – |
Member of Ph.D. and M.Sc. committees for various universities in Israel |
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2018 – 2019 |
Co-leader of the Topic Working Group “TWG14: University mathematics education” in the Congress of the 11th European Society for Research in Mathematics Education. Utrecht, Netherland |
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2018 |
Co-chair of the Scientific Committee of the Jerusalem Conference on Research in Mathematics Education (JCRME), Israel |
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2017 |
Member of the Scientific Committee of the Jerusalem Conference on Research in Mathematics Education (JCRME), Israel |
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2016 – 2017 |
Co-leader of the Topic Working Group “TWG14: University mathematics education” in the Congress of the 10th European Society for Research in Mathematics Education. Dublin, Ireland |
Personal Scientific Invitations (International)
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2017 |
Hosts: Prof. Sinead Breen, Dublin City University; Prof. Maria Meehan, University College Dublin; Prof. Ann O'Shea, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland Purpose: Professional collaboration, invited talk |
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2015 |
Host: The Didactics of Mathematics in Higher Education as a Scientific Discipline Conference, University of Kassel, Germany Purpose: Invited talk at a closed conference |
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2015 |
Host: Prof. Chris Rasmussen, San Diego State University, USA Purpose: Invited talk at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics |
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2015 |
Host: Prof. Patrick Thompson, Arizona State University, USA Purpose: Invited talk, School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences |
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2013 |
Host: Prof. Deborah L. Ball, University of Michigan, USA Purpose: 2-week visit at the 2013 Elementary Mathematics Laboratory |
E. Teaching Experience
Instructor (Mathematics Education) |
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2020 |
Problem Solving in Mathematics (a graduate course for practicing Secondary Mathematics Teachers) |
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2019, 2021 |
Probability and Statistics (a graduate course for practicing Secondary Mathematics Teachers) |
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Teaching Assistant (Mathematics) |
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2010 – 2011 |
Ordinary Differential Equations; Infinitesimal Calculus |
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2009 – 2010 |
Infinitesimal Calculus; Linear Algebra for Engineers |
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2007 – 2008 |
Mathematical Logic; Topology |
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2006 – 2007 |
Discrete Mathematics; Calculus for Science Students |
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2005 – 2006 |
Linear Algebra; Combinatorics |
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2004 – 2005 |
Analysis Workshop for Exact Sciences; Set Theory |
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2003 – 2004 |
Advanced Infinitesimal Calculus; Linear Algebra |
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Student Tutoring (Undergraduate Mathematics) |
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2003 – 2011 |
2 hours per week during the academic semesters |
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F. Scientific Productivity
Professional Activities |
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2021 – |
Co-leader (with Dr. Ronnie Karsenty) of the Zen-Math research project, funded by an internal grant of Weizmann Institute of Science. |
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2020 – |
Leader of the M-Cubed research project, funded by grants of the Israel Science Foundation and the Weizmann Institute of Science. |
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2020 – 2022 |
Guest editor of the special issue “Calculus at the Intersection of Institutions, Disciplines and Communities” of the International Journal of Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education. |
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2019 – |
Coordinator of the seminar of the Mathematics group at the Department of Science Teaching. |
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2017 |
Coordinator (with Prof. Boris Koichu) of the Mathematics Education session at the Israel Mathematical Union Annual Meeting. |
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2017 – 2018 |
Leader of the “Math-Education Boundary Crossings Club” program, Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science. |
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2017 – 2021 |
Co-leader (with Prof. Boris Koichu) of the Teacher-Research Alliance for Investigating Learning (TRAIL) research program. |
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2017 – 2019 |
Co-leader (with Prof. Boris Koichu) of a teacher-researcher co-learning partnership with secondary mathematics teachers, in collaboration with the Davidson Institute of Science Education. |
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2017 – 2018 |
Co-leader (with Tamara Lefcourt-Ruby and Talli Nachlieli) of the “Mathematics for teachers” cross-community forum, Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. |
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2017 |
Coordinator of the Mathematics Education session at the Israel Mathematical Union Annual Meeting. |
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2009 – 2014 |
Co-leader of a professional development program for in-service elementary mathematics school teachers, Einstein Institute of Mathematics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. |
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Invited talks at Scientific Conferences (* International; ** Local)
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2021** |
Invited talk (virtual) at the International Forum of Researchers in Problem Solving, São Paulo State University, Brazil |
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2020** |
“Guiding principles for teacher professional development from research and from practice”, an invited plenary talk (virtual) at the Mathematical Excellence at the School and at the Classroom conference, Israel |
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2020** |
“Academic Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching: What is it?”, invited plenary talk at the 8th Jerusalem Conference on Research in Mathematics Education, Israel |
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2010* |
"What do we know about spaces of non-positive curvature", invited plenary talk at the Research Workshop on Geometry of Group Actions on CAT(0) Spaces and Buildings, Sde-Boker, Israel |
Presentations at Scientific Conferences (* International; ** Local)
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2021* |
“The Secondary-Tertiary Transition (STT) - An International Perspective”, the 14th International Congress on Mathematics Education, Shanghai, China |
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2019* |
“Towards transition-oriented pedagogies in calculus courses”, Calculus in upper secondary and beginning university mathematics, Kristiansand, Norway |
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2019** |
“Fostering learning of informal mathematics in a formal course: What are the key challenges for instructors, and what can be done about them?”, the Israel Mathematical Union Annual meeting, Jerusalem, Israel |
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2019* |
“Formative assessment of proof comprehension in undergraduate mathematics: Affordances of iterative lecturer feedback”, the Congress of the 11th European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME11). Utrecht, Netherland |
