Graphic Organizers

Definition: 1. A visual organizer such as a map, web, chart, or diagram that shows 
                    relationships.
                2. A tool used to arrange thoughts and ideas in an orderly fashion.

One of the biggest challenges we face in the classroom is keeping our student's focus and attention, both during class discussions and during class work time.  It is hard for students of any age to focus for long periods of time, especially if they are only being asked to listen.  While some students are oral learners, very few can actually retain the information that they hear without doing something else with it.  Random facts are quickly lost. However, the brain's ability to store pictures is unlimited. Since the brain likes to chunk information, the graphic organizer complements the way the brain naturally works.  Graphic organizers help students organize and retain information, and

most importantly from a classroom management perspective- they also help students focus. 

 

Click here to read the entire article.

The "perfect" metaphor. Joey Heyman (Cohort 9) was teaching her 7^th grade Mishnah class at Greenfield Hebrew Academy in Atlanta. In trying to explain Tosefta, she referred to them as the film clips that were deleted from the film/left on the floor of the editing room.
 

Seeing's believing. Ariel Wolgel (Cohort 7)  uses a lot of visuals with her 6^th grade Mishnah class at Hillel Academy in Farmington Hills, MI. To give the students a better sense of what m'kalkelin b'reshut harabim (Bava Kama 3:3) meant, Ariel used several pictures (courtesy of Google Images) that showed littering in a public place. To teach them how littering or leaving animal droppings in reshut harabim (also Bava Kama 3:3) can affect a community, the students watched a news clip about the lack of clean drinking water in Haiti. During a lesson on Avot, in order to help them understand the Mishnah's view on who is considered wealthy, she showed a video of Alice the oldest living Holocaust survivor who says that she is the richest person in the world because she appreciates what she has.
 

Highlights of learning. Reuven Margrett  (cohort 6) has a wall of his classroom at The Frankel Academy in Detroit dedicated to highlights of the students' Talmudic learning thus far. It is exciting (even for high school students) to see the number of topics on the wall expand as the year progresses. We too often 'lose sight of the forest for the trees', and this type of visual prompt reminds our students that they are actually making progress.

We are still accepting applications for The New Pardes Summer Curriculum Workshop Fellowship Program. This summer we will have five non-PEP fellows who will study alongside our novice teachers. Click here for information to share with your colleagues.  As this newsletter goes to print we only have one space remaining.

We invite all our graduates of Cohorts 8 and 9 (and any others who are entering their second or third year in the classroom) to join us. Please be in touch with Debra.
 

 
Profile of a "Missing" Day School Teacher

Name:           David Harris-Gershon

Cohort:            2

Backround:    Upon completion of the Pardes Educators Program in 2003, Mr.

                    Harris-Gershon (referred to as Mr. H.G.) moved to Washington, DC,

                    where he taught middle school and high school for three years at the

                    Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. Reports indicate that he thrived at

                    this school, crafting experiential learning models, such as FBI agencies

                    for textual explorations and publishing simulations for the creation of

                    perushim.

Missing:        At some point in 2006, Mr. H.G. went missing, disappearing from public

                    view.He may have moved his family to the coast of North Carolina, writing 

                    and taking creative writing classes, though none of this has been   

                    confirmed and Mr. H.G. appears to no longer be there.

Sightings:       Recently, reports have come in that Mr. H.G. has resurfaced in the Jewish

                    teaching world, at a local day school in Pittsburgh. Sources claim he may  

                    be attempting to teach fourth and fifth graders. (Attempting being the  

                    operative word.)

Contact:          If you spot Mr. H.G., contact Pardes or Avi Chai and confirm for them  

                    that Mr. H.G. has returned to the day school classroom. 

David currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA with his wife, Jamie

(Cohort 2) and their two children, Mayan and Tali. David teaches at the Community Day School of Pittsburgh.

We are working to create new opportunities for our more experienced educators.  Each year we hope to begin an initiative in a specific area of our work as educators, providing a stipend for those involved.  This year we have begun our Tefilah Action Research initiative in which we have 12 graduates participating.  We will continue to update you on our progress and will be prepared to present our insights into the field of Tefilah in day schools in the fall.

We are beginning to think about an initiative for next year.  If you have ideas for a topic, please be in touch with Amanda

 

The Second Annual Joint Day School Conference will be held in Los Angeles, from February 6-8, 2011. The Institute for University-School Partnership, RAVSAK, the Schechter Association and PARDeS will co-sponsor the event.

David Bernstein, Judy Markose, Amanda Pogany and Susan Wall will be attending the conference. In addition to networking on behalf of our graduates, the staff will be meeting with groups of school heads and Judaic Studies directors to

discuss the future needs of the field, in order to further envision the future of PEP. Please let us know if:

1. You would like us to network for you for job possibilities.
2. You will be attending the conference, so we can be sure to invite you to an alumni get together.

William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education and the Department of Hebrew Language at JTS are offering a unique opportunity from June 27-July 22, 2011 for 15 qualified day school teachers to enter a Hebrew immersion program geared for teaching Judaic studies in grades K-12.Click here for more information and an application.

Ptil Tekhelet is putting together a special Partners in Innovation program, designed to bring exciting learning opportunities to the U.S. Please contact Joel Gruberman for more information.

Faculty Member, Levi Cooper, was recently appointed as Contributing Editor of the Lookstein Educational Leadership Journal.  You can read his latest article entitled:

Technology Replacing Upgrading Teachers here. (You may need the Lookstein log-in information to read it.)

Call for papers for the next Educational Leadership Journal. Click here for details.
 

The Lookstein Center is now on Facebook.  Click like and you will receive periodic updates.
 

Many of you have been enjoying the Spertus College E-Library and the Lookstein Center e-Community.

The Feinberg E-Collection contains the full-text of nearly 16,000 books and 25,000 articles in the area of Jewish studies. Please be in touch with Debra for the user-name and password for both of these resources. Check the website for additional educational resources.