March 1, 2021

Project-Based Learning: Start Here

by Rabbi Shimshon Gewirtz At the summer Think Tank two years ago, several people spoke to me about their work using project-based learning (PBL) in the limudei kodesh classroom. I was intrigued because it didn’t strike […]
March 1, 2021

Project-Based Learning in the Kodesh Classroom

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 […]
March 1, 2021

Boys Will Be Boys

by Mrs. Huvie Schabes Middle school boys: Suave; Savvy; Sanguine; Scholarly; Skilled; Superior. Just ask them. They’ll tell you! School? It’s a place to socialize and play sports. Teachers? Are there for their sport. Learning? No […]
March 1, 2021

Breaking the Curricular Silos

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 […]
March 1, 2021

Project-Based Learning Across the Curriculum

by Mrs. Miriam Gettinger Having skipped both kindergarten and tenth grade in my school career, I am scarred much more from the former than the latter, to this day resistant to ‘coloring in the lines’ and […]
March 1, 2021

Learning from Living: What Yesurim Can Teach Us

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 […]
March 1, 2021

Project-Based Learning in a Gemara Class

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, […]
March 1, 2021

The Project Approach for Early Childhood

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 […]
March 1, 2021

Start with the End in Mind, But How Will We Get There?

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. […]
March 1, 2021

Understanding Project-Based Learning

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? […]
March 1, 2021

Using Creativity to Drive Student Engagement

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,