Using the Internet in Aid of Professional Development for
Jewish Supplementary Educators
Eliyanah Fitzpatrick, University of Ottawa, efitzpat@consecol.org
INTRODUCTION:
Jewish supplementary educators face three critical problems in accessing professional
development:
 the lack of knowledge and training;
 the part time nature of the occupation; and
 the physical and emotional distances involved.
Jewish supplementary educators are those teachers who work in Jewish education teaching
evening and weekend courses to children and adolescents. This paper proposes using the
internet to provide professional development which is less hampered by these problems than
more traditional models of professional development delivery. Professional development is
defined here as any activity by which Jewish supplementary educators increase their skills and
knowledge about teaching and Jewish content. Professional development, in this context, is a
blend of what is traditionally referred to as pre-service training, induction programs, and inservice training.
The paper is presented as six sections. Section One explains the concept of an on-line
Jewish Curriculum Resource Centre, and how it resolves the three critical problem areas.
Section Two provides a detailed description of the web site, including the conceptual framework
behind it, its organization and the definitions of all relevant parts. Section Three reviews the
relevant literature supporting both the use of the internet to meet the needs of this population
and the decisions about the structure of the web site itself. Section Four goes into further detail
about the specific needs of adult learners and the ways in which an on-line professional
development tool meets these needs. Section Five describes the strategies for implementation
and evaluation which are necessary if such a tool is to become a reality. Section Six outlines the
limitations that are inherent in the design of this tool.
The internet can be a powerful vehicle for delivering quality professional development to
Jewish supplementary educators.
SECTION ONE: The Jewish Curriculum Support Centre (JCSC)
The Jewish Curriculum Support Centre (JCSC) is a professional development tool which
takes the form of a web site that has been designed to meet the needs of Jewish supplementary
educators. After examining both the available research on current Jewish supplementary
educators and the author’s own six years of experience in the field, three critical problem areas
come to light which must be taken into consideration when designing a professional
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development tool for this population. The three critical problem areas for professional
development are:
1.
The lack of knowledge and training;
2.
The part time nature of the occupation; and
3.
The physical and emotional distances involved.
The purpose of this web site is to provide a professional development experience that
overcomes, or takes into consideration, these three critical problem areas.
1. The lack of knowledge and training:
The main problem facing Jewish educators is reported in Gamoran, Goldring, Robinson,
Goodman, Tammivaara (1997), only “19% of all Jewish teachers have professional training in
both Jewish content and in the field of Jewish education” (p. 541). This statistic includes
educators in both day school and supplementary school environments. In the table below, one
can see how this is reflected among Jewish supplementary educators. Without adequate
teacher training or Jewish studies knowledge, it is very difficult for a teacher to provide a quality
program. The JCSC can provide resources that support the acquisition of skills and knowledge
in education and Jewish studies content that then enable a teacher to provide a better program.
Professional Training of Supplementary Teachers in Jewish Schools
Trained in Education and Jewish Studies
13%
Trained in Education Only
32%
Trained in Jewish Studies Only
11%
Trained in Neither Education Nor Jewish Studies
44%
(Gamoran et al., 1997: 541)
2. The part time nature of the occupation:
Jewish education, both in supplementary and day schools, tends to be a part-time
occupation. According to the research reported by Aron, 1997, p.432: 31% of all Jewish
teachers worked less than five hours per week, 54% worked less than 10 hours per week, and
77% worked less than 20 hours per week. The part-time nature of the work has a substantial
impact on the nature of professional development for Jewish educators. It impacts on the
number of hours, or workshops that a teacher is willing to commit for a ‘part-time’ job. It even
affects the teachers’ perception of the need for professional development. Many teachers
perceive professional development activities as an imposition and irrelevant to their jobs. These
factors need to be taken into consideration when planning a professional development tool. The
JCSC provides resources on a request basis only. Since the resources are sought out by the
teacher themselves at a time of their choosing, the JCSC is unlikely to be perceived by the
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teacher as either an imposition or irrelevant. In this way the JCSC can meet the needs of this
population.
