Archive of 2004 — 2007 Events and Activities
The Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education hosts and participates in events throughout the year that strive to raise the level of public discourse about Jewish and general education.
Go to 2007-08 Academic Year Events and Activities
2006-07 Academic Year
2005-06 Academic Year
Selected Events and Activities from the 2004-05 Academic Year
2006-07 Academic Year
July 27, 2007, 11:30am-2:00pm: Tekkes HaSiyum: A Celebration of Completion for DeLeT; & the MAT Research Project Presentation and Recognition Ceremony
Tekkes HaSiyum, A Celebration of Completion for DeLeT, was be held at the Mandel Center on July 27th. There was also a mini-conference in which first-year teachers in the Jewish Day School concentration of the Brandeis MAT program presented their classroom research projects, followed by the completion celebration of the entire Brandeis MAT program.
Click here for press coverage of this year's event.
July 2, 2007: Mandel Center Joint Advisory Team Meeting
The Advisory Board of the Mandel Center, comprised of representatives from the Mandel Foundation and from Brandeis, met at Brandeis for its regular session.
June 29, 2007: MAT-Jewish Day Schools (DeLeT) Mentorfest
Each year, DeLeT Fellows and the experienced teachers who will mentor them for the year meet at Brandeis to introduce themselves and to begin their study of practice. Topics include "The Hidden Curriculum," "Culture of the School," and "Preparing for the Practicum." This year's Mentorfest included two DeLeT/MAT alums, Meg Lederman and Jocelyn Segal (both Cohen Hillel Academy teachers), who will be the first DeLeT graduates to serve as mentor teachers for MAT teaching interns.
June 6, 2007: Portfolio Presentations by DeLeT Fellows
DeLeT Fellows each create an online teaching portfolio, with entries that feature their teaching philosophies, lesson and unit plans, student work, and classroom video clips. On June 6th, the 5th cohort of DeLeT Fellows presented their teaching portfolios to mentor teachers, DeLeT alumni, community leaders, DeLeT supporters, and Brandeis faculty and staff.
June 3 - 5, 2007: Network for Research in Jewish Education (NRJE) Annual Conference
Mandel Center presenters included Jon A. Levisohn ("Understanding College Students' Encounter with Biblical Criticism"), Sharon Feiman-Nemser, and Orit Kent. Visit the NRJE website. The Mandel Center is a co-sponsor of the NRJE annual conference.
May 17, 2007: Mentor Development Induction Partnership End of Year Meeting
Teacher leaders participating in the Mandel Center's Induction Partnership, from five Boston-area Jewish day schools, convened at Brandeis for a full-day working session, facilitated by Vivian Troen. Participants revisited school progress on the induction continuum, explored a new teaching case which grapples with the absence of a vision of good teaching, and hosted an evening program for lay and professional leaders on "Enacting the Jewish Vision of the School in Teaching Practice."
May 16, 2007: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Guest Speaker: Dr. Israel Scheffler, Scholar-in-Residence at the Mandel Center
In the second of two Center lunch seminars Dr. Israel Scheffler, Scholar-in-Residence, led this spring, he discussed influential philosopher and educator John Dewey (1859-1952), whose ideas continue to both influence educators and serve as a source of controversy. Chapters from Scheffler's book Four Pragmatists served as background reading.
May 8, 2007, 3:00-5:00 pm: Philosophy of Education Research Colloquia (PERC): "A College Program for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired in an Inclusive Philippine Environment (An Educational Success Story)," Hassenfeld Conference Center, Levine-Ross Room, Brandeis
Presenter: Rosario Lapus
Discussion of an inclusive college program for the deaf and hearing impaired in the Philippines, a country that traditionally has not had strong special education programs for the handicapped. Dr. Lapus suggested factors in the success of the program, focusing on the partnership between the Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf; Miriam College, which offers the program; and Gallaudet University, which acted as consultant and evaluator. A video presentation of the program in action was shown.
Presented by the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education, with co-sponsorship by the Brandeis Education Program, the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life, the Southeast Asia Club, and the Brandeis Asian American Student Association (BAASA).
April 30, 2007, 3:00-5:00 pm: Philosophy of Education Research Colloquia (PERC): "The Emotions in Classical Jewish Sources: the Cases of Envy and Jealousy," Hassenfeld Conference Center, Levine-Ross Room, Brandeis
Presenter: Solomon Schimmel (Hebrew College)
Biblical, rabbinic, and medieval Jewish literatures discuss, analyze, and morally evaluate human emotions, among which envy and jealousy are prominent, beginning with the story of Cain and Abel. Participants studied several texts (in English translation), and explored the ways in which they are, and can be, used in educational contexts. Participants also examined these Jewish reflections on envy and jealousy in the broader context of modern psychological and sociological analyses.
Presented by the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education, with co-sponsorship by the Brandeis Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies (NEJS); Brandeis Hillel, and the Brandeis University Conservative Organization (BUCO).
April 25-29, 2007: "Access Points" photo exhibit, Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts at Brandeis
"Access Points," a series of photographs of “the built landscape” – manhole covers in the U.S., U.K., and Japan, photographed by Mandel Center Communications Specialist David J. Weinstein, was exhibited in the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts at Brandeis. The photographs were displayed in the central lobby of the Slosberg Music Center Wednesday, April 25th, through Sunday, April 29th. "Access Points" was made possible in part by the Office of the Arts at Brandeis. For more information, check the festival website: http://www.brandeis.edu/arts/festival/
April 23, 2007: Social Justice & Education Conference, sponsored by the Spencer Program for Educational Research, in commemoration of the 150th birthday of Justice Louis Brandeis; Hassenfeld Conference Center, Brandeis University
1:30-3:30 pm -- "Brown & Beyond: Schools, Education & Social Justice," featuring Susan Eaton, The Children in Room 4E: American Education on Trial; Huong Nguyen, Assistant Professor, Heller School for Social Policy & Management, Brandeis University; Marya Levenson, Director, Education Program, Brandeis University.
4:00-6:00 pm -- "Courting Educational Justice," featuring Anita Hill, Professor of Law, Social Policy & Women Studies, Heller School for Social Policy & Management, Brandeis University; Hon. Nancy Gertner, US District Court, Boston.
For more information, please contact Spencer Program Coordinator Tania Mireles: spencersem@brandeis.edu, 781-736-5018.
The Spencer Program for Educational Research is co-chaired by Joyce Antler and Sharon Feiman-Nemser.
April 18, 2007: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Guest Speaker: Dr. Israel Scheffler, Scholar-in-Residence at the Mandel Center
What does it mean for education to be relevant? In the first of two Center lunch seminars Dr. Israel Scheffler, Scholar-in-Residence, is leading this spring, he discussed his essay "Reflections on educational relevance," from the book Reason and Teaching. In the essay, first given as a lecture at Brandeis in the fall of 1969, Dr. Scheffler sets out to question "the educational relevance of educational relevance," while acknowledging that this "may seem paradoxical, even absurd." "For if relevance is not relevant, what is it? And who in his right mind would wish learning to be irrelevant?"
March 21, 2007: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Annette Hochstein, President of the Mandel Foundation Israel: "Foundations and Education: A Practitioner's Point of View"
The world of foundations concerned with education -- both philanthropic foundations and program foundations -- is both expanding dramatically and changing in profound ways. Annette Hochstein, a practitioner of foundation leadership in her capacity as President of the Mandel Foundation Israel, explored how one foundation thinks about its work, its priorities, and its impact, in the context of recent scholarship about those larger cultural changes.
March 11 - 12, 2007: "Pushing the Boundaries: Abraham Joshua Heschel, A Centenary Conference," marking the 100th birthday of Heschel; Hassenfeld Conference Center, Brandeis University
Faithful to Jewish tradition, Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) pushed the boundaries of conventional approaches to scholarship and public life. He was a radical religious thinker, a masterful literary stylist, and bold activist recognized by Jews and Christians as the authoritative voice for biblical Judaism in the United States. This centenary conference explored major areas of Abraham Joshua Heschel’s life and works and recognized the publication of the first intellectual and cultural biography of Heschel by Edward Kaplan of Brandeis University.
Sharon Feiman-Nemser moderated Concurrent Session 1: Education of the Spirit, on Monday, March 12. Panelists were Joseph Reimer, Brandeis University; Peter Geffen, Founder, Heschel School, New York; and Barry Shrage, President, CJP, Greater Boston.
March 6, 2007: Mentor Development Induction Partnership seminar
Teacher leaders participating in the Mandel Center's Induction Partnership, from five Boston-area Jewish day schools, convened at Brandeis for a full-day working session, facilitated by Vivian Troen. Based on Mandel Center research, topics addressed during the workshop included: visions of good teaching: surfacing our beliefs and conceptual frameworks for discussing what we do; linking teacher assessment of visions of good teaching; and teams as a site for new teacher learning.
March 5, 2007, 3:30-5:00 pm: "Discussing Religion in the Public Schools," Shapiro Campus Center Multipurpose Room (236), Brandeis.
Presenter: Robert Kunzman (Indiana University)
Respondent: Dirck Roosevelt (Brandeis)
Moderator: Jon A. Levisohn (Brandeis)
Can public schools play a role in helping citizens learn to talk respectfully across deep ethical disagreement in the public square? Should they?
Read about Kunzman's visit to Brandeis
Presented by the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education, with co-sponsorship by the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life; the Brandeis Education Program; the Spencer Program for Educational Research, the Department of Politics; and the Research Circle on Democracy and Cultural Pluralism.
March 5, 2007, 12:00-1:30 pm: Philosophy of Education Research Colloquia (PERC): "Schooling at Home, Schooling for Society: Homeschooling and American Democracy," Hassenfeld Conference Center, Levine-Ross Room, Brandeis
Presenter: Robert Kunzman (Indiana University)
In recent years, homeschooling has expanded dramatically, especially among conservative Christian families. This phenomenon raises important questions, both about the development of personal autonomy and about the inculcation of civic virtues. Can state regulations help ensure these outcomes? Should they?
Read about Kunzman's visit to Brandeis
Presented by the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education, with co-sponsorship by the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life; the Brandeis Education Program; the Spencer Program for Educational Research, the Department of Politics; and the Research Circle on Democracy and Cultural Pluralism.
March 3 & 4, 2007: SunDeis Film Festival, Hassenfeld Conference Center, Brandeis
The Mandel Center awarded the "Best Film, Jewish Theme" award at SunDeis, the Brandeis student film festival. The prize was awarded to "Ex Machina," by Shai Davis. Read about the film in the article "Six hours, one critic, and a litany of styles," by Kate Gardiner, in the Justice student newspaper.
The Annual SunDeis Film Festival offers a forum for student filmmakers to showcase their work and interact with people who have succeeded in various sectors of the film industry, including many Brandeis University alumni. The festival culminates with a star-studded red carpet awards ceremony, that honors the best in student films along with several prominent entertainers.
February 14, 2007 (cancelled due to weather - details of new date TBA): Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; The New Teacher Induction -- Professional Learning Community Link: Using new teacher induction to move day schools toward professional learning communities
Induction Partnership Project Team: Vivian Troen, Pearl Mattenson, Nili Pearlmutter, Sarah Birkeland, Sue Stibel, Sharon Feiman-Nemser
The Induction Partnership is a three-year project jointly funded by the Covenant Foundation and the Mandel Center and focused on the support and development of new teachers in Jewish day schools. The project has a research and development agenda--helping four local day schools create strong systems of beginning teacher induction while documenting the factors that help or hinder schools in getting there. In this session, the project team will share some of the conceptual and practical tools they have developed to assist Jewish day schools in this work and invite feedback and discussion about the challenges of helping school partners understand the role of "big ideas" in shaping their induction practice.
February 11-12, 2007: "The Blessing of Assimilation" Conference at Hebrew College, Newton, MA
Jon A. Levisohn, Assistant Academic Director of the Mandel Center, presented a paper titled "Jewish Education Towards Responsible Assimilation."
February 9-11, 2007: "Commitment, Character and Citizenship: Exploring Religious Schooling in Liberal Democracies" Conference at St. Edmund's College, Cambridge, England
Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Director of the Mandel Center, presented a paper titled "Identify Formation in Beginning Religious School Teachers: A Case of Two Teacher Education Programs."
Click here for more about the conference.
February 7, 2007, 7:30 pm: Symposium and Town Meeting in honor of the 10th anniversary of Gann Academy - The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston: "Reimagining the Jewish Future: What Kind of Jewish Education Do Our Teenagers Deserve?" Gann Academy, Waltham, MA
Panel participants in this event, which was cosponsored by Gann Academy and the Mandel Center, included leaders of philanthropic foundations, community organizations, federation, Jewish education, and business.
Read more from The Daily News Tribune (Waltham, MA)
January 28, 2007, 11:00 am - 2:00 pm: A special event for day school teacher leaders: “What do we teach when we teach about Israel?” A conversation led by Rabbi Daniel Lehmann Headmaster, Gann Academy - The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston; with a panel of teachers from Mandel Center partner day schools.
Yes! Our students know about Israel...feel connected to Israel...understand the situation in Israel.
But...What do we want them to know, to feel, and to understand?
Mandel Center faculty & staff; DeLeT fellows and mentors; and heads of school gathered at the Mandel Center for a provocative conversation about the teaching of Israel.
January 23, 2007, 6:00-7:30 pm: Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Open House
One of four Open House sessions (October 18, November 15, December 12, January 23), held in the atrium upstairs at the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis, providing prospective MAT students the opportunity to meet the faculty, ask questions, and enjoy refreshments. Learn about the Brandeis Master of Arts in Teaching for secondary schools in the areas of history, English, biology, and Bible, and the Master of Arts in Teaching for elementary schools, including the Elementary MAT (DeLeT) program. Information about the Brandeis MAT programs is at www.brandeis.edu/programs/MAT.
January 17, 2007: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Guest Speakers: Judy Elkin, Director of DeLeT, and Eran Tamir, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Mandel Center
Judy Elkin, Director of DeLeT, and Eran Tamir, Postdoctoral Research Fellow and leader of the Choosing to Teach: Enacting Values in Practice study, discussed "A Beginning Profile of the DeLeT Fellow's Jewish Identity."
How do DeLeT fellows describe their Jewish identity, and what is the impact of the DeLeT program on their developing identity as Jewish teachers? Eran Tamir and Judy Elkin drew on two distinct data sets to report on their preliminary findings about the role Jewish identity plays in the fellows' decision to teach in Jewish day schools and the DeLeT program's impact on their growing Jewish identity.
January 13-16, 2007: Choosing to Teach Research Team Meeting at University of Notre Dame
Choosing to Teach researchers met at the University of Notre Dame to discuss ongoing data analysis, and to plan the development of the pilot project into a longitudinal study. Also, John Watzke, Eran Tamir, and Sharon Feiman-Nemser presented a report on University of Chicago Teacher Education Program (UTEP) and discussed the findings with UTEP faculty at University of Chicago.
January 9, 2007, 7:30-9:30pm: A celebration of the publication of Daniel Pekarsky's "Vision at Work: The Theory and Practice of Beit Rabban"
The program at the Mandel Center featured comments by Scholar-in-Residence Israel Scheffler, readings from the book, and comments and Q&A with the author, Daniel Pekarsky, as well as a book signing. "Vision at Work" is published by Jewish Theological Seminary Press (2006). This event was sponsored by the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education & the Mandel Foundation.
December 20, 2006: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Guest Speaker: Jon A. Levisohn, Assistant Academic Director of the Mandel Center
Curricular integration of Jewish and general studies has long been desired and talked about in Jewish education -- but it is often hard to know what it means, or why it is to be sought. In the paper on which this lunch seminar was based, Jon A. Levisohn proposes that we ought to focus not on curricular integration, primarily, and not even on the process of integrating, but rather on the intellectual virtue of integrity.
December 17-19, 2006: 38th Annual Conference of the Association for Jewish Studies, San Diego CA
Sharon Feiman-Nemser presented on "Identity Interplay: The Relationship Between Personal and Professional Identities Among Teachers Working in Jewish, Catholic, and Urban Public Schools." For more details, click here to vist the AJS website.
December 12, 2006, 6:00-7:30 pm: Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Open House
One of four Open House sessions (October 18, November 15, December 12, January 23), held in the atrium of the Abraham Shapiro Academic Complex at Brandeis, providing prospective MAT students the opportunity to meet the faculty, ask questions, and enjoy refreshments. Learn about the Brandeis Master of Arts in Teaching for secondary schools in the areas of history, English, biology, and Bible, and the Master of Arts in Teaching for elementary schools, including the Elementary MAT (DeLeT) program. Information about the Brandeis MAT programs is at www.brandeis.edu/programs/MAT.
November 30, 2006, 12:30 pm: Language of Pluralism in a Jewish Day High School presentation at the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis
By looking in-depth at a school that is acknowledged as a leader in its work on pluralism, Rahel Wasserfall and Susan Shevitz examine how specific approaches influence the students' education and how issues related to pluralism play out in the school environment. This presentation unpacked the meanings of pluralism for the teachers and the administrators and what it conveys in terms of the school educational approach. For more information on this event, call the Women’s Studies Research Center at (781) 736-8100.
For information on Studying Pluralism in Jewish Education, a field-based pilot study of Shevitz and Wasserfall, which was supported by the Mandel Center, click here.
November 29, 2006: Mandel Center Guest Speaker: Shevi Govrin, Israeli Teacher Educator, Director of Ovnayim: Learning from Teachers' Experience
A former Mandel Jerusalem Fellow, Shevi Govrin has worked with teachers in Jerusalem’s Keshet Schools, which serve both religious and secular students.
Govrin discussed the collaborative, inquiry-oriented, records-based approach to professional development that she and her colleagues have developed and are bringing to Israeli schools. The project she described began with teachers observing one another teaching the weekly Torah portion. It led to teachers creating their own parshat hashavuah curriculum and writing cases about dilemmas they encountered in teaching this material to their diverse students. Eventually the teachers formed a parshat hashavuah study group for themselves – preparing to teach the weekly Torah portion by studying it.
Learn about Ovnayim.
November 27, 2006: Board of Jewish Education of Greater Boston Conference on Day School and Early Childhood Education
Mandel Center presenters included Judy Elkin ("DeLeT: A Catalyst for Ongoing Professional Development"), Sharon Feiman-Nemser ("Educative Mentoring: More Than a Buddy System"), Elie Holzer ("Singing as a Mode of Meaning-Making in Prayer"), Nili Pearlmutter ("Linking Teacher Assessment and Teacher Development"), and Susie Tanchel ("Unpacking and Exploring a Tanakh Teaching Practice").
November 15, 2006, 6:00-7:30 pm: Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Open House
One of four Open House sessions (October 18, November 15, December 12, January 23), held in the atrium of the Abraham Shapiro Academic Complex at Brandeis, which provided prospective MAT students the opportunity to meet the faculty, ask questions, and enjoy refreshments. Learn about the Brandeis Master of Arts in Teaching for secondary schools in the areas of history, English, biology, and Bible, and the Master of Arts in Teaching for elementary schools, including the Elementary MAT (DeLeT) program. Information about the Brandeis MAT programs is at www.brandeis.edu/programs/MAT.
November 15, 2006: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Guest Speaker: Elie Holzer of Bar Ilan University, Visiting Scholar at the Mandel Center (Fall 2006)
Elie Holzer (Bar Ilan University), fall 2006 visiting scholar, and co-leader of the Beit Midrash Research Project, led the third Center lunch seminar of the year. Holzer shared aspects of and artifacts from his work on the Beit Midrash Research Project, in a discussion titled "The development of hermeneutical conversations with texts and with hevruta (learning partner) in the context of teacher education: ways of thinking, ways of learning." For background, read his article "What Connects “Good” Teaching, Text Study and Hevruta Learning? A Conceptual Argument" (forthcoming in the Journal of Jewish Education).
November 14, 2006, 12:00-2:00 pm: Philosophy of Education Research Colloquia (PERC): "Arab-Jewish Youth Programs: Some Reflections on Intent and Goals"
Presenter: Harriet Feinberg, Ed.D.
Cosponsored by the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life; and the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education
Click for a summary of the event.
Click for list of websites of programs discussed at the colloquium.
November 1, 2006: Mentor Development Induction Partnership seminar
Teacher leaders participating in the Mandel Center's Induction Partnership, from five Boston-area Jewish day schools, convened at Brandeis for a full-day working session, facilitated by Vivian Troen. Based on Mandel Center research, topics addressed during the workshop included: The Induction Continuum: How well is our school supporting new teacher learning?; Mentor Moves: What strategies move teachers along in their development?; and Using DeLeT teaching standards to develop teaching practice.
October 29-30, 2006: Mandel Center Joint Advisory Team Meeting
The Advisory Board of the Mandel Center, comprised of representatives from the Mandel Foundation and from Brandeis, met at Brandeis for its annual session.
