To learn and to teach: Studying the professional development of synagogue school educators in the NESS (Nurturing Excellence in Synagogue Schools) initiative

Synagogue schools face considerable challenges in their efforts to engage students in meaningful Jewish learning experiences. Significant among these challenges is staffing classrooms with educators who can effectively facilitate student learning. Those who are able and willing to teach in synagogue schools come to the job with very diverse backgrounds and experiences. Most synagogue school teachers have not been trained in teacher education programs and many are barely ahead of their students in terms of substantive Judaic knowledge. High quality professional development programs may be a key factor in building the requisite understanding, knowledge and skills of part-time Jewish educators in synagogue schools. The professional development component of the NESS initiative incorporates many of the characteristics that have been established as features of effective staff development. Using a qualitative research approach I examined how several teachers at one NESS pilot synagogue school experienced the professional development seminar and how they used the strategies that they learned in their classrooms. Understanding synagogue school teachers\u27 conceptions of and experiences with a specific professional development format within the contexts of their particular schools helps in the effort to understand how to enhance the professional development for part-time Jewish educators. The findings of this study suggest that over the first two years of the program, the four teachers\u27 reactions to and understandings of their experiences with NESS/PLN came to influence their classroom practice and the impact of their teaching on their students. The results of this research also support the centrality of recognizing teachers as adult learners and designing professional development programs from an adult learning perspective. Synagogue school teachers require professional development opportunities which will enhance their capacities for instructional practice. Boosting the teachers\u27 knowledge and skills may help transform students\u27 synagogue school experiences and Jewish learning outcomes