Our research explores how children comprehend texts. Using sacred texts as a case study, we investigate what children do when they read and discuss sacred texts, how they talk about them with their teachers and classmates, and what interpretations they offer.

Sacred texts have been studied across millennia in almost every context imaginable. Therefore, they offer unique opportunities to explore how people, starting from a young age, read closely. Our research generates insights not only for educators who teach sacred texts, but also for the broader community of literacy educators.

Student Reflection

“Looking Closer, Even from Afar: What Undergraduate Research Has Given Me in the Pandemic”
by Gavriella Troper-Hochstein, SCRoLL Lab Student Researcher, March 2020-present

. . . Once a week, first on zoom and then in-person at last, I have had the privilege of gathering with the other Lab members to work on our research. These weekly meetings have become more than a job for me. They have become an opportunity to learn from and with other students who I might not have connected with otherwise. . . [more]

News and Updates

Attend the Presentation at the Undergraduate Research Symposium

Lab student researcher Gavriella Troper-Hochstein presents on narrative resources among 4th and 5th grade students studying biblical texts in Biblical Hebrew. This research presentation developed out of our Science of Reading Tanakh project.

Lost In Translations: Case Studies Of 4th And 5th Grade Biblical Hebrew Translation
May 3, 2022 4:15-4:30 p.m.
Hassenfeld Conference Center, Luria 3

Listen to the Podcast “What We Learned From Online Learning”

Professor Ziva Hassenfeld discusses research conducted by SCRoLL Lab on Online Jewish Education on Prizmah's podcast, Research Corner, with Elliot Rabin and veteran educators Aviv Matzkin and Michal Bessler - November 17, 2021.