October 22-25, 2006: Mandel Teacher Educator Institute (MTEI) Alumni Seminar
Selected alumni of MTEI from across North America, all of whom are educators and educational leaders, met at Brandeis for a three-day alumni seminar on mentoring and hevruta learning, with presentations by Mandel Center faculty and researchers Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Vivian Troen, Pearl Mattenson, Elie Holzer, Orit Kent, and Gail Dorph (Director of MTEI).
October 18, 2006, 6:00-7:30 pm: Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Open House
One of four Open House sessions (October 18, November 15, December 12, January 23), held in the atrium of the Abraham Shapiro Academic Complex at Brandeis, which provided prospective MAT students the opportunity to meet the faculty, ask questions, and enjoy refreshments. Learn about the Brandeis Master of Arts in Teaching for secondary schools in the areas of history, English, biology, and Bible, and the Master of Arts in Teaching for elementary schools, including the Elementary MAT (DeLeT) program. Information about the Brandeis MAT programs is at www.brandeis.edu/programs/MAT.
October 18, 2006: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Guest Speaker: Dr. Israel Scheffler, Scholar-in-Residence at the Mandel Center
What are the uses and limitations of educational metaphors, such as "a teacher is a gardener tending growing plants," or "a teacher is molding clay?" In the second of the two Center lunch seminars Dr. Israel Scheffler, Scholar-in-Residence at the Mandel Center, led this fall, he discussed the chapter "Educational Metaphors" (from his book The Language of Education), in which he investigates these and other educational metaphors, elaborates a stance on the definition and purposes of teaching, and explores the relationship of teaching to cultural continuity.
October 17 - 18, 2006: "Religion and Education: Authority and Autonomy" Conference at Harvard University
Scholars presented papers on the topics related to religious education, from historical, sociological, and philosophical perspectives. Co-sponsored by the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis, the Scholion Project at Hebrew University's Mandel Institute for Jewish Studies, and the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University. Click here for the conference program (PDF). Click here to view the conference poster.
September 14, 2006, 7:00pm-9:00pm: Bridging Seminar on Teaching Rabbinic Literature
Twelve educators met to launch a yearlong seminar on Teaching Rabbinic Literature, as part of the Mandel Center's Bridging Initiative. Click here for a list of participants. The Bridging Initiative has produced a series of working papers on Teaching Bible, as well as a set of videos from the conference held in January 2005.
September 13, 2006: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Guest Speaker: Dr. Israel Scheffler, Scholar-in-Residence at the Mandel Center
What should people in the position of making education decisions know? How should they learn it? Dr. Israel Scheffler, Scholar-in-Residence at the Mandel Center, discussed his paper "The Education of Policy-Makers," which presents a set of guidelines for the education of those educational decision-makers.
2005-06 Academic Year
July 28, 2006, 11:30am-2:00pm: Tekkes HaSiyum; 2:30pm-5:30pm: MAT Research Project Presentation and Recognition Ceremony
Tekkes HaSiyum, A Celebration of Completion for DeLeT, was held at the Mandel Center on July 28th, from 11:30-2:00. There was also a mini-conference in which first-year teachers in the Jewish Day School concentration of the Brandeis MAT program presented their classroom research projects, followed by the completion celebration of the entire Brandeis MAT program (2:30-5:30).
Read more:
Jewish education program confronting shortage of qualified teachers (Brandeis University press release, July 13, 2006)
"A worthwhile experience: Newton resident completes Brandeis program for Jewish day-school teachers" (The Daily News Tribune, Waltham and Newton Mass., August 1, 2006)
Heading back to class to fill a void (Brandeis University press release, August 1, 2006)
June 27 - 29, 2006: "Reframing Jewish Day School Education Worldwide" conference at the Melton Centre at the Hebrew University
At the "Reframing Jewish Day School Education Worldwide" conference at the Melton Centre at the Hebrew University, co-sponsored by the Joint Distribution Committee, the Education Department of the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE), presenters will include Jon A. Levisohn, Joe Reimer, and Susan Shevitz.
June 6 & 8, 2006: Bridging Initiative Consultations on the Teaching of Rabbinic Literature, in New York City and Boston
Jon A. Levisohn, Director of the Mandel Center's Initiative on Bridging Scholarship and Pedagogy in Jewish Studies, and Rabbi Susan P. Fendrick, Senior Research Associate for the project, convened two groups of scholars and educators; one group in New York City, one group in Boston. Participants explored a series of questions related to the teaching of rabbinic literature, the focus of upcoming work in the Bridging Initiative. The Boston group included Mark Brettler of Brandeis University, David Ehrenkranz of Maimonides High School and Prozdor, David Gordis and Judith Kates of Hebrew College, and Yehuda Kurtzer of Harvard University. The New York group included Tammy Jacobowitz of the University of Pennsylvania, David Kraemer of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Aaron Panken of Hebrew Union College, Karen Reiss-Medwed of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Lisa Schlaff of SAR High School, and Barry Wimpfheimer of Northwestern University.
June 6, 2006, 4:00-6:00pm: Portfolio Presentations by DeLeT Fellows
On June 6th, the 4th cohort of DeLeT Fellows presented their teaching portfolios to a group of 70 people that included mentor teachers, DeLeT alumni, community leaders, DeLeT supporters, Brandeis faculty and staff, and Laura Lauder, founder and startup funder of DeLeT.
This year, for the first time, DeLeT Fellows created online teaching portfolios, with entries that feature their teaching philosophies, lesson and unit plans, student work, and classroom video clips.
In her remarks Lauder praised the DeLeT Fellows for taking the "leap of faith in this extraordinary program, this lifelong learning endeavor to make sure that we teach our children how to be exceptional leaders themselves, feel good about being an American, about being a Jew, and how those values really, really coincide with each other."
June 4 - 6, 2006: Network for Research in Jewish Education (NRJE) Annual Conference
Mandel Center presenters included Jon A. Levisohn, Jonathan Krasner, and Joe Reimer, Susan Shevitz and Rahel Wasserfall. One Spotlight Session focused on research from the Mandel Center's "Choosing to Teach" study, with presentations by Bethamie Horowitz, Sharon Feiman-Nemser and Susan M. Kardos. Visit the conference website.
May 31, 2006: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Guest Speaker: Orit Kent, Co-Leader of the Mandel Center's Beit Midrash Research Project
Orit Kent discussed her research on hevruta as a Jewish interpretive social learning practice. Hevruta, or "paired," study is one of the central focuses of the Mandel Center's Beit Midrash Research Project (which Orit co- leads with Elie Holzer) and is the topic of Kent's doctoral dissertation. Kent is a doctoral candidate in Jewish studies and Jewish education at Brandeis, and a teacher and researcher in the DeLeT program. She was a Spencer Fellow in 2005-06, and is a Mandel Center Dissertation Fellow for 2006-07.
May 16 & 17, 2006: Induction Partnership End of Year Meeting for Principals, Board Chairs & Induction Liaisons
Principals, Board Chairs, and Induction Liaisons from the five Boston-area Jewish day schools participating in the Mandel Center's Induction Partnership convened at Brandeis to share knowledge, reflect on successes and challenges from the year, and develop action plans for the coming year.
May 15 & 16, 2006: Elie Holzer presents at international conference on "French Jewry: Past, Present and Future" at Bar Ilan University
Elie Holzer, leader with Orit Kent of the Mandel Center's Beit Midrash Research Project, presented a paper at an international conference, "French Jewry: Past, Present and Future," at Bar Ilan University in Israel. Holzer's paper discussed "Educational implications of Levinas and Ricoeur's ethical attitudes towards texts."
April 26, 3:00-5:00 pm: Philosophy of Education Research Colloquia (PERC): "Folk Art and Ritual Drama in Southern India"
Presenter: David W. Rudner, Ph.D., Research Associate at Washington University
Location: Shapiro Campus Center Multipurpose Room, Room 236. Contact: Angela Viehland, assistant to Professor Scheffler: PERC@brandeis.edu.
April 7 - 11, 2006: American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting: "Education Research in the Public Interest"
At the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Susan M. Kardos was discussant for a session titled "Why Teach? The Role of Teachers' Personal Motivations, Visions, and Ideals in Recruitment and Retention."
April 5, 3:00-5:00 pm: Philosophy of Education Research Colloquia (PERC): "The Role of Arts Training in Children's Cognitive and Brain Development"
Presenter: Ellen Winner, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Boston College and Senior Research Associate at Harvard's Project Zero
Location: Shapiro Campus Center Gallery, Room 317. Contact: Angela Viehland, assistant to Professor Scheffler: PERC@brandeis.edu.
April 5, 2006: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Guest Speaker: Jonathan Cohen, Senior Lecturer at the Melton Centre for Jewish Education at the Hebrew University, and Visiting Scholar at the Mandel Center (Spring 2006)
Jonathan Cohen, Visiting Scholar at the Mandel Center (Spring 2006), spoke on the topic "Is the Bible a Jewish Book?"
Some of the questions Jonathan Cohen addressed: Is the so called "book of books" a book at all? What is a "book" in the Western tradition? Is there such a thing as a "book" in the Jewish tradition? How can serious Jewish thinkers relate to the Bible as a whole book when they also accept without reservation the results of modern Biblical scholarship - that show the Bible to be a composite work, and not a "whole book?" What are the implications of the way Franz Rosenzweig and Leo Strauss view the nature and status of the Bible with regard to the way the Bible should be taught and studied today?
April 2, 2006: Jon A. Levisohn presents at annual international conference of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain, at University of Oxford (New College), England
Jon A. Levisohn, Ph.D., Assistant Academic Director of the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education, and Assistant Professor of Jewish Education in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University, presented "What's So Hard About Being an Historian? On the Alleged Unnaturalness of Historical Thinking." For more on this topic, see details of Levisohn's PERC presentation. Click here for the conference program.
March 30, 2006 2:00-4:00 pm: Philosophy of Education Research Colloquia (PERC): "What's So Hard About Being an Historian? On the Alleged Unnaturalness of Historical Thinking"
Presenter: Jon A. Levisohn, Ph.D., Assistant Academic Director of the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education, and Assistant Professor of Jewish Education in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University
Location: Shapiro Campus Center Gallery, Room 317. Contact: Angela Viehland, assistant to Professor Scheffler: PERC@brandeis.edu.
