JESNA - New Sosland Resources

A Burning Campus? Rethinking Israel Advocacy at America’s Universities and Colleges

jaisenberg — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:41:08 +0100

As the professional leaders of an organization that works to support Israel on campus, we are often
asked by other Israel supporters if the pro-Israel community is winning or losing the battle on
campus for Israel. Our answer is it depends on which battle you are talking about.

We are winning one battle but losing the other.

The pro-Israel community’s battle in much of the rest of the world, where Israel is mostly unpopular,
is to halt efforts to turn Israel into an international pariah akin to apartheid South Africa. Our battle
in the U.S., however, where Israel is mostly popular, is to maintain long-term two party support. It’s
not good enough that we stop the U.S. from becoming anti-Israel. We have to make sure the U.S.
remains pro-Israel, which is a much taller task.

Our primary task on campus is not to fight the anti-Israel voices, but it is to build pro-Israel support.
It is not to counter the negative, but to promote the positive. It is not to teach young people how to
debate, but how to make friends.

The David Project is not alone in making these observations. In publishing this white paper, “A
Burning Campus? Rethinking Israel Advocacy at America’s Universities and Colleges,” we hope to
capture a growing consensus among numerous organizations in the pro-Israel community about
the real problem and the best solutions. In outlining a strategy, we hope others will join forces with
us in building stronger ties to faculty, training and educating student leaders, and promoting a
positive program of change.

In so doing, we believe that American leaders, both Jewish and non-Jewish, will more likely see
the value in the U.S.-Israel relationship, and, when they take the helm, will be much more likely to
continue two-party support.

Digital Textbook Playbook

jaisenberg — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:01:05 +0100

The Digital Textbook Playbook is a guide to help K-12 educators and administrators advance the conversation toward building a rich digital learning experience. This Playbook offers information about determining broadband infrastructure for schools and classrooms, leveraging home and community broadband to extend the digital learning environment, and understanding necessary device considerations. It also provides lessons learned from school districts that engaged in successful transitions to digital learning.

Jewish Virtual Learning Networks: A mapping of online ‘Communities of Practice’ in the ...

jaisenberg — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:55:25 +0100

Online learning groups and “Communities of Practice" represent a rapidly growing phenomenon, and the Jewish world is successfully taking part in the professional and educational opportunities made available through these relatively new forms of technology-based networks. Though much has been written on CoPs, this survey represents the first effort to map, through quantitative and qualitative empirical data, the field of Jewish professional online Communities of Practice, learning networks and discussion groups.

Jewcology

jaisenberg — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:57:30 +0100

Jewcology is a project of graduates of ROI (http://roicommunity.org), who have come together to create a resource for the entire Jewish-environmental community. Jewcology incorporates collaboration from a wide range of Jewish environmental leaders and organizations worldwide. This project was funded by the ROI Innovation Fund.

The long-term goal of this project is to build a multi-denominational, multi-generational, regionally diverse community of Jewish environmental activists, who are learning from one another and from an expanding set of Jewish-environmental resources, how to educate their communities about our Jewish responsibility to protect the environment.

Recent Mergers of Bureaus of Jewish Education

jaisenberg — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:34:54 +0100

This webinar, facilitated by JESNA Education Consultant Steven Kraus, is a follow-up discussion to the Quick Bytes newsletter on the same topic (see the newsletter in our archives). Click on the link above to view the full recording of this session (total running time: 54 minutes).

Technology Integration in the Jewish Classroom

jaisenberg — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:09:06 +0100

In January 2012, Grsinpoon-Steinhardt Awards winners participated on a webinar with The Jewish Education Project's Miriam Brosseau discussing technology integration in Jewish educational settings. Miriam Brosseau hails from the great state of Wisconsin; at Madison she earned her undergraduate degree in Jewish Studies and Modern Hebrew. She later went on to get a master's in Jewish Professional Studies from the Spertus Institute, where she focused on educational vision, new Jewish culture, and technology. Miriam has worked in educational and programmatic positions with the World Zionist Organization, Shorashim, Hillel, and the BJE of Chicago. Jewish professional by day, Jewish musician by night, Miriam is currently the social media coalitions manager at the Jewish Education Project and half of the "biblegum pop" duo Stereo Sinai.

