Faculty of Educational Sciences at the University started a workshop  to discuss the results of Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study- TIMSS – and results of Palestinian students within the study. The workshop was held under the patronage of Professor Rami  Hamdallah, President of University. Among the participants were Dr. Basri Saleh, the assistant agent of Development and Planning Affairs department of the Ministry of Education, Dr. Mohammed Matar, Head of Measurement and Evaluation department  of the Ministry and the national coordinator of the study along with a number of educational researchers from An-Najah National University and other institutions.

The workshop commenced with a word delivered by the workshop coordinator, Dr. Suhail Sawalah, Head of the Department of Curriculum and Teaching Methods. He explained the goals of the workshop and its significance in the development of  teaching mathematics and sciences. Also, Dr. Ali Habayeb, Vice President for Academic Affairs, delivered the word of the University in which he stressed the leading role the University plays, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, to raise the quality of education in Palestine. Dr. Basri Saleh presented the importance for Palestine to take part through testing the efficiency of the Palestinian educational system, particularly methods of teaching mathematics and science and extending the outcomes of successful educational systems of this test to benefit from them. He added that defining the variables that would help improve the educational outcomes of Palestinian schools is equally important.

Dr. Mohammed Matar lectured the attendees about the results included in the study results report of the TIMSS test, which involved defining the location of Palestine at the regional level in relation other Arab countries and analyzing the study results in accordance with several variables of gender, district, supervising authority, and scopes of the test.

In a different reading of the results of Palestine, Dr. Saida Affouneh and Dr. Abdel Kareem Ayoub, from An-Najah National University, gave a lecture in which they clarified that the results of Palestine in the TIMSS test did not actually indicate a considerable improvement in spite of the efforts of the Ministry of Education in working on improving the academic achievements of students in all educational courses.

Upon concluding the workshop, Dr. Alya Al-Assaly ran a discussion in which audience participated and commented on the study results. Dr. Ali Habayeb, Dr. Mohammed Matar, and Dr. Saida Affouneh answered any questions the audience posed.