As a pedagogical advisor at the Oranim College of Education, I accompany groups of pre-service teachers (hereinafter referred to as students) in their practicum in a primary school. The second and third-year students are at the school one or two days a week throughout the school year. I have been at the Beit Zeev school a day a week for four years now. On the days that I am at the school, I meet with teachers and my students and observe my students teaching classes, small groups and individual pupils. At the end of the school day, I meet with the student cohort to discuss teaching, learning, and class management issues.
An additional role I play is to lead the mentor teachers, those accompanying students and interested others in a professional learning program. The Ministry of Education recognises the program, and the teachers receive credit for their 30 hours of study. In each of the four years, the content of the sessions has been different. Still, the program always contained a mix of workshops focused on mentoring skills and the practicum and other strategies for teaching and learning (e.g. co-teaching, differential teaching, and growth mindset for teachers, students and pupils). Each year, I invited the students to join the teachers in one of the sessions. The combined workshop was always a success; both cohorts enjoyed learning and working together.
The Ministry of Education initiated the “Academia Community” program this year. The pedagogical advisor from the college was responsible for creating a professional learning community (PLC) for the mentor teachers and their mentees. As a result, the teacher professional learning program became a mutual learning space for the teachers and the students. Unfortunately, we didn’t know about the program at the beginning of the year, so the organisation was challenging. Many teachers had already committed to other professional development programs or even enrolled in post-graduate studies.
With COVID19 still disrupting the school, we decided that all the community meetings would be held in the evenings via Zoom. This year there were six students and nine teachers in the community in the Beit Zeev school. As I mentioned, the teachers received 30 hours of professional development credits, and the students fulfilled some of their practicum requirements through the sessions.
Coping with the fifth wave of COVID and the instability of reality at school, I emphasised social-emotional learning. Students and experienced teachers were encouraged to share their challenges in teaching and coping with life on the edges of the pandemic. Later, teachers led some of the activities in their classrooms. Part of each session was devoted to team building, strengthening relationships and creating an atmosphere of trust and security. Participants worked together in pairs (mentor teacher and mentee student) or mixed groups; the atmosphere was inclusive, and each participant contributed to learning in the community. Occasionally there were tasks to be completed following the session; for example, after the workshops on co-teaching, I asked each pair to plan a lesson based on one of the co-teaching models, teach the class together and then reflect on the experience.
Towards the end of the year, all “Academic Community” members met face-to-face at school for a final session. It was fabulous to feel the relationships that had developed and see how both cohorts felt so relaxed in the room. The last workshop included a Hexagon thinking activity (see Betty Potash on the Cult of Pedagogy site) containing concepts connected to “Academic Community” (trust, mentor, responsibility, cooperation etc.). The groups had to discuss the words written on the hexagons and the connections between them. This led to a deep conversation about the nature of the program and its significance. I could sense the confidence in my students, who felt comfortable disagreeing with the teachers and suggesting alternatives. I based the second activity on Point of You Face cards. Each participant chose two cards, one representing how they feel at the end of the school and academic year and another showing how they hope to begin next year. At the end of this challenging year filled with uncertainty, illness, frequent changes and exhaustion, all participants shared honest stories. It was heartwarming to see that both teachers and students felt at ease exposing their vulnerability, challenges, triumphs, and sincere hopes for a better future.
Although we began late in the year, and the logistics of building and maintaining the community were laborious, I am proud of what we achieved. I’m grateful for the cooperation of the teachers in this onerous school year; I don’t take their trust in me for granted. I believe in the potential for “Academic Community” and will spend time reflecting on and honing the model to benefit students and teachers over the summer.
