Bringing the Text to Life and Into Our Lives: Jewish Education and the Arts

This article explores how arts-based learning can facilitate understandings of Jewish religious texts. Through practical examples drawn from our own research, from the worlds of dance, drama, and the visual arts in education, we demonstrate the ways in which arts can allow for the transmission of information and knowledge, as well as offer a “transformative” learning experience; a student can bring the text to life while bringing the text into his or her life. We stress the primary importance and centrality of sacred text within Jewish tradition and assert that the written text should serve in Jewish education as the starting point. The ultimate goal, however, is to enable learners' personal connection with texts. We argue that learning through the arts opens up opportunities for multiple shared interpretations of text, as well as accentuation of the “affective” dimensions of Jewish textual learning. By becoming more aware of the varied possible paths for generating learning activities, educators might choose learning strategies that enable an integration of both the cognitive and affective domains. The examples of Arts Reflective learning demonstrate possibilities for the structuring of “teaching towards transformation.”     

An effective intervention with a blended learning environment for improving cognitive learning and spiritual meaning

According to cognitive and spiritual developmental theories, individuals construct and transcend their previous thought processes by incorporating more sophisticated ways of understanding the world as they progress through stages requiring efforts in different modes of thought. These theories focus on the importance of contextual variables in development and emphasize that these variables will spark a change in cognitive and spiritual development or awareness. We have investigated the effects of blended learning on cognitive learning and spiritual interpretations of science teacher candidates. The study with a quasi-experimental design had 54 science teacher candidates attending the science education department of a state university in Turkey. Our study showed that when learning Einstein’s theory of special relativity, a blended learning environment affects students’ cognitive learning positively. In the spiritual sense, too, significant results were found in favor of the blended learning group students. This effect that triggers spiritual change has been discussed in two contexts: “the effect embedded in the variable” and “indirect effect from the variable.” If supported by further research, the results of this study suggest that the spiritual dimension can be incorporated into three domains of learning, namely cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.

     

Gibbon Redivivus: eighteenth‐century OxfordREVIEW ARTICLE

Recent thinking on the possibilities of a spiritual education in a modern secular state are reviewed and found wanting. The methodology used in such discussion is typified as reductionist, in that the concept of spirituality is held in opposition to other concepts, rather than being seen to pervade all phenomena. The view of the various correspondents on the nature of the notion of the education of the whole child is held to be mistaken. An alternative conception is offered, stemming from an holistic viewpoint. This conception sees spiritual education as being involved with the cultivation of qualities of the heart and mind. These qualities are nurtured through spiritual practice, and are not the domain of only a few selected areas of the curriculum, but can be utilised in effective education in all areas of learning. It is suggested that the main points of the argument could be accepted even if a term other than 'spiritual' were used to denote this area of human experience. Support for this position is taken from existing spiritual traditions, and also from recent work in the area of cognitive psychology. The education of spiritual sensibility is held to be an aim of education for all people, and is critical for any conception of good educational practice.     

The Bureau of Jewish Education After 1918

My entry into the field of Jewish education began during my teen years. Basically, it took the form of group work. Some of my friends and I organized a Boys' Club in one of the larger synagogues of Brownsville. We were students at Yeshivat Rabbi Chaim Berlin and wanted to share our spiritual values and ideals with others. Besides Sabbath and Holiday services, we conducted a series of classes in Hebrew, Tanach, and history. On special occasions — especially Simchat Torah — we were able to attract hundreds of boys. Many of them became observant Jews throughout their lives.     

生态美学观照下的家园意识——论菲利普·罗斯小说中的家园叙事

在主客二分模式的认识论视野下,"家园"是个体对自身存在环境的单向认知,表现为个体存在与环境之间互为对立的关系。菲利普.罗斯通过对现代少数族裔的精神离乡、漂泊、生存的关注与反思,再现了现代人的生存困境,批判了主客体二元对立思维模式下现代人对自我的认识误区,为现代人的和谐回归指明了方向。罗斯小说的主题赋予了传统家园叙事模式以现代性背景下的生态内涵,他通过批判自我与他人、社会、环境的对立和分裂,力求改变个人对自我与世界的传统认知及存在方式,达到存在与世界的一体性,体现了罗斯作品对人文生态美的诉求。     

Teaching Vision: Cultivating a Philosophical Disposition About Jewish Educational Practice

We are sometimes told that practitioners have a hard time with theory. But those who are committed to nurturing a certain kind of intellectual capacity among Jewish educational practitioners—the capacity to identify and critically engage with vision in Jewish education, a capacity that we can call a “philosophical disposition”—must accept the challenge to develop ideas, questions, resources, and learning activities appropriate to that goal. In this article, Levisohn presents a study of his own teaching of novice educators in order to contribute to a conversation about how we might contribute to the development of practical intellectuals in Jewish education in various ways and in various settings.     

