Thinking outside the box moreh lmorim 2011

Thinking Outside the Box: Models of Innovation in Congregational Education

presented by Jeffrey Lasday, DirectorAlliance for Jewish Education

[email protected]

Innovations in Congregational Education Federation’s Alliance for Jewish Education

Unlocking your mind for innovation



What are our hidden assumptions?


The Egg Carton School


What would it take for us to recreate or re-envision “school”?


Communication Revolution 1439


• Renaissance

• Reformation

• Scientific Revolution

• Knowledge Based Economy

Adaptive Change vs. Transformative Change



Adaptive Change

Transformative Change


Which one are you?

Digital natives and

Digital immigrants

~Marc Prensky


Mobile is the “NEW Digital”

“The kids these days are not digital kids. The digital kids were in the 90’s. The kids today are mobile, and there’s a difference. Digital is the old way of thinking. Mobile is the new way.”

~Dr. Elliot Soloway, University of Michigan School of Education


Mobile is the “NEW Digital”

In a recent survey by security software maker AVG of children from the United States and around world between the ages two – five:

19% of parents reported that their child could use a Smartphone application

9% of parents reported that their child could tie his/her shoe

A 2010 Nielson study found that teenagers are sending or receiving an average of 3,339 texts a month

(an average of 111 texts per day)


Today’s Hebrew School is not your father’s Hebrew school, . . . . . nor is it the school that you remember.


What are your “What ifs?”


What if . . . .Our goal was to “expand” Jewish time?


What if . . .we were to reconsider Jewish education for the 21st century?


What if . . . .parents wanted a Hebrew school with “more” hours instead of less?


What if Hebrew school was more like camp?


What if . . . .Hebrew School was just like camp?


What if . . . Hebrew school was like scouting?


Innovations in Congregational Education

What if . . . . . students could learn Hebrew in their pjs without having to leave home through on-line

learning?

Federation’s Alliance for Jewish Education

What if . . . . congregations, the Jewish Federation and the JCC developed a collaborative model for

Jewish education?

Kehillah Partnership

The Kehillah

Partnership of Northern

New Jersey is an

innovative, community-

wide effort to build a

stronger and more

engaged Jewish

community across ...



What if professional development for teachers included shopping at Macys?


Partnership

for Effective

Learning and

Innovative

Education-

PELIE


What if . . . .we wanted to create a movement for change in congregational education?


What if . . . . I want to learn more and be part of the national conversation?

Jewish Education Change Networkwww.jedchange.net

A Network for individuals involved in making positive change in Jewish education.


“The best way to predict the future is to invent it” – computer pioneer Alan Kay


“I wonder if I've been changed in the night?

Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning?

I almost think I can remember feeling a little different.

But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?‘

Ah, that's the great puzzle!”


-Alice, from Alice in Wonderland


??? Questions ???


As a group come up with 5 questions

about one of the innovative models :

o Keshero Hebrew Wizardso Yerushao iLearno Kehillah Partnershipo Shir Shalom