Click on the link above to view the full recording of this session (total running time: 69 minutes). You may also wish to download Miriam's PowerPoint presentation from the session:

JEdTech Presentation (860.06 kB)

Mishna & Media Literacy: a Webinar with G-dcast's Sarah Lefton

jaisenberg — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:11:05 +0100

In January 2012, memebrs of the Jewish Education Change Network participated in a webinar with G-dcast's Sarah Lefton, exploring the interweaving of Mishna learning and media literacy. Click on the link above to view the full recording of this session (total running time: 60 minutes).

Quick Bytes: Recent Mergers of Bureaus of Jewish Education

jaisenberg — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:03:27 +0100

Increased demands for greater efficiency and effectiveness are leading a growing number of North American Jewish organizations to consider merging or consolidating operations. Over the past 10 years day schools, complementary schools, community centers, cultural organizations, social service organizations, and federations have merged or consolidated. In addition, some "functional" community federations have created community consortia to share certain services (e.g., purchasing utilities and supplies, financial management, benefits coordination, etc.) with other communal agencies in order to enhance service delivery, consolidate infrastructure and resources, and reduce costs. The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), which has been monitoring and facilitating information sharing about these ventures, expects the number of mergers and consolidations to increase significantly over the next decade. This issue of Quick Bytes describes and analyzes the processes and early results of recent mergers ofcentral agencies for Jewish education with other community organizations.

Representative Practices: Mergers, Consolidations, Strategic Alliances and Efficiencies in the ...

jaisenberg — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:30:03 +0100

This report from JFNA provides examples of mergers, consolidations and strategic alliances that occurred between Federations and agencies in eight different communities since 2003. You may also wish to review our January 2012 publication Quick Bytes: Recent Mergers of Bureaus of Jewish Education.

Download the report here:

Representative Practices: Mergers, Consolidations, Strategic Alliances and Efficiencies in the Feder (101.84 kB)

Afterschool Evaluation 101: How to Evaluate an Expanded Learning Program

jaisenberg — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:59:11 +0100

Afterschool Evaluation 101 is a how-to guide from The Harvard Family Research Project for conducting an evaluation. It is designed to help out-of-school time (OST) program directors who have little or no evaluation experience develop an evaluation strategy. The guide will walk you through the early planning stages, help you select the evaluation design and data collection methods that are best suited to your program, and help you analyze the data and present the results.

Evaluation helps your OST program measure how successfully it has been implemented and how well it is achieving its goals. You can do this by comparing the activities you intended to implement and the outcomes you intended to accomplish to the activities you actually implemented and the outcomes you actually achieved.

Web Tools for Jewish Formal and Informal Experiential Education

jaisenberg — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:12:02 +0100

Future classrooms will bear little resemblance to those of the previous century. Already, the boundaries between formal Jewish education, i.e., traditional classroom learning, and informal or experiential Jewish education, i.e., camp, youth programs , trips to Israel, etc., have begun to blur. The rapid evolution of computer hardware (Smart Boards, laptops, and mobile devices) and Web 2.0 applications are bringing the outside world into the classroom and learning spaces into the outside world. This integration of formal and informal experiential education in new technological platforms has been described as Jewish Integrated Experiential Education, or JIEE.

Yet for those who wish to break through their bewilderment at the burgeoning of technological resources for formal and informal education, there is a simple key for understanding and using these applications. Educational technology can be summarized with five Cs: Connectivity, Communication, Collaboration, Creative Expression, and Customization. This paper will describe each of these elements and offer specific examples of how digital applications can be employed.

Learning with The 2011 Jewish Futures Competition Winners

jaisenberg — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:43:03 +0100

In December 2011, members of the Jewish Education Change Network participated in a webinar with the 2011 Jewish Futures Competition winners, Ben Weiner and Andrea Rose Cheatham Kasper. Andrea and Ben share their proposals for new initiatives blending traditional Jewish values and new modes of engagement, and engage in further discussion with webinar participants (total running time: 59 minutes). Click on the link above to view the full recording. You may also view the winning films, and learn more about Ben Weiner and Andrea Rose Cheatham Kasper, at The Jewish Futures website. To view the winning videos on YouTube, click here for Andrea and here for Ben.

