Learning About Learning: Conversations with Scholars of Jewish Education

Episode 46: Judaism Mediated: Learning About Jewishness Through the Cultural Arts

How do Jews and non-Jews learn about Judaism through the cultural arts? In their new book, Laura Yares and Sharon Avni explore how engagement in cultural, digital, and le

Episode 45: The Impact of Everyday Antisemitism

Reports from research centers and in the media make it clear that overt antisemitic incidents have surged on college campuses since October 7. But what about those subtle

Episode 44: Spotlight on Israel Education Research

What, if anything, can be considered “best practice” in Israel education? What are the challenges of learning about Israel in every stage of life? In this session, we exp

Episode 43: Why Teaching Jewish Texts is Not Enough

The heart of Jewish education, it seems, is the study of the Jewish textual tradition, or what insiders call “learning Torah.” There are good reasons to think about Jewis

Episode 42: Jewish Educators’ Responses to "You Never Told Me"

In this session, we explore insights into how Israel educators from Jewish high schools across the denominational spectrum approach teaching modern Israel in response to

Episode 41: Teaching and Learning in Jewish Day Schools Book Launch

What does the latest research in teaching and learning in Jewish day schools reveal about what’s going on in classrooms today? For this webinar, respondents Daniel Held (

Episode 40: How the Conflict Shapes the Israeli Classroom

In a time of continued war and exhaustion, how are teachers in Israel teaching, and what do they prioritize in their classrooms? In a longitudinal study, scholars Ziva Ha

Episode 39: Spotlight on Jewish Education Two Years After October 7

Two years after October 7, that date seems to mark a watershed in Jewish life around the world, including in North America. In this session, we explore how American Jewis

Episode 38: What Rabbinical Students Say They Need From Their Training

Spiritual formation has long been considered an important part of theological education for seminary students in Christian contexts, but what about students in Jewish sem

Episode 37: Bringing the Big World into the Little Classroom

What issues in the contemporary world matter most to Jewish children, and how do children make sense of these issues? How do educators make sense of children’s ideas and

Episode 36: Antisemitism on Campus After October 7

In this special event, authors from a themed issue of Journal of Jewish Education discuss their articles on antisemitism on college campuses since October 7. The issue sp

Episode 35: Spotlight on Contemporary Jewish Theology

Recent years have witnessed an impressive outpouring of important new work in contemporary Jewish theology. In this Spotlight Session, we gather four leading scholars, ea

Episode 34: Fraternities and Sororities as Jewish Communal Spaces | Dr. Jenny Small

Traditionally-Jewish fraternities and sororities are not often considered sites of Jewish community. In this session, Jenny L. Small discusses findings from interviews wi

Episode 33: Using Both/And Thinking to Repair a Rift in Jewish Education | Dr. Tali Zelkowicz

The field of Jewish education has now been split into two sub-fields, referred to as “formal” or “informal” (or “experiential”) education. But this division is artificial

Episode 32: Fluid Meanings of the Yarmulke Across Educational Contexts | Dr. Anastasia Badder

In her article, "When a Yarmulke Stands for All Jews: Navigating Shifting Signs from Synagogue to School in Luxembourg," Anastasia Badder asks: How do congregational scho

Episode 31: Jewish Creativity: An Essential Aspiration for Jewish Education | Professor Miriam Heller Stern

Habits of creative thinking have sustained the Jewish people through centuries of crisis and opportunity. How might the enterprise of Jewish education reclaim and teach c

Episode 30: Spotlight on Jewish Education after October 7

The attack on October 7th, the ensuing war, and the changed environment in the US have all led to questions about how American Jewish educational institutions have respon

Episode 28: How American Activists Helped Free Soviet Jews | Professor Shaul Kelner

In his recent book, Shaul Kelner recounts the compelling stories of heroism that helped to free Soviet Jews. In this session, he discusses how this activism reached Jewis

Episode 29: How Educators Can Overcome Barriers to Engaging with the Conflict | Dr. Keren Fraiman

There is a growing consensus that successful and holistic Israel education demands a sophisticated and nuanced engagement with critical questions within Israel, and in pa

Episode 27: Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field | Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold

How do educators from differing pedagogical orientations learn, undertake, and ultimately improve the work of teaching Israel? In this conversation, Teaching Israel: Stud