Section archive - In-Service Training

Two years ago, the Union for Reform Judaism launched its Communities of Practice (CoP) initiative. We began with five separate cohorts, comprising lay and professional leaders from congregations throughout North America: Pursuing Excellence in Your Early Centers, Engaging Families with Young Children, Engaging Young Adults, Reimagining Financial Support, Revolutionizing B’nai Mitzvah Engagement.

Cheryl Stone, Judaic Teacher at Gross Schechter in Cleveland, attended JTS' Ivriyon this past summer. The Ivriyon program strengthens the Hebrew language proficiency skills necessary for teaching in Hebrew by way of peer teaching, participant presentations, and textual study. She reflects on her experience and next steps in her blog post.

In an era in that boasts frequent and varied technological changes and developments, the MOFET International Channel's Online Academy is delighted to announce an online summer seminar on Aspects and Tools for Collaborative Learning on the Internet. The seminar will afford exposure to a range of cutting edge applications and their uses in teaching and learning on personal computers, cell phones, iPads, and the Internet. The seminar, which will be held in July 2014 & conducted in English, comprises four weekly 90-minute online meetings.

This article discusses an action research study of a week-long Summer Teachers Institute which immersed teachers in the study of Jewish historical and cultural texts. We investigate how this kind of cultural immersion created opportunities for transformative learning – the kind of learning that would not merely be the application of “new lessons,” but that would also help teachers reconceptualize their teaching practices regarding Jewish religion and culture. Our findings suggest that text study practices of challenging – in tandem with practices of supporting and voicing – were central in constructing a “relational learning community.” Such a community was a necessary condition for transformative learning.