March 30, 2006: Tanchel Dissertation Defense: "Honoring Voices: Listening to the Texts and the Teacher, the Scholars and the Students"
Susie Tanchel, teacher and administrator at Gann Academy - The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston, instructor in the DeLeT program, and inaugural Mandel Center Dissertation Fellow (2004-2005), successfully defended her doctoral dissertation in the Brandeis University Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies before Professors Marc Brettler, David Wright, and Sharon Feiman-Nemser. Her project, entitled "Honoring Voices: Listening to the Texts and the Teacher, the Scholars and the Students, A Study in the Uses of Subject Matter Knowledge of Tanakh in the Contexts of Research and Teaching," combined original scholarship on Bible and innovative research on the teaching of Bible.
March 19-21, 2006: Mandel Center faculty and staff a substantial presence at PEJE (Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education) Assembly, Boston
Several Mandel Center faculty and staff presented or moderated panels at the annual PEJE (Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education) Assembly in Boston. They shared the research of the Mandel Center, and the programs the Center is creating and building, often in partnership with Jewish day schools.
Sessions with Mandel Center faculty and staff:
Glenda Speyer, Vivian Troen, Sarah Birkeland, & Susan M. Kardos: “Helping New Teachers Thrive, Not Just Survive”
Nili Pearlmutter, “Linking Teacher Assessment and Teacher Development”
Vivian Troen, “Making Teaching Public: Changing the Culture of Teaching”
Sharon Feiman-Nemser, “Principles of High Quality Professional Development”
Read full session descriptions at the PEJE website.
March 17-19, 2006: Sharon Feiman-Nemser a featured presenter at Association of Modern Orthodox Day Schools and Yeshiva High Schools (AMODS) Leadership Shabbaton, Boston
The Association of Modern Orthodox Day Schools and Yeshiva High Schools (AMODS) convened a Leadership Shabbaton in Boston on March 17-19, immediately prior to the PEJE Assembly (see above).
Sharon Feiman-Nemser was a featured presenter on a panel titled "Promoting Teacher Growth as the Key to Effective Schools." Designed for lay and professional day school leaders, the session was the kick-off for a year-long focus by AMODS on "Promoting Professional Growth." The panel was moderated by Rabbi David Israel and included Sharon Feiman-Nemser; Dr. Gerald Kirschenbaum, Headmaster, Bi-Cultural Day School; and Dr. David J. Schnall, Dean, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education.
March 15, 2006: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Guest Speaker: Jonathan Krasner, Assistant Professor of the American Jewish Experience at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and Visiting Scholar at the Mandel Center (Spring 2006)
Jonathan Krasner, Visiting Scholar at the Mandel Center (Spring 2006), spoke on the topic "The Central Jewish Institute (1917-1944): An Experiment in Progressive Jewish Education." The talk was based on research Krasner is conducting on the Central Jewish Institute in New York.
March 1, 2006: Mentor Development Induction Partnership meeting: "Foundations in Mentoring"
Teacher leaders participating in the Mandel Center's Induction Partnership, from five Boston-area Jewish day schools, convened at Brandeis for a full-day working session, facilitated by Vivian Troen. Based on Mandel Center research, the day was focused on how mentor teachers can best support beginning teachers.
Questions addressed during the workshop included: How do I choose a mentoring style appropriate for specific novices in specific situations? How do I tailor my support and assistance to the assessed needs of my mentee? How do I prepare for reflective conferences? How do I give strategic feedback using language of support? How can I use Collaborative Logs to focus our work and support my mentee's progress? How do I use student work to guide instruction? How can we strengthen our capacity to develop a strong induction program in our school?
February 28, 2006, 7:45 - 9:30 am: Special Event for Day School Leaders: “Elements of Excellence in Teaching: Insights for Jewish Education from Unexpected Sources,” a Presentation and Discussion with Lee S. Shulman, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
Lee S. Shulman, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, spoke with Jewish day school leaders about “Elements of Excellence in Teaching: Insights for Jewish Education from Unexpected Sources.” The breakfast and talk were sponsored by the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education.
Location: Lurias Room, Hassenfeld Conference Center, Brandeis University.
View the flyer for the event (PDF).
Read more about it, and view photos from the event.
February 27, 2006, 4:00 - 5:30 pm: Lee S. Shulman, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, speaks about “Professing the Liberal Arts: The Essential Tension Between Liberal and Professional Studies in American Higher Education”
Lee S. Shulman, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, spoke about “Professing the Liberal Arts: The Essential Tension Between Liberal and Professional Studies in American Higher Education,” in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall of the Goldfarb Library at Brandeis University. The public talk was sponsored by the Spencer Program in Educational Research, the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences, the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education, and the Brandeis Education Program.
Location: Rapaporte Treasure Hall, Goldfarb Library, Brandeis University. Contact: Tania Mireles, spencersem@brandeis.edu, 781-736-5018
View the poster for the lecture (PDF).
Read more about it, and watch a video of the lecture.
February 15, 2006: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Guest Speakers: Susan Shevitz and Rahel Wasserfall, of the Mandel Center's "Studying Pluralism in Jewish Education" research project
Susan Shevitz, leader of the Mandel Center's "Studying Pluralism in Jewish Education" research project, and Rahel Wasserfall, Senior Research Associate for the project, presented preliminary findings of their study.
February 8, 2006: Rounds Meeting at Rashi School, as part of Induction Partnership
Teachers participating in the Mandel Center's Induction Partnership met for "rounds,” to discuss the classes they observed.
