In a new series of reports, Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education (CASJE) found in its specific review of professional development in Jewish schools that only 55% of the respondents agree or strongly agree that their organization provides sufficient opportunities for professional development.

JEIC would like to share our view of the critical importance of ongoing, school-embedded professional development for teachers and its impact on student learning, and reflect on how we may be able to address this disappointing statistic.

We believe that all schools should engage in professional development for a number of reasons:

1. Since schools are in the business of education, they should be consumers as much as they are providers. Schools should be fostering lifelong learning for all constituents including every staff member, in addition to the students, the parent body, and board members.

2. As Manette Mayberg recently wrote in an op-ed in EJP, “Only humans have the capacity to help children develop healthy, authentic relationships with others, the community and God. As such, Jewish educators should be encouraged to exercise this talent authentically and from the heart. Their talent should also be valued enough to prioritize developing it professionally.”

3. The world is constantly evolving and, as a result, generations of learners change over time. In addition, new evidence-based pedagogical approaches are being developed and offered to schools on a regular basis. As educators, we need the opportunity to keep up with what is new and refine our practice in order to best serve our students. Professional development seeks not only to elevate the “tool box” with which teachers approach their students, but also attempts to develop the underlying assumptions of teachers. Shifting from a premise that students only learn one way to an understanding that students learn through multiple modalities manifests a change in underlying assumptions, not just classroom tactics.

4. It is invigorating and rejuvenating for educators to grapple with new ideas together with their peers. Being an adult learner also keeps teachers sensitized to the personal highs and lows of learning journeys, which is important as they guide their own students. Given all that our teachers invest in their students, we owe it to them to invest in their own development, which in turn, will improve their teaching and student outcomes.

We as an organization, and I personally as a long-term Jewish educator, have witnessed how ongoing professional development for teachers can elevate children’s school experience in general and their learning outcomes specifically. One example of a program JEIC supports is Jewish Day School Standards and Benchmarks at the Davidson School of Education. This pedagogical approach in the teaching of Tanakh [Bible] and Rabbinics gives students the ability to become independent learners and infuse meaning into their lives emanating from the text. It uses methodologies such as focusing on big ideas and discussing essential questions related to the text. This project has demonstrated measurable positive outcomes in terms of student engagement and learning. 

Another example of successful professional development is Pedagogy of Partnership at Hadar, which instructs teachers on how to introduce relationship-based learning [havruta] to their students in order to create significantly deeper engagement in the classroom with the text and with fellow students. A third example of professional development showing positive student outcomes is the Lifnai v’Lifnim program, developed by Rav Dov Zinger at Yeshivat Makor Chaim. In this program, teachers learn how to deepen their relationships with students and make room for richer discussions in educational environments. Students begin to feel that school is a safe space for the exploration of religious concepts, which allows them to form their own Jewish views while being mentored by faculty.

Effective professional development needs to be ongoing and job-embedded. “One and done” sessions may be interesting, but will not fundamentally change a teacher’s practice. The programs we have observed as most effective are ones that meet on a regular basis for a minimum of two years during which time educators’ practices can evolve, be assessed and revised, and then become part of the normative practice in the classroom and part of the school’s educational culture. We have seen success with a “train the trainer” approach in which an entire faculty is trained with one or more designated staff members who learn to coach the other staff members. This means that when the professional development provider’s tenure at the school ends, the program is internally sustainable and the changes are enduring. 

The Mayberg Foundation and JEIC are calling attention to the importance of effective professional development through the creation of and involvement in a PLC [professional learning community] called DEEP [Developing Embedded Expertise Program]. This group is composed of 18 representatives from professional development providers who share with one another their training methodologies, surfacing synergies and potential collaborations that might serve the field.

Professional development works at its best when it elevates or reinforces a constructive educational culture. Culture at a school acts as an engine for transforming all elements of the day school ecosystem. By using professional development to empower staff to be cultural leaders, the school can sustain the change and reinforce retiring old habits.

Teachers experience limited benefits from professional development when it takes the form of one-time exposures to new fads in education. JEIC wants to encourage long-term, curiosity-building, imagination-engaging, professional development that sustainably changes the staff. Ultimately this will impact the students' learning environment and their growth.

Education is always evolving, just like many other fields, such as medicine and technology. Just as professionals in those fields are regularly taking courses to stay current on research and practice, so too should educators. We wouldn't go to a doctor who hasn't participated in any professional development over the course of their career, so we should want the same standards for our children’s education. This is why we need to support and expand schools' commitments and resources for professional development.