AR4MATH Staff Members

Our staff is a highly skilled and dedicated team of professionals with expertise in various fields, including mathematics, computer science, and educational technology. Each member brings unique perspectives and experiences to the AR4MATH project, which allows us to approach our work with creativity and innovation. We are committed to making a positive impact on education through the development and implementation of cutting-edge technologies that enhance learning outcomes.

Principal investigator​
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description

Osama Swidan

My name is Osama Swidan. Since 2017, I have been teaching and conducting research in the Department of Science and Technology Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The university is located in Be’er Sheva, located in southern Israel. I completed my PhD degree in 2015. I worked at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on a project that aimed at developing technological tools to promote adaptive learning. In 2017, I joined the research group of Turin University in Italy, led by Prof. Ferdinando Arzarello. The group worked on a project that aimed at designing a learning environment for enhancing inquiry-based learning. My research area deals with learning and teaching mathematics using digital tools. In particular, I am interested in studying cognitive, social and emotional aspects by learning mathematical concepts. In addition, I am interested in designing professional development programs for teachers using innovative digital tools. I am currently leading the AR4MATH project in collaboration with my colleague, Prof. Michael Fried, and scholars from Germany and Italy.

Michael N. Fried

Michael N. Fried is an Associate Professor in the Program for Science and Technology Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. His research interests are eclectic and include the history of mathematics, mathematics education, semiotics, and the history and philosophy of education. He holds an MSc from SUNY Stony Brook in Applied Mathematics and a PhD from the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science at Tel Aviv University. He is the author (with Sabetai Unguru) of Apollonius of Perga’s Conics: Text Subtext Context (Brill, 2001) and Edmond Halley’s Reconstruction of the Lost Book of Apollonius’s Conics (Springer, 2011), and is co-editor (with Tommy Dreyfus) of Mathematics and Mathematics Education: Searching for Common Ground (Springer, 2014).

Image Description
Image Description
Image Description

International Cooperative​​​​​
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description

Cristina Sabena

Cristina Sabena is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Science Education at the University of Torino, where she teaches mathematics education to future primary teachers. Her research focuses mainly on the role of the body, tools, and signs in the teaching-learning processes of mathematics and the development of argumentative skills, including educational assessment tools. She is currently Secretary of CIEAEM (the International Commission for the Study and Improvement of Mathematics Teaching).

Ferdinando Arzarello

Ferdinando Arzarello was a Professor of elementary mathematics in the G. Peano Department of Mathematics at the University of Turin until October 31, 2017. He is currently an Emeritus Professor at the same university. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the ICMI (International Commission on Mathematical Instruction) and a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Turin. He has worked and is continuing to work on diverse international mathematics teaching projects involving scholars and researchers from various parts of the world. He has been invited to lecture on his research in numerous universities and at important scientific conferences in Europe, America (North, Central South), Africa, Asia and Oceania. He is the author of about 170 scientific publications on mathematics education topics and foundations of mathematics, mostly in international journals and monographs. Together with teachers, he wrote a textbook for middle school and several popular books on teaching mathematics. His main research interests concern the teaching of mathematics, in particular: the teaching of algebra, geometry and analysis; the curriculum; and the study of teaching/learning processes in mathematics, with particular reference to the use of different systems of semiotic representations by teachers and students. He is directing a didactic research group in Turin, attended by university professors, PhD students and school teachers.

Image Description
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description

Florian Schacht

Florian Schacht is a Professor of mathematics education in the Faculty of Mathematics of the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE). His research interests focus on the role of ICT for learning processes including language phenomena, concept formation processes, and inclusive mathematics teaching and learning. After completing his PhD in 2012 in mathematics education and working for a period as a mathematics and music teacher in a secondary school, he worked at the TU Dortmund University for his post-doctoral studies. He has been a faculty member at UDE since October 2015. He currently chairs the national scientific working group for research and development concerning the use of digital technology in mathematics education (Arbeitskreis Mathematikunterricht und Digitale Werkzeuge of the German Society for Didactics in Mathematics).

Carlotta Soldano

Carlotta Soldano is a fixed-term research assistant in the Department of Philosophy and Science Education at the University of Torino. She teaches mathematics education to future primary teachers in Savigliano (near Torino). Her research interests are on the role of the dynamic geometry environment in the teaching-learning of geometry and on the development of inquiry skills both for discovering mathematical properties and for justifying them.

Image Description
Image Description
Image Description

Postdoctoral Students​​​​​​​
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description

Sara Bagossi

Sara Bagossi has obtained her Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy). After one year and a half post-doc at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, she is currently post-doctoral student at the University of Turin (Italy). Her research interests are focused on covariational reasoning, and specifically second-order covariation, in the conceptualization of real-world phenomena and the potentialities of digital tools, such as dynamic geometry environments and augmented reality, in teaching and learning processes. Recently she has joined the TransEET project.


​​Doctoral Students​​​​​
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description

Othman Jaber

I am a PhD student in the Department of Science and Technology Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. I am interested in studying the potential of AR technology in educational settings, particularly in a mathematical inquiry-based learning (IBL) environment.


​​​Master Students​​​​​

Omar Abu Asbe

Omar Abu Asbe is an MSc student in the Department of Science and Technology Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, as well as a computer science teacher and programmer. His area of focus lies in computer science and technology, with a particular interest in the principles of technological design in the AR environment.

Image Description
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description

Yana Kovarsky Boev

My name is Yana Kovarsky Boev. I graduated from the Faculty of Biotechnology Engineering at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. After career retraining, I am now teaching mathematics and biotechnology in high school, and am an MSc student in the Department of Science and Technology Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. My part in this project is to explore how students' questioning affects their mathematical reasoning in an AR- or VR-rich environment.

Nadia Shifrin

I am high school mathematics teacher, and currently an MSc student in the Department of Science and Technology Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. I am interested in exploring AR technology and its impact on the enhancement of science educational processes, especially the evolvement of new interactions between students and objects in an AR-based educational setting.

Image Description
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description
Image Description

Inbal Israel

My name is Inbal Israel and I am currently an MSc student in the Department of Science and Technology Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. I also work as a math teacher at an elementary school, and have been teaching at Achva College's School of Education, Department of Mathematics since 2015. My research interests include investigating the knowledge construction processes involved in transitioning from a two-dimensional planar net to a three-dimensional solid using augmented reality. I am being mentored by Dr. Osama Swidan.