3. The physical and emotional distances involved:
There are two kinds of distance that present themselves as a critical problem to be solved in
order to assure the delivery of professional development to Jewish supplementary educators:
physical and emotional. Physical distance implies the distance from professional development
resources. For example, many supplementary Jewish educators do not live near a Jewish
educational resource centre. There may not even be such a centre in the city where they live.
Jewish educational materials are hard to find unless you live in an urban community with a large
Jewish population. Those educators who do live in a community with a large Jewish population
may still have difficulty finding and accessing resources. Those educators who live in
communities without Jewish education resource centres also do not have ready access to
Jewish teacher training programs, Jewish studies programs, or even ready access to
professional development workshops led by the leaders in the field. This distance from
resources makes it difficult for Jewish supplementary educators to obtain what they need to
become better educators. The JCSC helps bridge this distance by providing the resources in an
on-line environment.
Emotional distance is the distance created by an adult learner’s fear of looking foolish in front
of others (Tennant and Pogson, 1995). This particular type of distance is exacerbated when the
adult learner is a teacher who feels that others believe that they should already be
knowledgeable in an area in which they are not. This emotional distance makes it difficult for
some to take full advantage of the professional development opportunities that do exist. The
JCSC may help to overcome this problem by providing resources in an anonymous setting.
Users are free to investigate whatever subject areas they like without fearing that a colleague or
supervisor will discover their lack of expertise.
Conclusion to Section One:
Jewish supplementary educators are frequently individuals with little Judaic knowledge, and
little teacher training. They primarily work part-time and at a physical and emotional distance
from Jewish educational resources. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that the professional
development tool, the JCSC, as described below will improve the skills and knowledge of
Jewish supplementary educators by taking into consideration the three critical problem areas.
SECTION TWO: The Structure of the Site
The structure of the JCSC was developed using the research presented in two papers by
Dorph and Feiman-Nemser (1997), and Feiman-Nemser (1997) as a theoretical framework. This
framework was then expanded on using relevant literature in the field to create the current
structure of the site. (see The Jewish Curriculum Support Centre Homepage:
http://www.consecol.org/~efitzpat/JCSC/ )
Gail Dorph (in Dorph and Feiman-Nemser, 1997) and Sharon Feiman-Nemser (1997) came
to certain conclusions while working with Jewish supplementary educators. Their conclusions
can be summarised into the following three statements:
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1.
Teachers need many kinds of knowledge in order to teach.
2.
Peer support is an indispensable part of professional development.
3.
There are issues that are unique to Jewish supplementary education.
Their theory comes from their work with teachers in Jewish education and their explorations
of different issues related to this work. These three elements are key to understanding the
needs that must be met by any professional development tool offered to Jewish supplementary
educators. The organization of the professional development tool as suggested by the
theoretical framework involves providing a resource centre: with peer support capability; with
access to information including content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and
teaching skills such as classroom management, and; which addresses issues unique to Jewish
education.
There are two categories of unique Jewish issues that must be addressed by this
professional development tool. The first category involves the three critical problems facing the
educators in this field, as discussed in Section One (the lack of knowledge and training; the part
time nature of the occupation; and the physical and emotional distances involved). The second
category involves presenting resources which deal with issues faced in Jewish supplementary
classrooms. Some of these issues involve managerial concerns while others involve
instructional Judaic content concerns. For example, Jewish supplementary classrooms are
extracurricular in nature, yet have the form and structure of a public school classroom. While a
public school classroom relies on parental pressure, grades, etc. to motivate behaviour, a
Jewish supplementary classroom often lacks these motivators. Methods of coping with this
reality would be an issue unique to this environment. Unique content issues include such topics
as teaching Hebrew prayer, Jewish holidays or the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin. These
categories of unique Jewish issues will be addressed in the JCSC.
The theoretical framework highlights these three areas: peer support, access to information
and unique Jewish issues. This framework and a review of the relevant literature suggests
providing professional development in four key areas which are necessary to improve the skills
and knowledge of Jewish supplementary educators. These four areas are Support, Methods,
Content and Activities. Due to the results of a small informal survey (N=3) of Jewish
supplementary educators, Activities is represented on the web site as two separate areas: the
activities themselves (see The Jewish Curriculum Support Centre Homepage:
http://www.consecol.org/~efitzpat/JCSC/ ) and the lesson plans (see The Jewish Curriculum
Support Centre Homepage: http://www.consecol.org/~efitzpat/JCSC/ ). Educators responded
that they are often looking for specific activities to fill a particular time slot within a topic, or to
cover a particular topic, but are not looking for a whole lesson plan.
In order to discuss these areas of professional development, the reader is reminded of the
working definition of professional development used in this document. Professional development
is defined here as any activity by which Jewish supplementary educators increase their skills
and knowledge about teaching and Jewish content. Within this definition in-service training and
teacher education are equal. This definition also allows us to discuss meeting the needs of
congregation members who take on the role of teaching with little or no training in content or
methods and for whom Jewish education is not a profession.
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Each of the four key areas are operationalized as follows:
Content (see Learn About It…The Content: http://www.consecol.org/~efitzpat/JCSC/learn/)
This is an area of professional development characterized by engaging the teacher with
subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. This area can be searched by
topic allowing an exploration of fact sheets published on the site itself (see Learn About
it…Topics: http://www.consecol.org/~efitzpat/JCSC/learn/topics/ ) or by using the collected
content links leading to information on other sites (see Learn About it…Links of Interest:
http://www.consecol.org/~efitzpat/JCSC/learn/generalLinks/ ).
Methods (see Manage It…The Classroom:
http://www.consecol.org/~efitzpat/JCSC/manage/)
This is an area of professional development involving knowledge of teaching and learning
which encompasses: teaching methodologies, discipline strategies, lesson plan writing
strategies, how to assess students, evaluate program changes, and many other of the skills
required and offered in ‘teacher training’ programs. Again this section can be searched by fact
sheets on the site, or by using the list of links to other sites.
Activities (see Do It…The Activities: http://www.consecol.org/~efitzpat/JCSC/do/ & Teach
It…The Lessons: http://www.consecol.org/~efitzpat/JCSC/teach/ )
This is an area of professional development dealing with teaching strategies for specific
activity types grouped by age, by content or by type. On the grounds that new skills can be
derived from trying new ideas, this section of the web site is essentially lesson plans and
activities with instructions and hints for successful implementation.
Support (see Discuss It…Peer Support: http://www.consecol.org/~efitzpat/JCSC/discuss/ )
This is a process of professional development that is provided for in the web site by an online bulletin board (see Discuss It…Discussion Group:
http://www.consecol.org/~efitzpat/JCSC/discuss/discussionGroup/ ) or as an e-mail mailing list.
Peer support is known to be one of the critical factors in a teacher’s ability to implement new
ideas.
The Jewish Curriculum Support Centre is designed to provide these four key areas of
professional development in order to serve as a professional development tool for Jewish
supplementary educators to improve their knowledge and skills.
SECTION THREE: Literature Review
Support for the structure of this web-based professional development tool is provided by the
relevant literature in both secular and Judaic fields in nine topic areas: Adult Learning, Teacher
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Knowledge, Content Knowledge, Learning Activities, Teachers’ Decision Making, Methods, Peer
support, Distance Education, and Professional Development. All nine of these topic areas
converge to provide the basis for the need of a Jewish Curriculum Support Centre, in fact, much
of the literature covers two or more of these topics together, and will be discussed as such.
Throughout the literature review the professional development literature and the Jewish
educational literature serve as the lens which colours the exploration and will therefore not be
examined separately.