Congegational Education and Whole Person Learning

jaisenberg — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:53:39 +0100

This webinar was recorded in November 2011, and features Cyd Weissman, Director of Innovation in Congregational Learning at the Jewish Education Project in New York (total running time: 62 minutes). Cyd has spearheaded the Jewish Education Project’s work with the Coalition of Innovating Congregations and LOMED, a cutting-edge initiative to transform congregational learning. In the Webinar, Cyd talks talk about some of the latest work with congregations to nurture “holistic learning,” and facilitates discussion among participants. You may also wish to view the entire short film that Cyd shares in the session, "The High Five," on YouTube.

Jewish Food for Thought

jaisenberg — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:55:46 +0100

From the artist: This series of animations represents my personal journey in a complicated relationship with Judaism. I spent my life gravitating towards, and making, narrative art that explores the human condition from a psychological, philosophical, and existential perspective. While Judaism offers thousands of years of wisdom on the human condition, I avoided it as a source because of what I perceived to be its preachy and sometimes judgmental tone.

I became filled with questions about how much my Jewish heritage had influenced how I was raised, how I behaved, how I thought, and even who I was as a person and an artist. What I discovered was a wealth of wisdom that was just sitting, waiting to be mined. Within the Jewish texts were crucial teachings and lessons that applied as much to our contemporary lives as they did when they were written. By avoiding the Jewish writings because of their religious nature and tone, I was missing out on thousands of years of deep thought and study on the human condition itself. I had thrown the baby out with the bath water, for lack of a better analogy.

This led me to my current project: combining thousands of years of Jewish wisdom on topics such as repentance, forgiveness, gratitude, love, fear, humility, and others, with my artmaking (i.e. animations of my Israeli nuclear physicist father and me, having arguments). The goal of this series of animated shorts is to distill these relevant and very human Jewish teachings in a vehicle that is accessible, entertaining, funny, and fresh.

G-DCAST

jaisenberg — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:51:28 +0100

G-dcast is a non-profit production company dedicated to raising worldwide Jewish literacy using the tools and storytelling style that speak to today’s youth. Website hosts over 60 short films based on Torah portions and Jewish holidays, as well as companion curricula in use by over 3000 educators at institutions across the Jewish spectrum and around the world.

Bible Raps

jaisenberg — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:58:49 +0100

Bible Raps is an educational tool that uses rap and hip hop to enliven the core Jewish texts. It is designed to make text-based tradition(s) more appealing and accessible through the use of technology, rhythm and rhyme. They offer educator toolkits, trainings, workshops, performances, and a variety of web-based resources and video material to share.

Arts by Day: Re-envisioning Day School Education through the Arts

jaisenberg — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:57:24 +0100

Arts By Day utilizes Artist-in-Residency programs to transform Jewish Day Schools into hubs of Jewish exploration via the arts. Students, parents, teachers and Teaching Artists engage in a unique curriculum that is steeped in Jewish history, ancient text, pop culture and Jewish values using the arts as the core methodology to immerse the mind, body and spirit. Arts By Day programs foster deep exploration, meaningful dialogue and the long-lasting, identity-building blocks that inspire Day School students to carry on our sacred traditions and lead the next generation toward a revitalized Jewish future.

Storahtelling

jaisenberg — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:54:45 +0100

Storahtelling is a pioneer in Jewish education via the arts and new media. Through innovative leadership training programs and theatrical performances, Storahtelling makes ancient stories and traditions accessible for new generations, advancing Judaic literacy and raising social consciousness.

Founded by Amichai Lau-Lavie in 1999, Storahtelling has grown into an international network of educators and artists, invigorating Jewish identity through dynamic educational programs and performances for multigenerational audiences worldwide.

Avoda Arts

jaisenberg — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:52:23 +0100

Avoda Arts is a nonprofit organization that advances the arts in Jewish education through advocacy, leadership and professional development. Avoda Arts is dedicated to creating opportunities for Jewish students and teachers to participate in and appreciate all forms of arts-based learning.

Getting In On the Act: How Arts Groups are Creating Opportunities for Active Participation

jaisenberg — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:49:56 +0100

Arts participation is being redefined as people increasingly choose to engage with art in new, more active and expressive ways. This compelling trend carries profound implications, and fresh opportunities, for a nonprofit arts sector exploring how to adapt to demographic and technological changes.

