Events


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.

Upcoming Events

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
Monday, November 23, 2009
11 am – 1 pm
ASAC 204

This "Sneak Preview" offers 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. Participants who bring their laptops can independently explore the website during the presentation.

RSVP to jannadorfman@brandeis.edu no later than Friday, November 20.

This event is a brown bag lunch, so please feel free to bring your lunch to enjoy during the seminar. Drinks will be provided.

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
Monday, November 30, 2009
11 am – 1 pm
ASAC 204

  • Do you hold discussions in your classroom?
  • Do you wonder what you, as the discussion leader, can do to make the discussions more participatory and focused on the burning questions that study of the text can help you address?
  • Do you wonder how you can engage your students in being more active discussion participants and leaders themselves?

Dr. Haroutunian-Gordon will speak about her work teaching teachers to lead interpretive discussions in their classrooms.  To illustrate her approach, she will show 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 will also lead an interpretive discussion for seminar participants and outline steps for preparing to leading such discussions.

RSVP to jannadorfman@brandeis.edu no later than Tuesday, November 24.

This event is a brown bag lunch, so please feel free to bring your lunch to enjoy during the seminar. Drinks will be provided.

Mandel Lunchtime Seminar: "Exodus: Exploring the Phenomenon of Early Teachers' Leaving in Catholic Schools"
featuring Dr. Aubrey Scheopner, Center for Catholic Education, Boston College
Monday, December 14, 2009
11 am – 1 pm
ASAC 204

Dr. Scheopner will discuss 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.

RSVP to jannadorfman@brandeis.edu no later than Friday, December 11.

This event is a brown bag lunch, so please feel free to bring your lunch to enjoy during the seminar. Drinks will be provided.<

Recent Events

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.

Thursday, 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.

Sunday, June 28 – Tuesday, June 30
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: