Many interesting English Language in-service courses for this school year 2019-2020 are taking place at The Pedagogical Center (PISGAH) in East Jerusalem. All the courses for elementary, junior high and high school teachers were developed in cooperation and in partnership with Pat Talshir, the inspector for English Language Teaching in Jerusalem. The presenters and leaders of all courses are counselors from East and West Jerusalem and other national experts. All courses focus on enhancing teachers’ knowledge and skills of teaching English including peer learning, developing their classroom practice and making sure that pupils needs are met.

​

The inspector Pat Talshir, and the counsellors for English language teaching held an opening session for the English courses on 14th Nov. 2019. Pat discussed the importance of professional development and the need for in-service courses to enhance and improve teaching and learning. Teachers then attended workshops according to the grade level they teach. Elementary teachers participated in teaching vocabulary and integrating songs in the elementary classroom. The sessions for junior high and high teachers focused on teaching vocabulary and enhancing speaking skills. As part of these important gatherings, teachers were required to reflect on their experience; teachers highlighted the need for similar workshops that provide practical ideas and hands on activities that can be implemented in class and engage all students.

​

This year the elementary teachers have attended a 30-hour course coordinated by the dedicated elementary counselor Bashayer Bahlawan. The course ‘Enhancing English in Elementary School’ discusses many interesting topics, including creating an appropriate work plan for different levels of students, class management, spicing up the lessons in order to engage students, and integrating vocabulary and grammar games. A number of teachers from different schools participate in the course. One of the participants, Alia Dkaidek from Essaweiyeh school commented: “For the second year I haven’t missed any session… I have already used many of the ideas and digital activities in my own classes, also I have shared many techniques with my colleagues in other subjects.”

​

For the first time, we have a professional learning community (PLC) in our center. The PLC is a 60-hour in service training course and is led by Yasmeen Ighbareyeh, an outstanding teacher from Abu Gush School. The PLC focuses on analyzing case studies to examine inclusion in the English classroom, studying the new curriculum aligned with The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), includes peer observations in order to enhance shared knowledge and reflection on practice. Participants brought to the course their representations of practice and discussed how they can improve their teaching and students’ learning. All representations focused on teaching reading for beginners. The course has been a huge success. One participant Luma Mio said “we shared ideas, learned together, and discussed our needs as teachers. Throughout the course we expressed our thoughts and opinions which helped us to gain insight into many of the concepts we learned.”

​

The course for Junior high teachers is coordinated by the dedicated counsellor Afnan Siyam. It focuses on topics that are relevant to teachers who teach in heterogeneous classes, specifically: reading strategies and helping students with reading difficulties, effective listening skills, teaching vocabulary, effective writing skills. Maya Abu Ghazaleh, an active participant shared her opinion “I always hear teachers complaining about the courses and that they are in a way forced to join them, yet, I say very honestly that I actually enjoyed taking this course a lot! I loved the variety of lectures and topics which made the course both interesting and beneficial. Most of the sessions focused on implementation of the teaching methods and strategies. Many new ideas could be used in our classes to make our students more engaged. I liked all the lecturers, but I specifically loved Aharona Gvaryahu and Rania Essa! They are amazing teachers and full of positive energy! It was obvious, that they love and enjoy what they do and we should all be doing the same.”

​

In this time of the Coronavirus crisis, some of the sessions were replaced by virtual tasks on MOODLE where teachers had to read about, learn and experiment with distant teaching and learning from home. In spite of all the challenges: technical, time pressure, unfamiliarity with digital tools and platforms, and the anxiety related to the wider context, teachers interacted effectively creating their plans, implementing them with their students and reflecting on them.

​

One of the most rewarding outcomes of these courses is that teachers implement ideas from these courses in their classrooms and are willing to share their knowledge and experiences. Some of the teachers we work with agreed to submit a proposal for ETAI Spring Conference scheduled to take place on the 1st of April. Unfortunately, because of the current crisis, the conference was delayed.

​

The assessment of all courses including teachers’ feedback is to continue to improve the professional development offered by the PISGAH and continue to strive to raise the quality of our work.