Getting In On the Act: How Arts Groups are Creating Opportunities for Active Participation is a new study commissioned by The James Irvine Foundation and conducted by WolfBrown. It draws insights from more than 100 nonprofit arts groups and other experts in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. The report presents a new model for understanding levels of arts engagement as well as case studies of participatory arts in practice. It also addresses many of the concerns that arts organizations may have in supporting participatory arts practices and provides inspiration and ideas for exploring this growing trend.

Journal of Jewish Communal Service: Digital Archive

jaisenberg — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:40:04 +0100

The Journal of Jewish Communal Service was established in 1902 by the National Conference of Jewish Charities, forerunner of the Jewish Communal Service Association. Over the years there have been various name changes for both the Journal and its publisher. The Journal covers topics from all of the professional sectors of Jewish communal service. Particular issues focus on specialized fields or challenges, such as vocational services or innovation. The Journal covers topics from all of the professional sectors of Jewish communal service. Particular issues focus on specialized fields or challenges, such as vocational services or innovation.

This digitized collection derives from a collaboration between the Jewish Communal Service Association of North America (JCSA) and the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner (BJPA).

Home and away: Jewish journeys towards independence; Key findings from the 2011 National Jewish ...

jaisenberg — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:07:42 +0100

The National Jewish Students Survey (NJSS) provides a comprehensive portrait of Jewish student identity in England. Carried out in February and March 2011, the survey examines a wide range of issues including what and where Jewish students are studying, the nature of their Jewish beliefs and behaviors at university and at home, and the Jewish paths they have taken during their upbringing. It found that Jewish students are comfortable being openly Jewish at British universities, despite having concerns about attitudes to Israel on campus. Their commitment to Israel and the Jewish People is robust, but their appreciation of their personal social responsibility lacks muscle.

Behrman House

jaisenberg — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:13:58 +0100

Behrman House offers a wide variety of free digital & multimedia tools for Jewish educators at all grade levels, from early childhood through adult education, in both Hebrew language & Judaica. The site also offers tech tools and advice for educators interested in integrating more mutlimedia & non-print resources into the Jewish classroom.

Linking the Silos Between Jewish Formal and Informal Education: Jewish Integrated Experiential ...

jaisenberg — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:36:55 +0100

In December of 2005 Dr. Jack Wertheimer raised an important issue about linking Jewish educational institutions. He wrote: "The current challenge in the field of Jewish education is to link the silos, to build cooperation across institutional lines and thereby enable learners to benefit from mutually reinforcing educational experiences."

This paper attempts to provide an answer to Dr. Wertheimerʼs intriguing challenge by sharing a new construct, Jewish Integrated Experiential Education.Toward that end, this article will cover the following topics:

• The perceived strengths and challenges of Jewish formal and informal
education
• The meaning of Jewish Integrated Experiential Education
• Linking the silos of Jewish formal and informal education through
technology
• The application of Jewish Integrated Experiential Education
• David A Kolbʼs Experiential Learning Cycle and Jewish Integrated
Experiential Education
• Is Jewish Integrated Experiential Education already here?
• Next steps and conclusion

Outdoor Education Webinar

jaisenberg — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:45:36 +0100

This webinar, facilitated by JESNA Project Manager Dena Stein, is a follow-up discussion to the Quick Bytes newsletter on the same topic (see the newsletter in our archives here). You may also wish to view these related resources presented during the webinar:

Outdoor Education: Early Childhood Ideas (10.13 kB 2011-10-17 15:40:58)
class fall mural (6.31 kB 2011-10-17 15:48:52)
look a worm (142.59 kB 2011-10-17 15:49:27)

The full video is available here for viewing, cut into 10 minute segments due to file size restrictions. The segments will play in order in the window below; you need only press play once. (Total running time: 49 minutes). We regret that about 3 minutes of the picture are blocked out from 10:25-13:15; however the audio remains fully intact, and the video will automatically resume after this point in the recording.

YouTube Teachers' Channel

jaisenberg — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:10:59 +0100

YouTube's new teacher channel is a guide for K-12 educators for using video in the classroom. Teachers can follow tips that show everything from organizing videos to sparking lively discussions to help struggling students through videos. Teachers can also sign up to become part of the YouTube Teachers Community, a mailing list that allows them to share ideas and best practices.

