Jewish Learning Institute - Instructor Training

Instructor Training

The JLI Academy serves as JLI’s training arm for its affiliated instructors. New affiliates join the academy to be trained as a JLI Instructor. Veteran affiliates look to the Academy to provide ongoing instruction to hone their pedagogic skills, learn curriculum matter in depth and further their reach with new marketing ideas and strategies. JLI Academy also serves as a forum of discussion between the JLI Headquarters and JLI affiliates around the globe, where JLI can learn from the instructors “on the ground” and can give each affiliate personal feedback and encouragement. The Academy organizes an annual two-day conference, intermittent webinars, podcasts and other interactive instruction, as well as one-to-one training opportunities.

Every instructor is required to attend the annual JLI conference to master new courses and review pedagogical methods. The challenge, according to Director Efraim Mintz, "is to get teachers who are used to frontal teaching"—i.e., lecturing—"to teach otherwise." "Otherwise" means limiting lectures to no more than 60 percent of each 90-minute session, leaving the rest of the time for discussion, debate, and even role-playing. Mintz has also developed an online study hall for instructors to share techniques, and Facebook and Twitter pages to link students with each other.