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Mark Young describes what sounds like a very stimulating training program for emerging experiential Jewish educators. Kol HaKavod! My questions are what is the difference between experiential Jewish education and “good” Jewish education? Are these six strands common places for how we envision what good Jewish education looks like or are they unique for experiential Jewish education?
In reading your excellent piece Mark, I am wondering why Bible study, text study in general, isn’t thought of as experiential education? At least the way I approach it, it would fit your criteria and also your evaluative questions. I hope you’ll come to NewCAJE this summer and share your thinking with Jewish educators.
Yasher koach on developing this program and thinking seriously about the professional training of our experiential Jewish educators. My question is where does child/adolescent development fall into the six strands? In order for experiential Jewish educators to develop meaningful, reflective, growthful experiences, we need to know who our learners are – what capacities and limitations they have, physically, cognitively, spiritually, emotionally, etc.
Another question: Does this training embody an educational philosophy, or just a methodology or set of methodologies? What role does content play in being Visionary – or is this “content neutral” in some way?
What is the relationship between experiential learning and service learning? Curious. Is there overlap? (I suspect so.) Is that overlap reflected in any curricula or planning documents? If so, please share!
Mark, I have loved learning about the experiential program from you and current Davidson students. As a recent Davidson graduate who has grappled with the question of “what is experiential Jewish education?” I wonder if we’re overlooking the fact that powerful experiential learning doesn’t need to be tied to a specific setting, and we do a disservice to the Jewish community when we speak of experiential education in such a limited way. We know that camp works. We know how powerful a visit to a museum can be. But we also know that a small percentage of Jewish families are getting their Jewish education in camp, and that not everyone has access to museums like the Museum of Jewish Heritage. I feel privileged to be working for the Jewish Education Project, where I work with congregations to create new, alternative models of Jewish education, in which I see all six of the experiential education strands you mention above, coming to play for families that have chosen the synagogue as their primary Jewish educational institution. I have, for years, been a committed “camp person,” both personally and professionally, but through my work with The Jewish Education Project’s Network of Innovating Congregations, I now have a deep appreciation for what can happen in a synagogue when experiential education is done a meaningful, thoughtful, and intentional way.
I am honored by all of you who read and commented on the article. I am eager to respond. Each deserves a full response and conversation. For now, I’ll provide a sentence or two of my thoughts per comment.
Jeff-. We struggled with the same question! I would say that good Jewish experiential education should embody these strands, but that you can also practice good education without having it be experiential, i.e. sometimes frontal is the best way to go, and that wouldn’t necessarily have facilitation and reflection (for example). In this sense the six strands are unique to Jewish experiential education, but also can represent good educational practice in general.
Cherie – I can’t see why it couldn’t! My view is that bible and text study in itself isn’t by default experiential, but it could be taught experientially (or not). Examples, listening to a lecture on Exodus might not be experiential learning but facilitating an activity with this content and then having the learners reflect might then be Jewish experiential learning. I hope to attend NewCAJE!
Laura – Completely agreed! I’d say to be intentional educators and to educate for your learners Holistic Jewish Growth, you have to study and be cognizant of your learners learning styles and the social-emotional learning and child/adolescent development variables at play. All of our Master’s students take a full semester course on this topic as part of their studies.
Ed – To your first question, I would say both. Experiential learning can include specific methodologies that are supported by the educational philosophies we study from Dewey, Fox, Chazan, Reimer, and Brymfan and others. (this certainly deserves a longer response). To your second, understanding and presenting the content in accessible and meaningful ways is key in being a visionary in my view (again , longer response deserved!)
Charles – Yes! One of our seminar sessions was devoted to service-learning and social-justice education. The session, led by Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay of AVODAH, spoke both of the uniqueness of of Jewish service-learning and it’s overlap and connection to Jewish experiential education.
Shana – Completely agreed! Our program both promotes and further professionalizes the work of educators in “informal” settings and the use of experiential learning across the Jewish educational landscape. In retrospect, I should have had one example in the article be “an experiential learning activity in a day school or synagogue classroom.” Your work at the Jewish Education Project is indeed exceptional and another opportunity to apply to the six strands framework to our study of Jewish experiential education.
An excellent article and synthesis of informal Jewish education. I particularly like the emphasis on accessibility of Jewish content. It is important to make Jewish content relevant and engaging. I am curious what your thoughts are on the role of the group in experiential Jewish education?
Thank you Alex! I appreciate your positive feedback. In regards to your inquiry, my opinion is that while the group may not be needed for one to engage in Jewish experiential learning (example: I can go to Israel, experience it as a lone-traveler and reflect personally in a journal, learning from my reflection), I believe that it is much more powerful if facilitated in a group. Chazan, Reimer, and Bryfman all stress this in their writings and, I think this is exemplified in the group experiences of camp, youth groups, even classrooms, with students sharing with and learning from each other. This is part of the reason Dr. Kress and I have stressed the “cohort-based” learning of our master’s program. All of our students come with various backgrounds and interests, and they are as much educators for each other as we are for them. So, in summary, my view is that the group doesn’t necessarily make it Jewish experiential education, but it certainly makes Jewish experiential education more effective and impactful, hence why it is such a core part of our training.