There is even one model of learning to teach which describes the necessary components
similarly to those identified and developed in the JCSC. Kauchak and Eggen, 1998, present a
model of learning to teach which matches the structure of the JCSC. The substantive
differences being that Kauchak and Eggen (1998) do not include Peer Support in their model
and, where they list Pedagogical Content Knowledge as a separate category, it is included
together with content knowledge in the JCSC.
The following is a schematic diagram of the literature review:
Adult
Learning
Teacher
Knowledge
Distance
Education
Content
Knowledge
Peer Support
Methods
Learning
Activities
Decision
Making
Diagram 1: Literature Review Schematic
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The secular and Jewish professional development literature provides an over-arching
framework which stresses the importance of professional development for teachers in areas of:
content knowledge, learning activities, methods, and in the need for peer support (Hauserman,
1993; Holtz, Dorph, and Goldring, 1997; Spitzer and Wedding, 1995; Zins, Maher, Murphy, and
Wess, 1988). There is much in the literature linking adult education principles with elements of
effective professional development (Langley and Wasserman, 1988; Michayluk, 1986; Oelklaus,
1999). The presence of the adult education literature, however, does not stop there. There are
references in the professional development and teacher training education literature to adult
learning and development terminology such as ‘situated learning’ (Dorph and Feiman-Nemser,
1997; Feiman-Nemser, 1997), ‘mid-life transition and Levinson’ (Wohl, 1997), ‘utilitarian’ (Kaye
and Rowe, 1997), ‘learn what they needed to know’ (Feiman-Nemser, 1997: 441), and to
descriptions of transformative learning (Feiman-Nemser, 1997). All of these references point to
a teacher education literature grounded in adult education concepts.
Teachers respond more positively to teacher training when teachers
themselves make the presentations and design the programs. Also, teachers
respond better when the programs are practical – that is tied to the real needs
evident in the classroom…. They work better when workshops are interactive,
when groups have no more than eight members, and when teachers have a
say in the best time to offer the programs. (Oelklaus, 1999: 39)
This practical quote offers sound advice on working with teachers, who are of course, adult
learners. These same types of suggestions are found in Imel, 1995, 1997, 1998; Lacefield,
1999; MacDonald, Gabriel and Cousins, in press; and in Stein, 1998.
Gail Dorph and Sharon Feiman-Nemser (1997) note the difference between adult Jewish
education and Jewish teacher learning. They describe Adult Jewish education as being a
situation in which adults learn because they are interested. On the other hand, they tell us that
Jewish teacher learning is different. In this case, the adult learns to make sense of the ideas for
others. This difference in motivation affects how the teacher (i.e. the learner) connects the new
information to existing concepts. Jewish teacher learning is a far more effective trigger for
personal transformation, an added benefit of Jewish teacher learning. “But the responsibility to
teach created an obligation to learn. For many, this Jewish study was not only a process of
gaining new knowledge and understanding, but also an opportunity to rethink, even reconstruct,
their Jewish identity” (Feiman-Nemser, 1997: 441).
Teacher Knowledge has been researched in its own right (Anderson, 1989a, 1989b;
Evertson, 1989; Grossman, Wilson, and Shulman, 1989; Kauchak and Eggen, 1998;
McDiarmid, Ball, and Anderson, 1989; Michayluk, 1986; Shulman, 1986) and in conjunction with
professional development (Dorph and Feiman-Nemser, 1997).
Content knowledge itself has been looked at extensively by such authors as Grossman et
al. (1989), Kauchak and Eggen (1998), and Shulman (1986). The authors on content knowledge
make a distinction between the general knowledge of a subject (content knowledge) and the
ability to translate this knowledge into teachable information (pedagogical content knowledge).
These concepts are reflected in the relevant Jewish literature as well, “to study core Jewish
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concepts and texts as adults and then consider how these ideas were treated in curricular
materials aimed at different age groups” (Feiman-Nemser, 1997: 445).
There is also a body of Jewish research which examines the effects of prior knowledge on
teaching and pedagogical content knowledge (Dorph and Feiman-Nemser, 1997; Shkedi, 1997;
Shkedi and Horenczyk, 1995). “What teachers know and believe about their subject influences
not only what they teach, but how they approach their teaching” (Dorph and Feiman-Nemser,
1997: 459).
The Learning Activities research dovetails closely with content, decision making and
professional development. The idea is presented in the research that by learning content from
the learning activities materials teachers also learn how to teach it. “We counted on teachers
learning content and getting some ideas about how to teach that content from studying these
[curricular] materials” (Feiman-Nemser, 1997: 447).
The research also shows how most decision making that teachers do is grounded in the
learning activities (Parker and Gehrke, 1986). Teachers make decisions while deciding what to
teach, and they make adjustments to these decisions (i.e. make new decisions) while they are
teaching (Kauchak and Eggen, 1998; Parker and Gehrke, 1986). This leads directly back to the
content knowledge research: A teacher makes better pedagogical decisions as their
understanding of the content improves (Grossman et al., 1989).
Methods is the natural next topic to examine, after content and learning activities. As the
following quote makes clear, content and learning activities do not suffice: “Our experience
indicates that teachers need both the pedagogic skills and Judaic knowledge” (Kaye and Rowe,
1997: 530).
Evertson (1989), within a discussion of classroom management knowledge, provides a
framework of questions and critical points to aid teachers to hone their skills. The key areas that
she identifies as requiring a method of management are:
 planning and organizing the learning environment;
 establishing and maintaining a positive learning climate;
 and intervening with individual students.
Having seen the relevant literature strongly in support of the need for teacher knowledge on
content, learning activities and methods, we now turn to the literature on the role of peer support
in professional development.
Zins et al. (1988) argue strongly for the sense of social, emotional and professional support
that peer support provides. Their research demonstrates that many professional outcomes such
as morale, involvement in professional organizations, professional skills development and
continuing education increased as a result of participation in a peer support network.
Much of the research on peer support and professional development touches on the way in
which peer support helps the teacher to better assimilate the new material and work out
problems. Feiman-Nemser, 1997, reports on a synagogue which used grade level teaching
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teams as a way to provide peer support which helped with problem solving and support and
reduced teacher isolation. “Teachers need opportunities to work with colleagues… They need to
be part of larger learning communities that provide support and access to new ideas and
knowledge” (Holtz et al., 1997: 151). “Sharing successes as well as problems became a
standard activity as members encouraged and reinforced one another’s growth” (Paquette,
1987:38).
The remaining piece of this literature review explores whether all of this knowledge and
peer support can be provided in an electronic, distance education format.
Electronic networking provides opportunities for teachers to form supportive
communities despite … obstacles. It is particularly suited to professional life in
that the user chooses when to respond; can review and share messages
easily; and can make contact anywhere a computer, modem and phone line
are available. Text-based communication also provides opportunity to reflect
on one’s experience, to select what to share and how to describe it. (Spitzer
and Wedding, 1995: 247)
Herbert (1999) also discusses the utility of the on-line format for professional development. She
says, “we explored ways we might use the Internet to connect educators across the nation to
deal with everyday classroom issues. … About 95 percent of participants agreed or strongly
agreed that the program helped them bridge the gap between theory and practice” (Herbert,
1999: 40-41). Research such as the two mentioned here help to support the possibility of
providing effective professional development in an on-line format.
This literature brings us back full-circle to the beginning of this review, as from here it makes
sense to look at professional development and adult education. Section Four will in fact pursue
this connection more closely. As you can see, the relevant literature is closely interwoven and
provides a strong basis for a web-based professional development tool for Jewish
supplementary educators.
SECTION FOUR: The Specific Needs of Adult Learners
All Jewish supplementary educators are adults and the needs of adult learners are essential
to the planning of effective professional development. The adult learning literature provides
insight into a variety of aspects that must be taken into consideration in order for learning to
occur. According to our working definition of professional development1, professional
development is learning. There is no other way for a tool to increase skills and knowledge
without learning taking place. The aspects that must be taken into consideration form a sort of
checklist against which we can measure the usefulness of the internet in disseminating
professional development.
One aspect of adult learning which affects professional development is the investment of
‘self’ in learning. The self, or the roles we play, are mostly constructed by society. The idea
brought to light here is that the self is important in adult learning as people invest themselves in
1 Professional Development: any activity by which Jewish supplementary educators increase their skills and
knowledge about teaching and Jewish content.
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what they are doing. For Jewish education, there is a special significance to this concept. When
working with teachers (as adults) it will be important to consider the individual behind the
teacher role. Especially since these teachers are working with subjects of faith and spirituality, it
will be important to consider the extent to which teachers have tackled these issues for
themselves, that is, how comfortable their self is with these issues. This aspect may be
addressed within the JCSC using either of the peer support formats to initiate this exploration.
A second aspect to be taken into consideration is the relationship between the skills needed
in “mature adult cognition” and the way in which it is possible to acquire and practise these skills
during the delivery of professional development for teachers. Mature adult cognition is
“characterized by the ability to fit abstract thinking into the concrete limitations of everyday life”
(Tennant and Pogson, 1995: 27). Tennant and Pogson (1995) explain that skills are needed in
the areas of:
Problem recognition and definition: what constitutes the problem?
Number of “correct” answers: no absolute scale, many choices
Access to complete information: no such thing
Context: who benefits or suffers? why important? what led to it?
Feedback: in reality is ambiguous and lacks clarity, and
Social context: reality, most problems are solved with others
Skills such as these can be developed in a professional development program by providing
peer support. In an on-line format this can be provided with a listserv or an on-line bulletin
board. This provides users with a discussion of a problem in context that others help to solve by
offering alternative viewpoints on solutions. This can demonstrate clearly that a number of
‘correct’ answers exist and that there is never complete information.
A third adult learning concept which has a direct bearing on professional devleopment is
transformative learning. There is a need to differentiate between “learning experiences and
personal changes that genuinely transform and liberate their students [and] those that simply
key into the social expectations associated with different phases of life” (Tennant and Pogson,
1995: 112). This description of personal transformation is evident in a series of articles done on
a community which was beginning to use parents as teachers (Dorph and Feiman-Nemser,
1997; Feiman-Nemser, 1997; Kaplowitz and Feiman-Nemser, 1997). The parents are described
as having experienced a process which allowed them “an opportunity to rethink, even
reconstruct, their Jewish identity” (Feiman-Nemser, 1997: 441). It is not yet clear whether a
program with this level of impact could be offered in an on-line format.
A fourth consideration for any professional development tool is the self-directed learning
characteristic of many adults. Self-directed learning is “characterized by the mastery of a set of
techniques and procedures for learning, and the role of the teacher is to assist students to ‘learn
how to learn’” (Tennant and Pogson, 1995: 132). Candy (as cited in Tennant and Pogson, 1995:
122) is described as having developed four key ideas in self-directed learning:
1.) personal autonomy
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2.) the willingness and capacity to manage one’s own learning
3.) an environment allowing some effective control by the learner
4.) independent pursuit of learning without formal instructional support or affiliation
An on-line learning situation can meet these needs. Certainly professional development
provided on-line permits the learner to access the learning at his/her own pace and desire, the
environment allows the user total control over what to see when, and all this is also provided
with no formal instructional support. The support network is a peer group created to be used at
will by having a listserv and electronic bulletin board. The possible downfall is the first
characteristic: personal autonomy. It is unclear how much teachers will get out of the site if they
are not already fairly autonomous. This may be a drawback to providing on-line professional
development.
A fifth element from the adult learning literature is the idea of experience and how it can be
incorporated into professional development. “Experience has to be mediated and reconstructed
(or transformed) by the student for learning to occur. A crucial issue is how and under what
conditions people can reconstruct their experiences and thereby learn” (Tennant and Pogson,
1995: 151). By situating professional development delivery on a web site, one of the critical
factors for linking with experience is met: teachers will access the site in search of specific
information to help with a specific problem. This just-in-time approach increases the likelihood
that the theory sought will be integrated with practice. Also, the peer support section allows a
discussion of experience that creates opportunities to reconstruct one’s personal experience
through discussion with others.
