Syllabus

1. Introduction (Sep 7) Why be a Jewish educator?

In this course:
 * Introduction to the language of education, and of Jewish education
 * Ability to construct and deliver a coherent, meaningful and engaging unit/lesson
 * What we will be doing: Theory and practice

//Due Oct 26// //Readings// //Greenberg// //Mendelsohn Aviv// //Malamet//

//As you thoughtfully respond to the questions below, make every effort to bringing your whole self into the discussion. This is an important way for us to get to know each other.//

//One of the articles you read presents post-modernity as a tremendous challenge to educators, while another sees it as an extraordinary opportunity.//

//1. Based on your experience, how would you define the contemporary era?// //2. What challenges do you envision yourself, as an educator, facing from post modernity?// //3. What are the challenges of creating meaningful identity in a digital age?//

2.Jewish Education inthe contemporary era (October 26)

//Due Nov 2//

//Readings// //Wiggins and McTighe, Intro, Chap. 1//

//1. The argument for backwards design often uses models from outside of education – business, manufacturing, engineering, etc. The point being that you need to know what the end product will look like before you begin. Offer a compelling argument why those models cannot – and should not – be applied to education. What are the dangers of using a manufacturing model in education? What are the dangers of not adopting effective methods used in other spheres of human interaction?//

//2. Choose a topic related to Yom Yitzhak Rabin. Identify the grade and type of students you will be teaching. What criteria did you use for choosing your topic? What do you want your students to know, feel, be able to do at the conclusion of this instructional unit?//

3. Backward Planning & Setting Goals for Lessons Nov 2)

//Due Nov 9//

//Readings// //Postman & Weingartner, Chap. 4// //Heilman//

//1. Postman and Weingartner focus on the question of relevance. Should we be lowering our expectations to where the students are or aiming to lift them up so that they appreciate the classics, whether Shakespeare or Jeremiah? What do we sacrifice in our quest for relevance, and is it worth it?//

//2. How would you respond to the situation described by Heilman regarding the class in// //איכה?//

4. Motivation as a key to a successful classroom (Nov 9)

//Due Nov 16//

//Readings// //Wiggins and McTighe, Chap. 3, Chap. 5// //[|www.galileo.org/tips/essential_questions.html]//

//1. Design a motivating activity for your Yom Yitzhak Rabin class.//

//2. Read the following passage about Rabbi Moshe Besdin, the founder of the James Striar School of Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University://

//The curriculum of the James Striar School consisted of the study of traditional Jewish texts: the Bible and its classical commentaries, (R. Besdin himself taught this class to every one of the incoming students), the Mishnah and the Talmud. He would regale me with his philosophy of education during those unforgettable lunches: "Teach it, not about it," which meant that he was against a paper-back, even Artscroll form of Torah-in-translation, or a Judaism-lite article about Biblical or Talmudic thought. His "itological" theory of learning meant that a serious student would welcome the opportunity to take the necessary intellectual plunge and grapple with the text itself: learn to read it, translate it, understand it and internalize it, slowly but surely progressing from Chumash to Rashi, to Mishnah, to Talmud. He actually called himself a "hederologist," based upon the heder (literally room or class-room) which was the Jewish School in the European "shtetl" that successfully taught hundreds of generations of Jews how to properly "learn" and understand a classical Hebrew text, based on the single educational principle that if you can't properly read and translate the original verse or Talmudic passage, you will never truly understand it.//

//In making the argument for the pursuit of BIG ideas, Wiggins & McTighe downplay the value of learning and absorbing information or facts; the nitty-gritty minutiae and specific examples must take a back-seat to the meta-ideas and enduring understandings. Please comment on what you see are the benefits/dangers of using of each of the approaches (Wiggins & McTighe vs. Besdin). What would suggest would be a healthy relationship between the "micro" (or non-enduring) understandings" and the "macro" understandings? Which approach do you think is most reasonable/appropriate for the population you think you will be dealing with?//

5. Essential Questions (Nov 16)

//Due Nov 30//

//Readings// //Postman and Weingartner, Chap. 2-3// //Lorch//

//1. Building on your understanding of the readings, describe how you might incorporate constructivist/discovery/ inquiry learning into a Jewish studies classroom in which the content will play a significant role.// //2. Sometime in the course of the next two weeks, as you attend your Pardes classes as student, put on your hat as a pedagogy student. Look for the following elements://
 * //Were there clear goals for the class? Were they explicit or implicit?//
 * //What did the teacher do to generate motivation/set induction or ongoing motivation? Was there a necessity for it?//
 * //Was the class driven by central questions?//
 * //To what extent did the class incorporate inquiry/discovery learning?//

6. Discovery Learning (November 30)

//Due Dec 7//

//Reading////: Solomon//

//Even though it is// //חנכה season, we are starting already to think about// //פסח// //(as I student teaching). Assuming that you were given the opportunity to teach a unit of three lessons on the topic of פסח, choose one lesson and identify the following://
 * //What goal/s can you identify for this lesson, and how does it fit into the unit you are thinking of? Why do you think that those goals are appropriate for your intended population?//
 * //How will you draw the students into the lesson?//
 * //What kinds of activities (i.e., constructivist learning) will you use to activate the students? Why did you choose that activity? What alternatives did you consider and why did you reject those?//

