Hashkafa Communities are learning groups of 7 to 12 teachers who meet in schools regularly throughout the school year, under the guidance of leading teachers.
The communities deal with a wide variety of topics related to teaching, including improving teaching and learning in various disciplines, and promoting generic pedagogy. Among the topics: asking questions, feedback that promotes learning, differential teaching, social-emotional learning, implementation of new teaching methods and more.
The activity of the communities is determined jointly by the school’s Leading Teacher and the principal. These areas can be continuous, or change according to the needs of the school and teachers in the community.
The learning process in the community includes a process of defining a learning issue, collection of data and evidence, exploratory analysis of teaching practices, and development of alternative teaching and assessment methods adapted to the needs of the school and the students.
The teachers in the community apply in their classrooms insights and practices they learned in the community, and bring back insights and impressions from the experience for discussion in the community. In this way, they develop sensitivity, flexibility, and diverse teaching skills that improve their professionalism and the students’ learning.
A Leading Teacher is a teacher from the school faculty, who leads a learning community of teachers. The purpose of the community is to improve the teaching and learning processes through a systematic process called The Study of Practice. The Leading Teacher receives ongoing training and counseling, which support her in dealing with challenges related to her role.
A school principal who chooses the Hashkafa program opens up an opportunity to implement concepts of optimal professional development of the school staff and establish a culture of a learning organization. For the conditions to allow the success of a vision process at the school, it is important to select and harness suitable candidates for the Leading Teachers position, accompany them in the stages of building the community, create and adhere to regularities (fixed time and place) for the community meetings and the learning sequence.
One of the keys to the successful leadership of school principals lies in the balance between involvement and giving freedom of action to the Leading Teachers and the communities. Such freedom of action will allow the members of the educational staff to express their professional needs, and build the trust required for a promoting and fruitful dialogue.
