Improving Instructional Quality in Jewish Day Schools and Yeshivot ...

RecommendationsI. Teaching1. Teachers and supervisors must have a common understanding(articulated and detailed) of what good teaching is in ordermake improvements and to simply talk a common languageabout instructional improvement. This coherent view of “goodteaching practice” may be developed by examining extantmodels such as Charlotte Danielson’s (2007) model, RobertMarzano’s (2007) model, 18 or professional teaching standards.This is a great idea for a starter discussion among faculty atgrade and whole faculty meetings.2. Research on effective teaching is clear in regards to thefollowing instructional areas and school leaders, therefore,should emphasize them: (a) proper use of wait time (see, e.g.,Brophy & Good, 1986); (b) checking for understanding usingformative assessments, not only summative ones (see, e.g.,Cohen, Raudenbush, & Ball, 2003; Douglass, 2009; Popham,2008b; Rowan & Correnti, 2009); and (c) effective use ofquestioning strategies (see, e.g., Cochran Smith, Feiman-Nemser, McIntyre, & Demers, 2008; Richardson, 2001).[See the discussion of teaching later in the subsection: AnOverview of Best Practices in Teaching.]II. CurriculumEstablish a Curriculum Process –Schools should begin a seriousand continuous curriculum development project. This project shouldinvolve teachers, administrators, some parents and students, with theassistance, at some juncture, of a curriculum generalist (to guide eachdepartment through the “process”) and/or curriculum specialists (e.g.,Tanakh, mathematics, etc.). Curriculum development should beviewed as an ongoing “process” rather than an event or series ofevents over a relatively short period of time.A. Administration should articulate a vision for curriculumdevelopment both in word and deed. The vision statement38