7. Skills development and active learning (translation workshop) (Dec 7)

//Due Dec 14// //Finish designing your translation exercise.//

8. Designing effective worksheets (Dec 14)

//Due Dec 21// //1. Finish designing a worksheet for your lesson on// //פסח////.// //2. Think about the last five minutes of your lesson. What will be happening? Come up with three alternatives for closing your Hanukkah lesson.//

//Readings// [|www2.okbu.edu/academics/natsci/ed/398/set.htm]

9. Closure (Dec 21)

//Due Jan 4// //1. Microteaching is a way to get experience at delivering a lesson, with the essential elements of a good lesson, in a compact format. Prepare a ten-twelve minute lesson on a topic of your choosing – a hobby, a topic, a skill, an interest, etc. – which you will present to your colleagues. Your lesson should include clear goals, a captivating opening, essential questions, and closure. You will deliver this lesson to a group of your colleagues (you can decide whether you want them to be themselves or to play as students). In the past, Pardes students have presented microteaching lessons on topics as diverse as The Black Plague, beer, how to make brownies, how to read Polish, elementary Turkish, and much more. Be creative, and have fun!//

The guidelines for the feedback are: a-something the presenter did that made you think differently about teaching, and b-something that you think might be helpful to your colleague.

For those presenting, take some time to reflect on your own presentation. a- What were you pleased with regarding your presentation? b- What might you do differently were you to do it again? c- Did you learn anything from your own presentation? d- Twelve minutes is very little time. Do you think you used your time effectively? Did you succeed in teaching what you wanted? How would the time issue affect the way you plan future classes?

//2. Due Jan 11// //Please make sure that you bring your// //פסח// //lesson with you!//

//Readings// [] [|www.officeport.com/edu/blooms.htm] []

//Peerless// //Bailey//

//3. Please make sure to make appointments with me to review the videotapes of your micro-teaching!//

10. Micro-teaching (Dec 21)

11. Development and stages (Jan 4)

Due Jan 11 //There are many different formats for lesson plans. Every board of education, state, school district, private school, principal and department head has a different format for lesson plans – and none are inherently better than any others. The lesson plan is the guide for the teacher, and reflects what the teacher considers important.//

//With teachers constantly being pressured to teach more and take on additional responsibilities, with less time for preparation, there is a proliferation of sharing of lesson plans. A Google search for lesson plans will reveal many millions of hits – it can be overwhelming. It's worthwhile doing a Google search to see for yourself what comes up or catches your eye.//

//For this assignment please look at three lesson plans, two from Jewish sites and one from a general studies site. Here are three popular links for very different kinds of lesson plan resources.// //[]// //[|http://www.chinuch.org/]// //[]//

//Evaluate those lesson plans based on what we've learned so far.// //a- Is the goal of the lesson clear?// //b- Can you figure out why that goal is important?// //c- Does the class open with some sort of motivating activity?// //d- Does the class pursue enduring understandings?// //e- Does the lesson use essential questions to further drive the inquiry?// //f- Are there a variety of learning modes utilized in the lesson?//

//Please make sure you include either the link to the specific lesson you are evaluating or the full text of the lesson//.

12. Looking at lessons and planning (Jan 11)

//Due Jan 25// 1. Submit a written version of the model lesson you plan to give. This should include all the components of lesson planning we've learned: //2. Prepare an assessment for the unit your model lesson was part of. Make sure the assessment covers a range of developmentally appropriate questions, and is one that will accurately measure what the student's should have learned. Also make sure the students know how the test will be graded and how to use their time most effectively.//
 * setting appropriate goals
 * enduring understanding
 * opening activity
 * continual motivation and essential questions
 * questioning at different developmental levels
 * active/discovery learning
 * using texts
 * closure

13. Homework and assessment inthe Jewish StudiesClassroom – theory and practice (Jan 25)

//Due Feb 1//

//Recommended Readings// //[|www.k-state.edu/catl/lddisc.htm]// //[|www.lookstein.org/focus_ethics.htm]// //[]//

What are the benefits of conducting discussions in class? What are some of the pitfalls of conducting those discussions?

14. Classroom management and Leading discussions (Feb 1)

//Due Feb 8// //Readings// //Brown// //Palmer, Chapter 1//

//The art of teaching involves creating a deep encounter between the teacher, with his or her whole self, and the student. The Hebrew for word influence,// השפעה//, has at its root the word// שפע//, meaning overflowing abundance. That is, the teacher cannot really impact on his or her students unless the teacher's selfhood overflows into the classroom.//

//On the other hand, teachers need to avoid having themselves and their lives playing a significant role in the classroom. It's not about the teacher, it's about the student. The distance between the teacher and student is critical for a healthy relationship.//

//1- In light of this tension, please react to this week's readings.// //2- How does one draw the line between "good" sharing of oneself and "bad" sharing of oneself in the process of education?// //3- Is it effective, honest or ethical for a teacher to "play a role" without truly subscribing to the values or ideology being taught?// //4- Where does the "self" of the teacher come into the teaching?//

15. The Art)not the Craft( of Teaching (Feb 8)

16. Reflections on student teaching (April 18)