January 26, 2006: DeLeT fellows observe group discussion at day school
As part of a DeLeT course, all DeLeT fellows observed the teaching of DeLeT mentor and instructor Glenda Speyer at Rashi, the Boston Area Reform Jewish Day School, followed by a group discussion on student discourse.
January 24, 25 and 26, 2006: Community Conversations
Key education leaders in the Boston Jewish community joined Mandel Center staff and Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz for a series of conversations about the building of a creative and dynamic university, community, and school partnership, making Boston the place to prepare, induct and support the development of passionate and committed day school teachers.
Spring Semester, 2006: "Learning for Meaning in Text Study and in Hevruta Learning" course for ATID fellows in Jerusalem
Elie Holzer, leader with Orit Kent of the Mandel Center's Beit Midrash Research Project, is currently teaching a course titled "Learning for Meaning in Text Study and in Hevruta Learning" to the ATID (Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions) fellows in Jerusalem. The course draws significantly on Holzer's work and research in the context of the Beit Midrash Research Project.
ATID (Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions) is an independent, privately funded foundation which aims to foster new and significant thought on the crucial issues facing Jewish education among future leaders in the field-students, young educators, and other professionals who will serve as lay leadership - and to develop effective and implementable pedagogies and strategies for improving Torah education in the modern world.
Thursdays, Spring Semester, 2006: DeLeT fellows study the weekly Torah portion with special guests
DeLeT fellows study the weekly Torah portion (Parshat HaShavua) with noted local scholars, rabbis, and Jewish educators. Guests for the spring semester include Dr. Judith Kates, Rabbi Rim Meirowitz, Rabbi Benjamin Samuels, Joe Reimer, Elie Holzer, Dani Steiner, Marion Gribetz, Rabbi Alan Lehmann, Gail Dorph, Rabbi Carl Perkins, and Israel Scheffler.
January 11, 2006: An Evening with Sharon Feiman-Nemser: "Using Observation, Conversation and Writing as tools in Professional Development,” Mandel Leadership Institute, Jerusalem
In this workshop, Mandel Center Director Sharon Feiman-Nemser linked a vision of "educative mentoring” with a broad definition of professional development using video cases of individualized and group learning amongst teachers.
December 21, 2005: Brandeis Junior Faculty Colloquium
Jon A. Levisohn, Assistant Academic Director of the Mandel Center, convened the first meeting of a junior faculty pedagogical colloquium. This colloquium, which will meet monthly, provides a forum for select junior faculty at Brandeis to discuss their teaching in a collegial environment.
December 14, 2005: "Make Your House Into A Meeting Place for Scholars”
On December 14th, 2005, five prominent philosophers and educators gathered at Brandeis for a colloquium honoring Philosophy of Education Research Colloquia (PERC) Director Israel Scheffler, on the occasion of the publication of his 17th book, Gallery of Scholars: A Philosopher's Recollections.
Read more about it, and view photos from the event.
December 5, 2005: Mandel Center leads day of workshops at National Solomon Schechter Principals Conference
In December, the Center hosted a full-day session for the leaders of the Solomon Schechter Day School movement, on new ways of thinking about professional development, led by Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Susan Kardos, and Vivian Troen and using video footage of Mandel Center work at a Schechter day school.
November 16, 2005: Mandel Center Lunchtime Seminar; Guest Speaker: Prof. Miriam Ben Peretz, former head of the School of Education at Haifa University
Biologist, educational researcher, author, teacher educator, activist, Jewish educator and extraordinary person, Miriam Ben Peretz visited the Mandel Center during a trip to the U.S., to talk about a study she recently completed on visual representations in the teaching of Bible/Torah.
November 1, 2005: Mentor Development Induction Partnership meeting
Teacher leaders participating in the Mandel Center's Induction Partnership, from five Boston-area Jewish day schools, convened at Brandeis for a full-day working session. The session was led by Vivian Troen and Pearl Mattenson, with Senior Research Associate Sarah Birkeland.
Selected Events and Activities from the 2004-05 Academic Year
May, 2005: DeLeT (Day School Leadership Through Teaching) and ACE (Alliance for Catholic Education) Retreat, Thompson Island, Boston Harbor
In early May, 2005 a small group of DeLeT (Day School Leadership Through Teaching) Fellows, alumni, and faculty and a small group of Notre Dame University’s ACE (Alliance for Catholic Education) teachers and faculty (30 in all) embarked on a three day retreat to Thompson Island, one of Boston’s harbor islands. Throughout the intense days that the early-career teachers spent on the retreat, they explored the fundamental questions: Why do I teach? Why do I teach in a Jewish or Catholic school?
January 30-31, 2005: Teaching Bible: Bridging Scholarship and Pedagogy
This conference, a part of the Mandel Center's Initiative on Bridging Scholarship and Pedagogy in Jewish Studies, engaged teachers of Bible from different levels and settings, from first grade to adult education. View a video of the conference. | View the conference invitation, program, and more.
November 18, 2004: A Conversation with Visionary Educators
In celebration of the opening of the new home of the Mandel Center, this colloquium featured four educational thinkers and builders: Daniel Lehmann, Deborah Meier, Theodore Sizer, and Mandel Center Director Sharon Feiman-Nemser.
View a video of the celebration.