Archive for October, 2009

 

Schools: A Case Study in Change for Shuls

Posted on: October 23rd, 2009 by Hayim Herring

I was recently at a favorite coffee shop in Minneapolis.  When I went to pay the bill, there was a post-it note attached to a bowl which had some pennies in it.  The note read, “If you fear change, leave it here.” Given the rapid pace of change in our lives today, I sometimes wish I had a bowl into which I could place my fears about change! But whatever anxieties I have are irrelevant, because it seems that even the most storied institutions we’ve taken for granted are experiencing change.

In fact, I’ve been reading about the next area of great change — higher education– because it has an indirect bearing on synagogues. The halls of the Academy share much in common with the walls of the synagogue.  The Academy has values and traditions.  It also has its own rituals and rewards.  It’s filled with books and learning and prides itself on research and teaching that advances knowledge and changes civilization for the better. Like synagogues, its work takes place in the community and even after graduation (think bar and bat mitzvah and confirmation,) it gives people a chance to continue that relationship through an alumni association. On the financial side, its biggest expenses are capital and staff requirements.

But all of that is starting to change. (I am not making a value judgment about these changes but simply reporting about them.) Many traditional bricks and mortar colleges already offer online classrooms.  Online learning has finally reached the point where it can be delivered with quality. But a traditional university education is very costly compared with earning an online degree.  For better and for worse, as online universities achieve critical mass, students are likely to migrate from the “bricks and mortar” to the “bytes and clicks” environment.

The “better” part of this equation is that higher education will be accessible to more people, while the “worse” part is that an online education cannot account for all of the learning that takes place outside of a classroom.

There may be an even more radical change in the making. It’s not hard to envision a day when students will demand to study with the best professors in their field, whether or not they teach at the university in which they are enrolled.  In other words, they will demand the right to truly customize their education and mix and match courses from a variety of institutions.

We watched the economics of the marketplace force similar changes with other enduring institutions like newspapers, libraries and entertainment.  Now, higher education is the new frontier (and, to my personal dismay, there is a dramatic increase in the number of high school students who will graduate with online degrees, too.)

I’d like to hear your reaction to this post. What other similarities do you see between higher education and institutional religion as found in the synagogue?  What do you think we might be able to learn about the synagogue life from the changes in the Academy?

Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

Rabbi Hayim Herring

What’s the Best Assessment Tool? It Depends…

Posted on: October 9th, 2009 by Hayim Herring

I confess that I don’t know very much about tools. However, I do know enough to recognize that the question, “What tool should I use?” must be asked in some context. Just as you wouldn’t use an Allen wrench to pound in a nail, you wouldn’t want to use a survey instrument that was mismatched for the information that you desire.

There are three assessment tools which lend themselves nicely to congregations and non-profit organizations: questionnaires, interviews and focus groups. These three methods work well because they are simple, easy to learn and enable you to use volunteers who have expertise in these areas. This post is going to review some basics about questionnaires.

If you are looking for more in-depth information about an issue, a questionnaire is not the tool to use. However, questionnaires are a good tool for efficiently gathering basic information from a large number of people at low cost. Today, through the use of inexpensive or free electronic questionnaire services, this method of gathering information has been made incredibly easy. But, there is a science to constructing questionnaires so that the data you get back actually answer the questions about which you want to learn.

Take a moment now to reflect on this question: when you speak with someone either in person or by telephone, how often are you misunderstood? Misunderstandings are frequent but can be corrected when you are in direct conversation with someone. However, when you have distributed a questionnaire to congregants, they will not have the benefit of asking for clarification. That is why it is critical to have someone with experience and expertise help you develop your questions.

Additionally, before you add a question to your questionnaire, ask yourself, “Do I really need to include it—is it germane to the issue?” There is an understandable temptation to ask questions which are not directly related to the assessment topic because you have people’s attention. But, if that temptation gets the better of you, you’ll limit the number of people who respond either because they will start to question your motives or because your have included too many questions.

Another good practice is to test questionnaires before you distribute them. By doing so, you’ll detect any unclear questions and get feedback on the length of the questionnaire. Typically, most volunteers will be willing to spend no more than about 15 minutes on a questionnaire. If they see a questionnaire which has over 20 to 25 questions, you will likely lose them. (This observation is based on my experience.) Aim for a greater response rate by limiting the number of questions. Those who are more invested in your organization, like board members, may be willing to spend more time as they better understand the importance of the effort. Still, you need to explain to people why you are asking for their help in supplying this information, how you hope it will be used and how you will inform them once it is used. In this way, they will be more likely to help you now and in the future. If you guarantee that responses will be confidential, which will increase the number of people who respond, then you must honor that confidentiality!

If you are using an electronic service, make sure that all of the potential respondents have access to a computer and know how to complete an online questionnaire. (Commonly used services are www.zoomerang.com and www.surveymonkey.com. You’ll also find that some newsletters, like Constant Contact, have a questionnaire feature.) Have you accounted for people with special needs? How about the elderly who may not like to use a computer but would respond to a telephone call?

With the right team of professionals and volunteers, you will be gratified by incorporating questionnaires as a part of program planning and congregational engagement into your activities. So—now it’s your turn to ask questions. Please fire away or share your experience with using electronic questionnaires.

Thanks,

Rabbi Hayim Herring