I love helping people solve problems. I specialize in optimizing the process of complex problem-solving, and in fostering and assessing the thinking skills involved in that process, with focus on creative thinking, systems thinking, and metacognition. To this end, I apply my own and others' methods and tools from model-based systems engineering, education research, management science, and cognitive psychology.
I have instructed hundreds of professionals, teachers, and students from various disciplines. I have worked with/for Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, edX, Henrietta Szold Institute, Whirlpool Corp., Airbus SAS, and diagnostics.ai.
You can contact me via LinkedIn, ResearchGate, or email.
Rea Lavi, PhD | Researcher, Developer, Educator
Structured methods and innovative tools for complex problem-solving
Professional Experience
Lecturer and Curriculum Designer– MIT, Cambridge, MA
11/2019 - Present
- Leading the integration of 21st century skills/thinking skills into NEET Program curriculum
- Teaching a first-year class on applying thinking skills to interdisciplinary challenges - SP.248
- Had a record 61 students enrolled in SP.248 Fall '20
- Conducting programmatic evaluation with Open Learning Center
- Developing learning content with School of Architecture, Sch. of Humanities, and MIT Libraries
Instructional Designer – Technion, Israel
10/2017 - 10/2019
- Professional Certificate program (two MOOCs) on edX.org (MIT & Harvard)
- Institute nominee for the International edX Prize 2020
- Launched on March 2019, sponsored by Whirlpool Corporation
- Four cohorts as of July 2020; 6,119 enrolled; 715 paid for certification
- Designed syllabus and authored 60 screenplays
- Designed learning assessment and developed hundreds of exercises
- Collaborated with instructors, production team, and software developers
Instructor | Teaching Assistant – Technion
3/2016 - 7/2019
- Designed and instructed academic courses and professional development workshops
- Topics covered: complex problem-solving; creative thinking; entrepreneurship; systems thinking; conceptual modelling of systems
- Taught hundreds of undergraduate and graduate STEM students, STEM high school teachers, and engineers (including Airbus SAS & Whirlpool Corporation)
Research Coordinator – The Henrietta Szold Institute, Israel
2-9/2014
- The National Institute for Research in the Behavioral Sciences
- Developed a test for assessing the creative thinking of candidates for a young inventors program
- Managed marketing and brought in a record 373 candidates for testing
Research Manager – diagnostics.ai, UK & Israel
11/2009 - 12/2014
- ML-driven automated data analysis for pathogen testing (pcr.ai)
- Instrumental in founding and initial funding rounds of biotech startup
- Managed and conducted research for marketing and patent applications
Operations Manager – All the Shades of Grey Ltd., UK
6/2008 - 10/2009
- Eventually spun off into diagnostics.ai
- Managed custom software development projects
- Authored a marketing plan that contributed to an increase of 50% in sales from 2008-2009
Information Specialist, First Sgt. – IDF Military Intelligence Directorate
12/2000 - 12/2003
Education
PhD, 95.7% – Faculty of Education in Science and Technology, Technion
2015 - 2019
- Thesis advisor: Prof. Yehudit Judy Dori
- Thesis title: ''Investigating 21st Century Skills in STEM Higher Education''
- Collaborative research with the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management
- Student Union Representative of graduate students in the Faculty of Education in Science and Techology
MEd, Cum Laude – School of Education, Bar Ilan University, Israel
2010 - 2013
- Curriculum Planning and Management track
- Thesis advisor: Prof. Baruch Offir
- Thesis title: ''Assessing the Judgement of Secondary School Science Teachers Regarding the Scientific Creativity Level of their Students''
Biology BSc and Psychology BSc – Tel Aviv University, Israel
2004 - 2009
Brain sciences track
Grants, Fellowships, and Awards
- 2018-9 - Technion Graduate School and Gordon Center for Systems Engineering Research Fellowship
P. I. Prof. Y. J. Dori, Grant number 2026787, $19,745
- 2016-7 - The Miriam and Aaron Gutwirth Fellowship for Excelling PhD students
$21,600 equivalent in ILS
- 2016-7 - Technion Graduate School and Gordon Center for Systems Engineering Research Fellowship
P. I. Prof. Y. J. Dori, Grant number 2023427, $10,000
- 2016 - The Kaplan Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Education Research
$1,100 equivalent in ILS
- 2015-16 - Zeff Fellowship for Excelling First-year PhD Students
$20,600 equivalent in ILS
- 2015-6 - Technion Graduate School and Gordon Center for Systems Engineering Research Fellowship
P. I. Prof. Y. J. Dori, Grant number 2021756, $8,574
Membership in Organizations
- 2019-Present: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- 2019-Present: IEEE Education Society
- 2016-Present: NARST
Select Publications
Lavi, R., Dori, Y. J., & Dori, D. (2020). Assessing novelty and systems thinking in conceptual models of technological systems. IEEE Transactions on Education. Advance online publication. DOI: 10.1109/TE.2020.3022238.
Lavi, R., Dori, Y. J., Wengrowicz, N., & Dori, D. (2020). Model-based systems thinking: Assessing engineering student teams. IEEE Transactions on Education, 63(1), 39-47, DOI: 10.1109/TE.2019.2948807
Lavi, R., & Dori, Y. J. (2019). Systems thinking of pre- and in-service science and engineering teachers. International Journal of Science Education, 41(2), 248-279, DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2018.1548788
Lavi, R., Shwartz, G., & Dori, Y. J. (2019). Metacognition in chemistry education: A literature review. Israel Journal of Chemistry, 59, 583-597, DOI: 10.1002/ijch.20180008
Maital, S. & Lavi, R. (2019). Can effective creative thinking be taught to and implemented by students? Poster presented in the 41st International School Psychology Association conference, Basel, Switzerland, July 9-12, 2019.
Avargil, S., Lavi, R., & Dori, Y. J. (2018). Students’ metacognition and metacognitive strategies in science education. In Y. J. Dori, Z. Mevarech, and D. Baker (Eds.), Cognition, Metacognition and Culture in STEM Education (pp. 33-64). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Crawley, E., Bathe, M., Lavi, R., & Mitra, A. (2020). Implementing the NEET Ways of Thinking at MIT and Assessing their Efficacy. Paper presented in the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada, June 22-26, 2020 (conference held online due to COVID-19 pandemic). Retrieved from
Dori, D., Kohen, H., Jbara, A., Wengrowicz, N., Lavi, R., Soskin, N. L., ... & Shani, U. (2020). OPCloud: An OPM Integrated Conceptual-Executable Modeling Environment for Industry 4.0. In R. S. Kenett, R. S. Swarz, and A. Zonnenshain (Eds.), Systems Engineering in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Big Data, Novel Technologies, and Modern Systems Engineering (pp. 243-272). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.