What Are Teachers Learning?

Not the Faculty Meetings Your Teachers Had

Ray Levi, Head of School

When you hear that the HMJDS faculty is gathering for a staff meeting, what do you envision? Is it a large group of weary teachers gathered in a circle in the East Commons? Is the focus a series of announcements about upcoming events? Are there bleary eyed folks “listening” to one or another of us—perhaps me—drone on? Fortunately, faculty meetings—like classrooms—have changed dramatically over the years as we have looked to use time meaningfully and created ways for teachers to focus on curriculum development and their own learning. For many years, we’ve known—and practiced—that information that can be conveyed through memos need not be shared at meetings. But, over the years, we’ve also learned to structure our time to build on the knowledge that “Creating a collaborative culture is the single most important factor for successful school improvement initiatives and the first order of business for those seeking to enhance the effectiveness of their school.” (Eastwood & Seashore-Lewis, 1992)

Faculty meetings—like classrooms—have changed dramatically over the years as we have looked to use time meaningfully and created ways for teachers to focus on curriculum development and on their own learning. Had you visited us during one of our recent faculty meetings, you would have found us in several locations around the building. For the first 45 minutes, every faculty member was attending a “department meeting” focused on K-8 continuity within a particular discipline. The Science Department agenda engaged teachers in a case study examining our curriculum in relation to national standards. The Hebrew Judaics Department was gathered around a smart board as two teachers shared work they had done to integrate technology in the teaching of Hebrew and helping their colleagues learn to use the software in their classrooms. The Language Arts Department, at its most recent meeting, was not gathered as a full group. Rather sub-committees were focusing on three areas of skill development as they work to implement recommendations from our ISACS Accreditation Report.

During the next 45 minutes, groups reconfigured. Viewing our school as a professional learning community, each member of the faculty has chosen goals that they are pursuing in professional learning seminars (PLS). While groups focus on such varied topics as Enhancing a Balanced Literacy Program, Building Social Skills, Integrating Technology, and Designing Meaningful Projects, each group is guided by shared principles:

  • The work we do should be focused on student outcomes.
  • We review student work to gather data about the effectiveness of what ideas are being implemented and to determine next steps and ways of enhancing our curricular offerings.

    • A colleague visiting one of last week’s seminars was struck by the trust that teachers showed in asking for help from one another and was impressed by the excitement that was generated as colleagues offered creative ideas.

    Teachers are not only learning during traditional faculty meeting times. Teams meet regularly during the school day. This year, we’ve formalized what many groups had already been doing by scheduling added weekly “Collaborative Planning Meetings” for sub-groups—grade level teams of General Studies, Hebrew, or Judaics teachers. Groups review plans for units of study, design shared assessments, build common experiences between classes and offer one another details about experiences that they have designed that work effectively.

    Noel Tichy has observed that “The best way to achieve challenging goals is through teamwork. Where single individuals may despair of accomplishing a monumental task, teams nurture, support and inspire each other.” (The Leadership Engine) There’s a lot of excitement in the hallways and classrooms as we take our collaborative work to new places. Recognizing the power of modeling, a culture of collaboration among the adults fosters a comparable student culture. And of course, teachers excited about the curriculum they’re building and refining are sure to inspire children!

    B'shalom,