by Rabbi Mordechai Weissmann We all know the unfortunate situation that plagues many of our mosdos. By the time a significant percentage of yeshiva bochurim are matriculated into high school, they either dismiss the value of […]
by Mrs. Candace Manor With its dual curriculum, Jewish elementary schools like my own often find themselves in a quandary. How can we possibly cover all of our general and Judaic studies standards, while also instilling […]
by Dr. Sarah Levy and Mark Parmet Project based learning (PBL) is a form of student-centered, progressive education which allows students to take an active role, empowering them to construct meaning out of what they study. […]
by Rabbi Dr. Uriel Lubetski Rationale and Goals: “Rabbi, this is boring” complained a ninth grader after a Tanach class (Saks, 2012, p. 42). As a teacher and principal for over 20 years, I have heard […]
by Rabbi Yerachmiel Kalter When thinking of Project Based Learning (PBL), a few images come to my mind. One of them is of grape juice. In 6th grade, I did a science fair project about the […]
by Daniella Botnick
I am a seasoned educator -- having taught for more than 20 years, yet I still consider myself a student. Over the years I have continuously sought to learn innovative ways to educate and reach students. Based on my own experience in the classroom and influenced by the research on utilizing creativity and different modalities in 21st-century learning,
by Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky addressed the CoJDS Summer Think Tank this past July. This essay is based on that speech. אַשְׁרֵ֚י הַגֶּ֣בֶר אֲשֶׁר־תְּיַסְּרֶ֣נּוּ יָּ֑הּ וּמִתּוֹרָֽתְךָ֥ תְלַמְּדֶֽנּוּ (תהילים צד’, יב’) This pasuk from Tehillim […]
by Rabbi Yehoshua Dovid Schwartz As a middle school Gemara teacher, Project-Based Learning was always a paper-theory for me, something that sounded great, but in practice was nearly impossible to apply with authenticity to Gemara. Tanach, […]
by Sharon Schwartz Teaching our youngest students is both an art and a labor of love. Early childhood educators set the foundation for a child’s future success in school and in life. Things have changed radically […]
Training Teachers for Project-Based Learning by Rabbi Yoni Gold Every so often we come across an idea that, after learning about it, seems so obvious that we’re driven to bring it to the attention of others. […]
by Mrs. Etti Siegel Project-based learning. It is a topic on education websites, featured in educator’s magazines, and seems all the rage! So, what is it really? Why don’t more schools have more project-based learning happening? […]
By Paul S. Oberman, PhD At my school in Houston, Texas, we shifted immediately from classes on campus to online classes in the middle of March. Teachers used their weekends to familiarize themselves with video conferencing […]
By Rabbi Jordan D. Soffer COVID-19 and the resulting period of extended school-building closures have popularized debates vis-a-vis the purpose of schooling that had previously been limited to pedagogues and academics. The sudden prominence of this […]
By Mrs. Rivkie Gottlieb Assuming the role of principal comes with a host of challenges, including among others the very common “imposter syndrome.” This feeling of being an imposter feels like a constant, though it occasionally […]
By Rabbi Yaakov Sadigh It was a beautiful spring day in 1979 when I boarded the bus to return home from my school in Tehran, Iran. As always, my mom had some cookies and milk ready […]
Rabbi Baruch Noy, MEd, CETL While leading professional development for schools taking on a new virtual reality, there are certain recurring themes that were expressed. These expressions came from such a varied crowd – new teachers […]
By Tania Levenstein When one hears the term community day school, one often thinks about the campus, the buildings, and the classrooms. One may wonder what AP classes are offered, what the early childhood philosophy is, […]
by Rabbi Eliezer Y. Lehrer, M.Ed. Students feel that they should be commended for attending their online classes each day. They profess that they are too stressed to think about finals. Others bring up the fact […]