Events: 2009-10


Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Mandel Lunchtime Seminar: "Teaching Confusion: Crossing Dimensions of Time in a Jerusalem History Classroom"
featuring Chava Shane-Sagiv, doctoral candidate, Hebrew University

This talk addressed the inherent difficulties of learning history in high school-inherent, because unlike disciplines that use a specialized vocabulary for discussing knowledge and ideas, history draws on the linguistic resources of everyday life. Relying on an eight-month classroom ethnography in a Jerusalem high school, Shane-Sagiv showed how seemingly straightforward notions such as "anti-Semitism" become, in the transaction of classroom life, a site of confusion reflecting the complexity of ‘school history': learning about the past while struggling to find a common ground between disciplinary terms and student knowledge and interests. A close investigation of this confusion called attention to how the disciplinary-the everyday and schooling-may be at cross purposes, and how we may become more astute in dealing with this.

Monday, February 22, 2010
Mandel Lunchtime Seminar: "New Theory for Effective Practice:  How Does Great Jewish Education Happen?"
featuring Jacob Cytryn, Mandel Center

Jacob presented an early draft of the conceptual background to his dissertation, a study of how learners (students, campers, participants, et c.) experience intentionally content-permeated Jewish educational settings (ICPEs).  This background included theories that attempt to bound the category of ICPEs and to postulate how learning - including but not limited to classroom-based learning - occurs within them.  Jacob started exploring an alternative approach that highlights the essential commonalities between all maximally-effective settings, whether they are found in schools, summer camps, supplementary schools, Israel trips, or elsewhere.

Sunday, January 31, 2010
Mandel Center Teacher Forum
"Collaborative Learning in the Classroom: Awaken the Joy of Interpreting Texts"
featuring Orit Kent, PhD

Orit Kent works with a participant at Teacher ForumIn this session, Dr. Orit Kent spoke about her award-winning work on havruta study, a collaborative learning practice for studying Jewish texts that is applicable to any text study. The interactive session included participating in havruta and viewing classroom videotapes of young adults and third graders learning in havruta. Participants left with ideas about maximizing these partner-learning practices in their own classrooms.

Orit Kent is a Senior Research Associate at the Mandel Center and a Lecturer in the DeLeT/MAT program. Orit directs the Center's Beit Midrash Research Project and has developed an approach to the teaching of havruta and the close study of student learning.

Monday, January 25, 2010
Mandel Lunchtime Seminar: "Parent Involvement in Schools: A Comparison of Jewish, Catholic & Independent Day Schools "
featuring Dr. Renee Rubin Ross, Mandel Center

What is the nature of parent involvement in schools?

Dr. Renee Rubin Ross discussed findings from her dissertation research on parent involvement in a Jewish, a Catholic, and an independent private school. The study combined interviews with administrators, teachers and parents with a year of observation at the three schools. What emerges is a model that considers the inter-relationship between the schools, who have varying expectations for parents, and the parents themselves, who bring their own perspectives and experiences.

Monday, December 14, 2009
Mandel Lunchtime Seminar: "Exodus: Exploring the Phenomenon of Early Teachers' Leaving in Catholic Schools"
featuring Dr. Aubrey Scheopner, Center for Catholic Education, Boston College

Dr. Scheopner discussed findings from her recent study on teacher attrition among early career teachers in Catholic schools who left within the first 5 years of entering the profession. The study combined interviews with 10 Catholic school early leavers and statistical analysis of Catholic school early leavers' responses on the Schools and Staffing and Teacher Follow-Up surveys to contextualize and compare the experiences of the teachers interviewed with the larger population of early leavers.

Monday, November 30, 2009
Mandel Lunchtime Seminar: “Learning to Teach Through Discussion: The Art of Turning the Soul”
featuring Dr. Sophie Haroutunian-Gordon, Professor and Director of the Master of Science in Education Program at Northwestern University

Co-Sponsored by the Committee for the Support of Teaching

Dr. Haroutunian-Gordon spoke about her work teaching teachers to lead interpretive discussions in their classrooms.  To illustrate her approach, she shared video excerpts from data she collected for her latest book in which two novice classroom teachers learn how to engage their fourth grade students in a series of interpretive discussions.  Haroutunian-Gordon also led an interpretive discussion for seminar participants and outline steps for preparing to leading such discussions.

November 23, 2009
Mandel Lunchtime Seminar: “Sneak Preview: JData and the Future of Jewish Educational Research”
featuring Dr. Annette Koren and Dr. Amy Sales, Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Brandeis University

This "Sneak Preview" offered an interactive demonstration of JData.com, a website for accessing information and ideas from organizations dedicated to Jewish education for children and youth. JData is based on several revolutionary ideas, including the open sourcing of such information. Its mission is to improve the quality and efficiency of Jewish educational research and the value of information available to educational organizations, their funders, and the community.

October 26, 2009
Mandel Lunchtime Seminar: "Choosing to Teach among Jewish Day School Teachers"

featuring Eran Tamir, Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education, Brandeis University

The Mandel Center kicked off its Lunchtime Seminar Series for the 2009-2010 academic year. Eran Tamir, Senior Research Associate at the Mandel Center, presented emerging findings centering around the question, "Why do Jewish Day School teachers from the DeLeT program choose to become teachers?" Their motivations were contrasted with those of general education teachers and alternative explanations were explored.  The findings are based on two ongoing studies at the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education: The Longitudinal DeLeT Survey Project, and Choosing to Teach Study. Following this presentation, Tamir invited participants to discuss the findings.

August 26, 2009
Induction Partnership Virtual Mentor Workshop

The Induction Partnership launched its year-long series of virtual workshops with its three partner schools across the country. The event engaged teachers and administrators at each school in conversations about effective mentoring practices.

July 26-31, 2009
Culture and Identity, Past & Present:  Exploring the Jewish Experience through Texts, Films & Literature  

A Summer Teachers Institute at the University of Cincinnati
Co-Sponsored by the Mandel Center

The Summer Teachers Institute explored the place of Jewish text study in learning and teaching practices and offer a non-specialized historical and cultural studies approach to investigating the Jewish experience from the ancient period to the present, with a special emphasis on the American Jewish scene. Teachers studied primary and secondary materials in the American Jewish Archives, one of the most significant Jewish research institutions in the world. Summer Teachers Institute. Elie Holzer, senior researcher at the Mandel Center, participated in the program as an extension of his work with the Center's Beit Midrash project.

July 24, 2009
Brandeis MAT Mini-Research Conference and Graduation

As members of the MAT graduating class of 2009, DeLeT Cohort 7 presented their classroom research projects and celebrated their graduation with an assembly of  families, friends, colleagues, and faculty.

July 23, 2009
Tekkes HaSiyum: “Celebration of Completion”

Cohort 7 designed a program for family, friends, and faculty that included reflections, thanks, text study, and song.

July 22, 2009
DeLeT Cohort 8 Community Tea

The first of a four part series, the Community Tea gave Cohort 8 the opportunity to publicly reflect on their learning. Reinforcing the belief that teaching should not be a private affair that happens behind the closed doors of a classroom, the interns were invited to share and discuss their learning from the first summer of DeLeT.

July 13-17, 2009
DeLeT Alumni Summer Institute

The first of its kind, the Alumni Summer Institute welcomed 5 local alumni for a week-long session to begin work on individual projects. Alumni supported each other as they began work on projects related to teacher development that will continue on throughout the academic year.

June 28 –  30, 2009
2009 Mandel Center Induction Partnership Summer Institute

The Induction Partnership welcomed its three new sites to the Center for a kickoff session. New school sites include: