Three 91影视 faculty members – Rabbi Tzvi Pittinsky, Hebrew Faculty member Mrs. Michal Levin, and History Department Co-Chair Dr. Ethan Zadoff – recently won a micro-grant from the Tech for Learning Initiative, a program of The Jewish Education Project supported by the Jim Joseph Foundation, to develop an exciting new multidisciplinary project at 91影视 during the 2017-18 academic year. Together, they will pilot a project in two classes, one in Hebrew and one in History, in which students will work collaboratively and with the classroom teacher to create a methodology of source/textual analysis that can be used across different disciplines, including both Limmudei Kodesh and secular subjects. 聽聽
The project is titled 鈥The People of the Book Enter 21st Century Learning,鈥聽and its goal is to benefit 91影视 students by creating a student-centered learning environment that can be replicated in multiple learning contexts and classrooms at The 91影视 School.聽鈥淭echnology is one of the primary modes to put learning in the hands of the students,鈥 said Rabbi Pittinsky. 鈥淪tudents can manipulate text and mind maps themselves. They can research primary and secondary sources. All through the medium of technology. The role of the teacher changes from being the primary source of information to being a facilitator and guide to help students find and process information themselves, a vital skill to helping students become lifelong learners.鈥
At the beginning of the project, students will work in small, rotating groups to develop the initial scope, sequence, and precision of questions to ask while reading different texts – questions to do with authorship, audience, content, and meaning. In Dr. Zadoff鈥檚 History class, those texts will be historical primary and secondary sources. In Mrs. Levin鈥檚 Hebrew class, the texts under study will be various Jewish prayers, in line with the school鈥檚 鈥Be鈥檜r Tefillah鈥 (Understanding Prayer) Hebrew Language curriculum. In both subjects, students will examine the text not only from the perspective of the author or intended audience but of someone else either from the time the text was written or from modern times.
Students will be able to create videos, podcasts, artwork, and other interactive media to manifest alternative interpretations of text (including personal reflections on prayer, for Mrs. Levin鈥檚 class). 鈥淭he pilot classes will use existing technological tools, such as mind mapping applications, in order to record and create the processes of source/textual method development,鈥 said Dr. Zadoff. 鈥淔ollowing the creation and development of the textual analysis methodology, each class would then apply the method to an already extant annotation tool, for example Kami, in order to use with ease in interpreting a whole variety of sources.鈥 As a capstone project, students will create an interactive website to showcase their process of learning to the greater community.
Mrs. Levin noted that the project will enrich the experiences of students in all educational tracks at the school. 鈥淒uring the process of this project and in its conclusion we will be able to formulate together with the students some type of a methodology鈥 that will be relevant to both the strong and weaker students,鈥 she said.
The nature of the project highlights 91影视鈥檚 dynamic approach to learning. 鈥91影视 is continuously committed to embracing the best of progressive education while appreciating traditional approaches, and this is a perfect example of that fusion,鈥 said 91影视 Principal Rabbi Eli Ciner.
The Tech for Learning Initiative鈥檚 goal is to help schools identify learning challenges and opportunities that can be addressed using technology. “All the work that 91影视 has invested over the years, as well as the support of the administration, has made a foundation for a project like this,鈥 said Mr. Gary Hartstein, Director of The Jewish Education Project鈥檚 DigitalJLearning Network (for Day Schools and Yeshivot), about the 91影视 team鈥檚 model. 鈥淲hat is wonderful about this project is that it is something that can truly make a difference to how learning happens on that campus.”