A sixth consideration is the teacher-student relationship and its manifestation in an on-line
professional development environment. “Teachers of adults [need to] have a clear conception of
their role. That is, that they have a posture as a teacher, and that they articulate this posture to
the learners in a way that addresses their concerns and expectations” (Tennant and Pogson,
1995: 189). In an on-line environment, this can be especially important. Michael Starr, Director
of Distance Learning at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) said in personal communication:
Studies show that distance education facilitates learner-centered education
which turns the educator from the "sage on the stage" to the "coach on the
sidelines". We have found at JTS that we can go far more into depth (though at
times at the sacrifice of some breadth) online. We also have found that the
focus centers much more on dialogue online than it does on one-way
communication. (March 29, 2000)
The last aspect to be considered from the adult learning literature represents an entire
category of issues. This category is the practical aspects of adult learning situations. These
practical concepts helped to identify ways of meeting the needs of adult learners in an on-line
professional development context. For example, since adult learners rate using a variety of
techniques and creating a comfortable learning atmosphere as two of the most important skills
of a teacher (Imel, 1995), these can be incorporated into the web site. The web site can be
made as user-friendly as possible and the facilitators of the on-line bulletin board can use a
variety of techniques to stimulate and encourage discussion.
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All of the practical suggestions in an article on technology and adult learning (Imel, 1998)
had direct ramifications for on-line professional development. Most of the research reported in
this article (Imel, 1998) have already been incorporated into the design, and have been
described elsewhere. Imel (1998) makes it clear that providing fast access to help when it is
needed is an important element of success in this area. This will need to be incorporated into
the web site’s design if the delivery of professional development is to be provided in an optimum
manner.
Other suggestions with regards to the physical needs of working with adults which are
applicable to on-line learning included, the use of large clear fonts, and avoiding red/green
colour combinations (Lacefield, 1999). But perhaps the most relevant factor from this research
for a professional development web site which provides peer support is the research on situated
learning (Stein, 1998). Stein, 1998, describes the need to provide a “natural learning
environment”, one which has “authentic, nonroutine problems”. The content, methods, and
activities sections of the web site provides this environment by allowing the user to self-select
what is relevant for them. He describes problem solving as collaborative, and discusses the
need to encourage critical reflection. The support section of the web site provides a space for
collaborative problem solving and encourages, through discussion and facilitation, critical
reflection.
Clearly the adult learning literature brings much to the understanding of how to provide the
highest quality of professional development programming to Jewish supplementary educators.
SECTION FIVE: Strategies for Implementation and Evaluation
Planning the Implementation:
This paper identifies four key areas of professional development2 and three critical problem
areas3 for Jewish supplementary educators that are derived from the author’s six years in the
field and from the relevant literature. Using the internet to address the three critical problem
areas discussed in Section One, while providing the four key areas of professional development
discussed in Section Two, enables the author to meet the needs of this population. These
needs can be best met by implementing the JCSC web site. Based on the four key areas it is
clear that the objectives of the web site are twofold: to provide information relating to Content,
Activities, and Methods; and to provide forums for Support among colleagues.
Each area of the web site has a different focus and strives to meet one of the operationalized
terms defined in Section Two. By creating hypertext links between Activities, Content and
appropriate Methods, the integrated nature of teaching and learning is maintained in the
implementation of the web site. As seen in Section Three and Section Four, any professional
development tool must take the principles of adult learning into consideration in planning and
implementation. A web site format does meet the best practices of adult learning by ensuring
that teachers access the information that they want, when they need it. The Content, Activities,
and Methods areas provide information teachers need. Support creates an area for new and
2
Support, Methods, Content and Activities
the lack of knowledge and training; the part time nature of the occupation; and the physical and emotional
distances involved
3
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experienced teachers to discuss any aspects of their jobs. The choice between a moderated or
unmoderated forum allows for some guided peer support to be facilitated for those who wish it.
The Implementation:
To begin the implementation of this tool, the first step was to make a prototype of the Jewish
Curriculum Support Centre (JCSC) web site available on the web. This prototype is currently
available at http://www.consecol.org/~efitzpat/JCSC/. At this time teachers are being invited to
check out the site via advertising, word of mouth and conference sessions. Evaluative feedback
will then be sought from the web site. This feedback will be used to fine-tune, update, and
improve the web site to meet the needs of the teachers.
Assessing the Implementation:
A program of this magnitude would be constantly changing with the feedback loop built into
the initial prototype. In addition to this a more formal evaluation of the program would be
undertaken by survey of the participants and by a record of the numbers of times the site is
accessed. This survey would be based on self-reports of teacher’s perceptions of usefulness. A
more sophisticated evaluation might involve measuring the knowledge gained by a teacher
through interaction with one of the four key areas. However, since this web site will exist to
enable teachers to access information on an as needed basis, it would be very difficult to
objectively evaluate the outcomes of their learning.
The criteria for judging the success of this program would be twofold:
1.
Participants feel that the JCSC meets their learning needs as teachers.
2.
The number of hits per month were high enough for the funding body to support it.
Future Goals of the Web Site:
In the future the JCSC may be able to offer an expanded program base. In keeping with the
relevant religious literature (Dorph and Feiman-Nemser, 1997), eventually it would be beneficial
to foster Jewish study of texts and content among teachers. According to the research, (Dorph
and Feiman-Nemser, 1997) it is this adult study opportunity among teachers which leads to
greater professional growth and improved ability to frame good lessons for students.
The author would also like to see on-line courses for teachers; an Administrator’s forum
and information centre; a Teaching Assistants’ course, forum and information centre; as well as
on-line videos of master teachers teaching with moderated discussions following. Some of these
future goals would depend on advances in technology, for example, large enough band-width to
make on-line videos accessible to most users.
SECTION SIX: Limitations
While the JCSC overcomes some critical problem areas of professional development for
Jewish supplementary educators, and attempts to provide resources in the four key areas, there
are still some limitations of this web-based professional development tool. For example, the
13
distance created by lack of technology skill or access may still constitute a barrier for some
teachers.
The self-directed nature of the tool may also limit the effectiveness of the tool as a
professional development medium. Teachers may choose not to use the Peer Support function,
thereby not making full use of the professional development opportunity and limiting their own
acquisition of skills and knowledge. One possible way to limit this barrier to effective
professional development may be to flag the key topics that are under discussion in the Peer
Support section on the home page. Then if a teacher who might otherwise have skipped over
the support section wants to read about that issue, they may stop by and participate in the
discussion.
The perception of the JCSC as a resource to be consulted but not to become engaged with
may also constitute a limitation. The JCSC may not be viewed as a professional development
tool, and this perception may affect the ability of the web site to be used as an effective means
of professional development.
Two other limitations come about due to the actual medium itself. It is difficult to deliver all
possible content on-line, due to copyrights, and volume, etc. For example, unless one is
prepared to re-write or the original writer is willing to allow use of copyrighted materials, there is
much that cannot currently be used on-line. There are many excellent materials out there that
cannot be put on the web due to copyright. However, there are also many excellent materials
which are already available on-line and links to those materials could be centralised on this site.
The other limitation of the medium is the difficulty of direct, hands-on instruction.
CONCLUSION:
Using the internet in aid of professional development for Jewish supplementary educators
provides a viable solution to the three critical problems of the lack of knowledge and skills, the
part-time nature of the occupation, and the physical and emotional distances. By structuring the
Jewish Curriculum Support Centre to reflect the needs of Jewish supplementary educators and
the requirements for effective professional development as described in the relevant literature, a
powerful professional development tool may be emerging. Only time will tell whether such a tool
will in fact fill a need in the community.
14
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