THE CHURCH AND THE CITY

Abstract

This article mingles stories and concepts of young Jewish Israeli children about God, with reflections on the roles of faith, memory, imagination, and cognitive development in children's Religious Education. The stories are meant to illustrate, among other things, the purity and innocence of young children's faith, which is largely untroubled by fact. Then, using Vygotsky's notions of children's spontaneous concepts and the development of more mature and accurate conceptions in the “zone of proximal development,” a central dilemma in Religious Education will be explored. How can religious educators help young people acquire accurate historical information, textual skills, and theological methods of inquiry, while at the same time nurturing the precious flame of faith? Can we do better at combining systematic learning with pure faith? Toward this purpose, three complementary goals of Religious Education will be suggested: cognitive, practical/moral, and spiritual.     

SHOULD JEWISH SUPPLEMENTARY RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS BE LIKE THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS?

Whether the Jewish supplementary school should be operated as if it were a public school depends on the goals of Jewish education. “In terms of ultimate goals, however, Jewish education is now at a crossroads.”¹ While all Jewish educators would probably agree with Harold Schulweis' statement that “it is our sacred task to create Jews,”² educators are not in agreement over what type of Jews we are to create and how we are to create them. Jewish educators can be divided into two groups. One group wants to create “educated, thinking Jews” — goal #1—while the other desires to shape children into “feeling Jews” —goal #2.     

甘肃省高校校园体育文化建设之现状调查

高校校园体育文化是高校师生在校园这一特定的环境中,为实现高校培养和造就合格人才的目标体系而实施、传播的与身心健康直接相关的、以身体活动为主要载体的精神文化现象．校园体育文化建设可以展示学校的精神风貌,是学校精神文明建设的组成部分,也是学生文明素养、道德情操的综合反映．我们从作为校园体育文化建设基础的学校体育基本情况,作为校园体育文化主导的大学体育教师对校园体育文化的认知程度,作为校园体育文化主体的高校学生对校园体育文化的了解与评价等方面对甘肃省大学校园体育文化建设现状进行调查分析．     

Student perceptions of facilitators’ social congruence,use of expertise and cognitive congruence in problem-based learning

In problem-based learning (PBL), the role of a tutor or facilitator is different from what is typically considered as the role of a traditional teacher. In addition to being a subject-matter expert, the facilitator is also expected to be ‘socially’ and ‘cognitively congruent’. In this study, we analyze the survey responses from more than 10,000 students in order to better understand their perceptions of what makes a good or poor facilitator, and to identify specific qualities related to social congruence, cognitive congruence and use of expertise. Students’ comments for the highest and lowest scoring groups of facilitators were analyzed qualitatively using inductive data analysis strategies. The following themes were identified: for social congruence—facilitator personality, relating to students, professionalism, motivating students, and learning environment; for cognitive congruence—scaffolding learning, and communication skills; for use of expertise—content knowledge and experience, and stretching students’ learning. Coding of students’ feedback also demonstrated that students most frequently commented on issues related to facilitators’ social congruence. Our findings indicate that social congruence encompasses skills which facilitators may improve on. We also argue that understanding students’ perspectives is critical especially in a learner-centred approach such as PBL and therefore propose that our findings provide useful input for the professional development of PBL facilitators.     

Demystifying a Black Box: A Grounded Theory of How Travel Experiences Impact the Jewish Identity Development of Jewish Emerging Adults

The positive impact on the Jewish Identity Development of Jewish Emerging Adults of both the 10 day trips to Israel popularly known as Birthright trips and the service learning trips commonly known as Alternative Spring Breaks has been well-documented. However, the mechanics of how this positive impact occurs has not been well-understood. This grounded theory study interviewed participants from both trips and found that there is an observable and ongoing cognitive processing of their trip experience by the participants that organically influences identity development. This process can be modeled and utilized to develop more effective staff training and program content for Jewish experiential education travel programs.     

Can learning from molar and modular worked examples be enhanced by providing instructional explanations and prompting self-explanations?

In two experiments we explored how learning from traditional molar worked-out examples—focusing on problem categories and their associated overall solution procedures—as well as from more efficient modular worked-out examples—where intrinsic cognitive load is reduced by breaking down complex solutions into smaller meaningful solution elements—can be further enhanced. Instructional explanations or self-explanation prompts were administered to increase germane cognitive load. However, both interventions were not effective for learning and prompting for self-explanations even impaired learning with modular examples. In the latter case, prompting might have forced learners to process redundant information, which they had already sufficiently understood.     

THE ‘NEW LEARNING’ IN ADULT JEWISH EDUCATION

The period between Passover and Shavuot has been dramatic from time immemorial, because it signifies the Exodus from Egypt — physical rescue — and culminates with the stand at Mount Sinai — the attainment of spiritual nationhood. Modern Jewish history has added an unprecedented tone of tragedy and drama, which is symbolized by Yom Hashoah and Yom Haatzmaut. The March of the Living to the Sites of Struggle and Extermination and to the Land of Life and Promise, took place during that two week period, April 18th – May 4th, 1990.     