Learning in the 21st Century: 2011 Trends Update

jaisenberg — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 00:43:35 +0100

Since 2007, Project Tomorrow has collaborated with Blackboard Inc. on a series of annual reports that focus on how online learning is changing the classroom paradigm within our nation's schools. In this latest update, we examine the Speak Up 2010 survey data collected from 379,285 K-12 students, parents and educators to highlight not only the continuing growth of online learning opportunities for both students and teachers, but also the new challenges that must be addressed to realize the students' vision for enabled, engaged and empowered learning through technology.

Download the report here:
Learning in the 21st Century: 2011 Trends Update (699.43 kB)

Using Wikis for Communicating and Collaborating in Your School

jaisenberg — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:41:10 +0100

The use of a wiki can lead to better use of time, improved communication, and increased adult learning, which in turn will contribute to improved student learning. In this white paper from Eye on Education, author Stephanie Sandifer lays out some basic strategies and uses of wikis for teachers in a variety of school settings, both in the classroom and for professional development purposes.

Download the white paper here:
Using Wikis for Communicating and Collaborating in Your School (649.89 kB)

Quick Bytes: Outdoor Education

jaisenberg — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:21:58 +0100

Outdoor education has been creating a buzz recently in the Jewish world-foundations have supported the creation of new Jewish camps, while educational institutions including supplemental schools and day schools have been trying to figure out how to incorporate new, nature-based learning into their curriculum. But what, exactly, is outdoor Jewish education? What are the theoretical frameworks that generate success, and how can we replicate best practices in our own institutions?

Quick Bytes-- Government Support of Jewish Day Schools: Entitlements & Opportunities

jaisenberg — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:41:41 +0100

All government support of education is rooted in legislation. In some cases these laws provide funding for children to attend private schools or provide funding to the private schools themselves. The Jewish community has not maximized its ability to receive the entitlements and opportunities available to its day schools . In order to secure government support it is crucial that the educational leadership know the laws and plan collaborative, strategic activities to access entitlements. This 2-part issue of Quick Bytes explores government support that is available for Jewish Day schools, and how to access these funds and services. Click here for part I, and here for part II.

Quick Bytes: On the Minds of Teens

jaisenberg — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:36:41 +0100

What is on the minds of today's Jewish teens? Without an understanding of why they are and what is on their minds, Jewish communities can not provide meaningful experiences to teens.

Through a "live time" survey of its students, NAACCHHS (the North American Association of Community and Congregational Hebrew High Schools) provides us with an invaluable window into the motivations, thinking and actions of a group of teens enrolled in their programs. 219 teens responded to a five-question online survey in May 2010. Directors of the NAACCHHS schools interpreted the findings and their implications at the annual NAACCHHS conference in June 2010. This issue of QuickBytes shares what JESNA and NAACCHHS learned from that survey. You may also wish to view the follow-up webinar facilitated by JESNA Education Consultant Devorah Silverman, delving further into this topic with colleagues & peers in the field.

Quick Bytes: Social Media & Technology

jaisenberg — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:32:29 +0100

For the Jewish education professional, the incorporation of social media & technology into the classroom can be daunting; the continual development of new and emergent social technologies in the last decade have advanced at a far quicker pace than our educational models can adopt. Additionally, professional development resources and budgets in the Jewish supplementary school or day school are often limited to the bare essentials, leaving little leftover for what are viewed as discretionary foci.

Yet the world of social media and technology is here to stay, and as many Jewish educators and schools are already learning, these tools can be a great boon to the classroom. This issue of QuickBytes will provide both a basic introduction to the educational uses of social media and technology for Jewish education leaders and professionals, as well as identify useful resources for further study and classroom use. All resources listed here are free unless otherwise noted. You may also wish to view the follow-up webinar facilitated by JESNA Knowledge Development Manager Jenny Aisenberg, delving further into this topic with colleagues & peers in the field.

Quick Bytes: Teacher Recognition

jaisenberg — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:28:28 +0100

The National Center for Education Statistics which measures statistics in secular schools, estimates that nearly one-third of the teachers who enter the field leave within their first three to five years. Jewish education suffers from the same problem at a similar rate; twelve percent of day school educators and twenty-seven percent of religious school educators stay in the field for no more than three years. This rate of turnover causes a strain on the students, schools and teachers, and on the field of Jewish education at-large.

