Section archive - Teacher Education

Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration will soon be offering a new doctoral degree in Jewish Educational Leadership and Innovation. Slated to begin in the fall, the program will combine virtual learning opportunities with live sessions periodically throughout the year and will replace Azrieli’s existing doctoral degree in Jewish Education and Administration.

Gratz College is delighted to announce the creation of fourteen fellowships: seven for the Gratz master’s in Jewish Education and seven for the Gratz master’s in Jewish Communal Service. Gratz is making these degrees more accessible to deserving candidates through a combination of significantly reduced tuition and flexible scheduling. The Gratz College family is thrilled to have the opportunity to establish the Gratz College Midcareer Fellowship. The cohort that will be selected will be comprised of Jewish educators committed to nurturing Jewish identity in their students and nonprofit leaders dedicated to improving the institutions and communities in which they work.

When considering the state of complementary Jewish education, I am struck by the absence of conversation about the 800-pound gorilla sitting in front of us: the fact that our Jewish educators are largely untrained as teachers. There is a lot of lip service given to innovation, experiential education, differentiated learning and engagement. I read about the ecosystems of complementary education, the need (or not) to emulate the summer camp experience, the introduction of technology, and the role of families in their children’s learning. What I don’t read about is improving the quality of instruction.

This study analyzes the ways in which practitioner inquiry engages graduate student educators in understanding how to navigate the complexities and contingencies of teaching. By examining the challenges graduate student teachers faced while conducting practitioner inquiry, as well as the categories of teacher knowledge they developed in the process, this article demonstrates that the primary value of novice practitioner inquiry is in the cultivation of educators who can approach their practice with deeper analysis, self-awareness, and sophistication. By learning to adopt an inquiry stance and translate their research into action, they can elevate the quality of their own teaching. As they become more seasoned, and if a culture and scaffold can be created to advance and support their inquiry, teachers have the potential to enrich best practices in the field by sharing their research-generated perspectives with colleagues.