The Instructional and Emotional Quality of Parent–Child Book Reading and Early Head Start Children's Learning Outcomes

Research Findings: The objective of this study was to understand how two dimensions of parent–child book-reading quality—instructional and emotional—interact and relate to learning in a sample of low-income infants and toddlers. Participants included 81 parents and their children from Early Head Start programs in the rural Midwest. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to test the hypothesis that parental book-reading qualities interact and relate to children's concurrent cognitive and language scores. Exploratory analyses examined if patterns of relationships varied for families who had different home languages (i.e., English, Spanish). Results included that book-reading qualities and home language interacted to predict child scores. Practice or Policy: Findings suggest a need to further explore potentially complex patterns of relationships among parental book-reading behaviors and child learning for diverse families. Understanding these patterns could inform the development of culturally-sensitive intervention approaches designed to support high-quality shared book reading.     

Rosenak Teaching Jewish Values

Rosenak’s Teaching Jewish Values (1986) is perhaps his most accessible book about Jewish education. After diagnosing the “diseases” of Jewish education, he endorses “teaching Jewish values” as the curricular strategy most likely to succeed given the chasm which divides traditional Jewish subject matter and the milieu in which Jewish education takes place—e.g., the values of home and peer group. A close analysis of the book reveals cracks in his commitment to Jewish values, and I explore alternatives to values education he himself presents, such as acquisition of norms or learning the “language of being Jewish.”     

Do learning protocols support learning strategies and outcomes? The role of cognitive and metacognitive prompts

Although writing learning protocols is an effective follow-up course work activity, many learners tend to do it in a rather suboptimal way. Hence, we analyzed the effects of instructional support in the form of prompts. The effects of different types of prompts were investigated in an experiment with four conditions: cognitive prompts, metacognitive prompts, a combination of cognitive and metacognitive prompts, or no prompts (N = 84 undergraduate psychology students). We found that the prompts stimulated the elicitation of cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies. The provision of purely metacognitive prompts did not, however, improve learning outcomes. Only the groups who had received cognitive, or a combination of cognitive and metacognitive, prompts learned more than the control group. This effect was mediated by cognitive learning strategies. The learners in the successful groups did not perceive the prompted learning strategies as more helpful than the learners of the group without prompts. It can be concluded that cognitive prompts—alone or in combination with metacognitive prompts—are an effective means to foster learning. However, additional means should be employed in order to convince the learner of the usefulness of such prompts.     

论犹太民族崇智主义读书传统的形成与演变

犹太人的读书传统是犹太文化的重要组成部分。犹太人在漫长的历史中形成了一种宗教崇智主义读书传统,其实质是为上帝而读书,而宗教律法中对于教育义务的规定以及犹太教社会采取的其他种种措施保证了该读书传统得以形成和延续。在启蒙运动后,他们的读书由为上帝读书变成了为个人自己、为民族而读书,宗教崇智主义传统变成世俗崇智主义传统,在精神上读书成为一种世俗意义上的信仰,在实际中成为“走出去”“融入主流”“往上走”的途径。从犹太民族发展史来看,大体而言,犹太人的读书、教育热情与他们所在地的城镇化、产业转型以及他们自身职业的转变构成一种正向促进的互动关系。分析犹太崇智主义读书传统的形成与演变,能带给我们许多有益的启示。     

人本化成人教育中人文教育浅议

人本化成人教育要求关注成人的综合素质.而目前我国成人教育中人文教育缺失严重,因此,加强人文教育,弘杨人文精神,是提高成人人文素质的需要,是成人教育应负的历史责任和知识经济时代的要求.成人教育应在终身教育思想的指引下,为成人营造精神家园.     

试论抗日战争对昆明地区社会文化的影响

衣食娱乐是一个时代物质文明与精神文明的重要标志。本文从时人生活态度、衣物服饰、食品、娱乐方式、出版物等下层文化的细节入手，论述抗日战争对昆明地区社会文化的影响，力求最大限度地接近历史的真相，以为正确把握当前改革开放中吸收人类文明成果与保存民族优秀传统文化、社会主义物质文明与精神文明建设的关系提供借鉴。     

让国学教育成为启蒙孩子心灵的灯塔

小学是教育开始的关键时刻,教师要抓住机遇,帮助学生打下牢固的国学基础,培育他们的人文素质。国学是中华民族传统的关键,在小学思政课中渗入国学教育,不仅继承了先祖留给我们的精神粮食,也是对学生实施启蒙教育的落实。国学是中华文明的关键文化承载,其经典作品凝练着中国传统文化的精华,它不只是中华民族璀璨的文化遗产,更是中国人民不可缺少的精神力量。民族复兴呼唤文化复兴,学校不应只承担传道授业的责任,更应承担民族文化继承的伟大任务。