Practices of professional development:

a national endeavor

Roundtable – ATEE 2010Presented by Dr. Michal GolanHead of The MOFET Institute

The MOFET Institute• The MOFET Institute: “Research, Curriculum

and Program Development for Teacher Educators” operates alongside the colleges of education in Israel. It was established in 1983 at the initiative of the Department of Teacher Education and with the backing of the Ministry of Education. The Institute’s main objectives are to widen the knowledge base of teacher education and to provide opportunities for teacher educators.

The MOFET Institute• The variety of frameworks offered by MOFET

Institute strive to empower teacher educator’s sense of community, and to strengthen their professional knowledge base and know-how.

• Bearing in mind the characteristics of adult learning, and the different ways P.D. is viewed, MOFET keeps developing different learning opportunities.

Frames of Action for Teacher Educators1. School for Professional Studies: short and long-term

study tracks;2. Peer Learning: peer forums; think-tanks; workshops

and conferences;3. Research Authority: support for research and

researchers; 4. Publishing House: support for writing and publishing;5. ICT in teaching: support the use of technology in

education; 6. Support centers.

Frames of Action for the MOFET staff members

1. Staff seminars;2. Units’ steering committees;3. Institutional position- holders forum for

peer review;4. Research groups;5. Personal and ad-hock meetings;

Staff members at MOFET• The staff members at the MOFET Institute

(teachers of teacher educators), are all active senior faculty members who are involved in pre and in-service programs in academic colleges of education. Thus they have the competence to teach, mentor and tutor their colleagues.

• The position of teaching and tutoring your own colleagues is a most challenging and demanding one.

Round table workshop 1. Please write down your preferred way of study

and share it with your neighbor. 2. Please try to recall when did you last take part

in a stimulating experience of learning and think what constructed it?

3. What would you suggest to a colleague as a plan for long term P.D.?

4. What kind of study frameworks would you offer if you had the chance to plan your own “MOFET”?

5. Would you open your institute to School teachers? Position holders? School principals?

Whole group sharing

1. Were there any difficulties in identifying personal preferences?

2. Could you recommend leading principles in the way of supporting the professional path of teacher educators?

3. What would you define as a “must” in your own MOFET?

Some of our own concerns1. Balance between informal and formal, individual

and group frames of action to be offered;2. Balance between encouraging novices and

giving the stage to experts;3. Balancing between focusing on instrumental

knowledge and philosophical, theoretical, moral issues;

4. Balancing between the needs of the educational system and the needs of the teacher education system;

Deriving from basic questions such as:1. How are teacher educators defined as a

professional group?2. What is their professional identity?3. How should their P.D. look like?4. Is there signature pedagogy for teacher

educators' P.D.?5. Do the modes of operation offered at the

MOFET Institute contribute to the construction of personal identity and the creation of a joint body of knowledge?

(Ben-Peretz, et.al, 2010)

Final remarks1. During the first stages the institute

concentrated mainly on searching and building modes of operation to serve the needs of the group, sub-groups and individuals.

2. At the present stage we are examining, researching and asking questions regarding relevancy, effectiveness for the individual and its institute, focus of interest and the like.

Final remarks3. The journey is a never ending one. It calls for

the co-operation of local and international communities of practice to constantly improve and keep changing the paths according to changes in the various contexts.

We thank you for taking part in this “knight’s roundtable tasting session”!