The+Proposal

For years, the term 'Integration' has been tossed around in the world of Jewish day school education. Many institutions make claims to utilizing integration in their educational frameworks, and many educators claim to practice curricular integration. A small, but significant, body of academic work has been written on the topic. Yet there is still no universally agreed upon definition of this term. Dialogue on the concept of integration can be difficult when teachers, academics, administrators, students, parents and others understand integration differently.

The emergence of a cadre of DeLeT trained teachers provides the field of Jewish day school education with teacher leaders knowledgeable of the academic research on integration and practical experience in classrooms. As DeLeT alumni teachers reflecting on our practice, we see an opportunity to contribute to the field of Jewish education by conducting research on the role of integration in Jewish day schools, both in curricular practice and in structural and systematic implementation. The research will be guided by the leading academic literature on the topic and administered by teachers in the fields from schools crossing all grade levels, regions and religious streams. In launching this on-going, multi-faceted investigation, we hope to provide a more thorough understanding of the current usage, impact and possible frameworks for integration in Jewish education.

This project consists of three stages, each operating with a different work group: The first stage consists of collecting, studying and commentating on the existing academic research on integration. Articles by Bennett Solomon, Michael Zeldin and Jon Levisohn serve as the foundation. The working group will aim to identify other significant contributions to the literature, as well as add commentary based on real teaching experiences in classroom. This anthology of integration literature will be supplemented with abstracts and annotations that will make these resources more accessible to busy teachers. Key concepts and essential questions will ground the process, which will intend to lead to further field research on the topic.

The second stage focuses on collecting data and evidence of integration implemented in schools and classrooms. The first steps will focus on identifying what are the fundamental questions about integration that we need to be exploring. After having identified the focus for our research, we will gather actual classroom examples of curricular integration from day schools across the country. The DeLeT alumni network, consisting of teachers at dozens of schools in over 14 states nationwide, will be the primary data collectors. An 'Integration Data Collection Kit' will be designed to help facilitate this process. Upon collecting evidence of what currently occurs in classrooms, we will lead to formal observations of self identifying integrated classes and programs. We will interview and survey students and teachers for the impact of integration on their learning and teaching. We will interview administrators, parents and other stakeholders and collect materials about their vision of integration and their understanding of its role within the institution as a whole. We will look at the differences amongst schools who declare integration as an educational value and a key aspect of their school mission. Through this research process we will gather hard and soft data that will provide us with a more complete picture of relationship between the theoretical understanding of integration, the practical implementation and the potential areas for improvement and growth.

The third state will present our vision of the future of integration in Jewish education. Utilizing the literature and our own research we will create a model for a fully integrated Jewish day school. Designing a model of this ideal school will paint a picture that existing schools can strive for. This model will provide a step by step process for designing and implementing a structural approach to schools that goes beyond curricular education.

Essential to this process is the development of the teacher as a leader both within his/her own school community and in the field of Jewish education. The members of this project will engage experts in the field, deliver presentations at conference, educate teachers in the field and publish findings. Through this project, our intention is to create a new standard for the role of teachers in the movement to create an even better Jewish educational model for the 21st century.