Student-Centered Religious Learning and Literacy Lab (SCRoLL Lab)

Ziva R. Hassenfeld is the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Assistant Professor in Jewish Education at Brandeis University. She studies reading comprehension from a sociocultural perspective, focusing on how children develop interpretations of the Hebrew Bible as a case of student reading development. She uses a variety of qualitative methods including ethnographic observation, stimulated recall interviewing and think-aloud interviewing. In her work on literacy she has also studied multimodal literacies, specifically the connection between computer programming and literacy in early childhood. Her courses at Brandeis include Reading (and Talking Back) to Research on Education (ED 165a), Religious Education in America (ED 161b), and The Reading Wars: What is Reading? How Do We Learn to Do It? And Why Do We Love to Fight About It?. She has previously taught The Centrality of Literacies in Teaching and Learning, a required course for all teacher candidates in the Stanford Teacher Education Program.

Dr. Michal Shapira-Junger is a Jewish education researcher specializing in teachers' professional identity and pedagogical practices across diverse contexts. Her research focuses on teachers' personal and professional identity and teaching practices at multicultural intersections, such as teaching emissaries in the Jewish diaspora and bi-national schools in Israel. Currently, she is conducting postdoctoral research at Brandeis University under the supervision of Professor Hassenfeld, focusing on teaching Biblical Hebrew as a second language. Alongside her Hebrew teaching research, Dr. Shapira-Junger continues her studies on educational emissaries.

Ayden Kligfeld (she/her) is a junior majoring in psychology and education studies. She works at the Lemberg Children’s Center as a teacher’s assistant, is involved with Brandeis Masorti, and works at a local synagogue’s Hebrew school. Ayden is passionate about the structure of language and child development, and is excited to utilize this in the SCRoLL lab. She is particularly interested in language acquisition and how it contributes to students’ understanding of the biblical text.

Kenny Sicat is a third-year student studying biology, H.S.S.P., and Hispanic studies. As a new member of the SCRoLL Lab, he is very excited to use his interests in world language and cultures and contribute to the SCRoLL Lab’s research. On campus, he serves as the co-president of the Southeast Asia Club, a Bridge to Wellness peer health educator, a volunteer coordinator and instructor in the Language Empowering Action Project, the World Languages and Cultures Fellow, and a community advisor.