Combating the high rate of educator turnover demands a three-pronged approach. Research shows that the combination of educator support, professional development and recognition at every stage of the educator’s career leads to higher retention rates. This issue of Quick Bytes addresses this three-pronged approach to teacher recognition and retention. You may also wish to view the follow-up webinar facilitated by JESNA Project Manager Dena Stein, delving further into this topic with colleagues & peers in the field.

Quick Bytes: Complementary School Mergers (Part I)

jaisenberg — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:23:16 +0100

JESNA has a long history of advising and connecting with communities and individuals about school development and mergers. The issue of mergers among complementary school, day school and/or Jewish communal institutions has become more salient on many communal agendas since the economic downturn of 2008. Recently JESNA conducted two online surveys (in November 2009 and February 2011) with the members of the Association of Directors of Central Agencies (ADCA) to gather data about proposed and/or completed complementary, day school and Jewish communal institution mergers in communities throughout North America. This edition of Quick Bytes focuses on complementary school mergers, highlighting recurring themes and important variations. You may also wish to view the follow-up webinar, facilitated by JESNA Education Consultant Steven Kraus, delving further into this topic with colleagues & peers in the field.

Torah Trek: The Center for Jewish Wilderness Spirituality

jaisenberg — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:11:46 +0100

The TorahTrek Center for Jewish Wilderness Spirituality contributes to vibrant Jewish communities, living in balance with their neighbors and environs, by exposing Judaism’s roots in wilderness, facilitating direct experience of the Divine in nature, demonstrating the effectiveness of Judaism as a spiritual practice, and fostering the spiritual growth of individual Jews and Jewish communities. Through leadership training and curriculum development, TorahTrek envisions a Jewish community that takes full advantage of the natural world in mainstream Jewish education for children, youth and adults.

The website includes program listings, links to relevant resources, and an online journal.

National Society for Experiential Education

jaisenberg — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:07:37 +0100

National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) is a nonprofit membership association of educators, businesses, and community leaders. Founded in 1971, NSEE also serves as a national resource center for the development and improvement of experiential education programs nationwide.The mission of NSEE is to foster the effective use of experience as an integral part of education, in order to empower learners and promote the common good. The goals of the organization are:

to advocate for the use of experiential learning throughout the educational system and the larger community;
to disseminate information on principles of good practice and on innovations in the field;
to enhance the professional growth and leadership development of our members; and
to encourage the development and dissemination of research and theory related to experiential learning.

The website includes a variety of resources, such as publications, conference & workshop listings, and other relevant online resources.

The Association for Experiential Education

jaisenberg — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:02:54 +0100

The Association for Experiential Education (AEE) is a nonprofit, professional membership association dedicated to experiential education and the students, educators and practitioners who utilize its philosophy. Website includes links to relevant publications & resources, conference & membership information, and more.

Jewish Outdoor Adventure Education: An Exemplar of Successful Experiential Jewish Education

jaisenberg — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:00:07 +0100

This thesis examines four case studies of previously existing Jewish outdoor adventure programs: TorahTrek, Outdoor Jewish Adventures, Shalom Institute, and the Adventure Rabbi program. The founders of each of these programs were interviewed to ascertain their reasons for founding these organizations, their desired impacts for the populations served, and their vision of the broader Jewish community. Each program promotes Jewish outdoor adventures as a way to allow the individual to experience Judaism in a new way, strengthen his/her Jewish identity and participate in the Jewish community. Attesting to the success of these programs, a questionnaire of more than 50 participants of Jewish outdoor adventures from these four organizations showed a 30% increase in participation in Jewish communal and cultural activities and a heightened personal spirituality as a result of participation in these programs.

Eco-Jewish Education -- How to Make It Effective

jaisenberg — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:56:53 +0100

The author discusses the range of ways in which environmental issues are integrated into Jewish education curricula. He identifies four elements of experiential education that involve students' relationship to their learning experience: 1) each other; 2) their teacher; 3) their curriculum; and 4) their physical setting. The author provides examples of Jewish environmental educational approaches which incorporate these elements. In Jewish Education News, Summer 2008.

Experiential, Environmental Education: A Natural Connection

jaisenberg — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:51:10 +0100

Experiential environmental education includes awareness, interconnectedness, and responsibility. It is usually taught to our children only upon request, once or twice a year, by guest educators who come to the classroom to do specialized programming. We need a rethinking and reshaping of how these teachings can enhance the Jewish educational system, beginning with the current curricula in rabbinical schools and Jewish teacher training programs.