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2018* |
“Diversity in curriculum committees: Challenges and opportunities for cross-community collaboration”, the International Commission on Mathematics Instruction Study 24th conference, Tsukuba, Japan |
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2018* |
“Playing Tic Tac Toe or learning non-Euclidean Geometry?”, the 42nd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Umeå, Sweden |
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2018** |
“Different modes of collaboration between teachers and education researchers: Where we are and how can we move forward?”, the 6th Jerusalem Conference on Research in Mathematics Education, Israel |
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2018** |
“Can mathematicians learn from mathematics educators about mathematics? Can mathematics educators learn from mathematicians about mathematics education?”, the 6th Jerusalem Conference on Research in Mathematics Education, Israel |
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2017** |
“Lost in translation: What is research on mathematics education, and how can it help us?”, The 2017 Annual Meeting of the Israel Mathematical Union, Acre, Israel |
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2017* |
“Math teaching as jazz improvisation: Exploring the ‘highly principled but not determinate’ instructional moves of an expert instructor”, the 10th Congress of the European Society for Research in Math-Education (CERME10), Dublin, Ireland |
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2017** |
“On the fine line between pedagogical principles and improvisation in inquiry-oriented instruction: Examining the ‘unjustifiable’ teaching moves of an expert instructor”, the 5th Jerusalem Conference on Research in Mathematics Education, Israel |
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2017** |
“Our inner discourse as mathematics-education researchers: diving into questions that (sometimes) trouble every one of us” at the 5th Jerusalem Conference on Research in Mathematics Education, Israel. |
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2016* |
“University mathematics teaching: practices outside class that shape the mathematics in the lectures”, The 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education 2016 (ICME13), Hamburg, Germany |
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2016* |
“The same lecture outline, but very different lectures: The decisions mathematics instructors make and how they shape the mathematics in their classrooms”, MAA Invited Paper Session, The Joint Mathematics Meetings, Seattle, USA |
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2015* |
“Why different mathematics instructors teach students different lessons about mathematics in lectures”, The Didactics of Mathematics in Higher Education as a Scientific Discipline Conference, Hannover, Germany |
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2015** |
"Towards a theory of teaching and learning to think mathematically at university", The NAEd/Spencer Fellowship Programs Fall Retreat 2015, Washington, D.C., USA |
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2015* |
"Exploring practices and beliefs that shape the teaching of mathematical ways of thinking and doing at university", the 18th Conference on Research in Undergraduate Math Education (CRUME), Pittsburgh, USA |
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2014** |
"Variability in University Mathematics – A Tale of Two Instructors", the 2nd Jerusalem Conference on Research in Mathematics Education, Israel |
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2013* |
"Revisiting University Mathematics – A Tale of Two Instructors", the 8th Congress of the European Society for Research in Math-Education (CERME8), Antalya, Turkey |
Seminars and Colloquium Talks (Selected)
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2021 |
“M-Cubed – Math-teachers, Mathematicians, Mathematics", Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel |
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2021 |
“Don’t let them lose sight of the mathematics: Nurturing meaning in mathematics education from elementary to secondary”, Oranim Academic College and Teaching, Israel |
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2020 |
“153 – A wonderful (מקסים) Number – In memory of Maxim Bruckheimer", a joint talk with Prof. Abraham Arcavi, ", Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel |
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2019 |
“Nurturing meaning in mathematics across elementary school”, plenary talk at a special meeting of elementary school mathematics supervisors, Ministry of Education, Israel |
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2018 |
“Mashal! Mashal?", Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel |
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2017 |
“Close encounters of the third kind: What we learned from collaboration between mathematicians and education researchers, and how can we move forward”, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland. |
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2017 |
“From course design to in-the-moment decisions: Exploring the mechanisms that underlie mathematics teaching at university”, School of Education, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel |
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2016 |
“(How) Can mathematicians help math teachers teach better?”, The Research in Cognition and Mathematics Education Professional Seminar, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, USA |
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2015 |
"Student initiation to university mathematics: A case study of instructors' practices and beliefs", Mathematics Education Colloquium, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA |
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2015 |
"Student initiation to university mathematics: A case study of instructors' practices and beliefs", Mathematics Colloquium of the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, San Diego State University, California, USA. |
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2015 |
“University math lectures: Why different mathematicians teach the same topics but different mathematics”, School of Education, Tel-Aviv University, Israel |
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2015 |
“University math lectures: Why different mathematicians teach the same topics but different mathematics”, Department of Mathematics Education, University of Haifa, Israel |
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2015 |
"What mathematical content is there to learn here? Instructors' and students' different perspectives on the mathematics at university", Social policy and research in cognition & mathematics education: A focus on common core (SPARCME), University of California, Berkeley, USA |
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2014 |
"From Research in Pure Mathematics to Math Education– A Once in a Life Time Experience (Thank God!)", Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel |
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2014 |
“Do Different University Math Instructors Teach the Same Mathematics? A Tale of Two Lessons”, Math Education Seminar, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Israel |
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2013 |
"Deriving Different Plots - A Story of Two University Math Lessons on the Derivative", Department of Science Teaching, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel |
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2011 |
"Product Decompositions and Splitting Theorems in Busemann Non-Positively Curved Spaces", Einstein Institute of Mathematics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel |
G. Languages
Hebrew, English – Fluent in reading, writing and speaking