Events: 2005-06
July 28, 2006: Tekkes HaSiyum; 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.
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."
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.
April 26: 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 5: 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
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?
March 30, 2006: 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.