Flip It -- Flipping in Jewish Schools

There is, as of yet, no empirical research that indicates, one way or another, the success of the flipped classroom. However, anecdotal evidence of teacher, administration and student satisfaction with the unique new learning model is causing traditional educators to sit up and take notice.

Flipped classrooms, to quote a recent New York Times article, use technology to humanize the classroom. Teachers film a short video that presents a lesson, much as a teacher would present a frontal lesson in the classroom. Students are expected to watch the lesson at home to prepare for the class -- the format enables students to watch the video as many times as they want to fully understand the new material.

The students then work on the follow-up "homework" when they come into class which enables the teacher to circle the room and help the students as they grapple with the material hands-on.

It's hard to imagine why a flipped classroom wouldn't work. All of the elements of a traditional classroom are still there -- they're just....flipped. The teacher has the student's attention as he presents the material in a frontal presentation. The student doesn't have to worry about raising her hand or asking a "dumb" question if she doesn't comprehend -- she can just watch the presentation over and over again until she understands what is being taught, or at least understands enough to know what questions she needs to ask.

The teacher-student interaction is still there, but instead of one teacher trying to re=explain subject material to individual students while the rest of the students become bored or agitated, she can allow the faster students to work at their own pace as she helps the students who need extra assistance.

How does this work for Jewish subjects in a Jewish classroom? Video presentations of the text of Chumash, Gemorah or other textual studies allow the student to mull over the material before the class begins to analyze the material together. If the teacher spends a little time creating an engaging visual presentation of the material it may further spark the students' interest and curiosity, especially if the instructor applies the ancient texts to modern applications using technological tools.

The class then meets to tackle the follow-up activities, as monitored by the instructor, offering additional opportunities to strengthen the students' comprehension and involvement in the subject material.  

"Veteran" flipped classroom teachers (the model has only been in use for the last few years) caution that the frontal educational videos should not be more than five or six minutes to allow the students to absorb the material and, if they wish, to replay the video over and over as they "meet" the new information.

While the flipped  Jewish classroom might be automatically associated with a day school environment, afternoon schools are also experimenting with the concept. The Adat Ari El Jewish Learning Center for grades K-6 began to incorporate the flipped classroom model in their center's activities last year as a way to encourage the students to explore and create. Adat Ari El sees the flipped classroom as a way to allow the school to share important content with the students and their families outside of class.

The flipped classroom has a ways to go before it's perfected but for now it's an exciting educational opportunity that will add significantly to Jewish day and afternoon school frameworks.

  

    

Web-Based Education in the Jewish Classroom

 So "what's the big deal about online education?"

It's true, that sentiment is heard less and less as increasing numbers of educators, parents and students become aware of benefits that come from including online education as part of an educational program. However there are still people who wonder, if schools managed nicely for so many years without computers, why the introduction of distance learning is of value.

This is particularly true in the world of Jewish education, both for day schools and for afternoon enrichment classes. Jewish schools tend toward tradition and that seems to account for many schools' reluctance to rely on the Internet for their educational programming. As administrators, teachers and parents see the benefits of online and blended learning programs their presence seems assured to grow within the Jewish educational system.

A 2009 U.S. Department of Education study analyzed blended education and reported that "in recent experimental and quasi-experimental studies contrasting blends of online and face-to-face instruction with conventional face-to-face classes, blended instruction has been more effective." The potential for blended and other forms of online education in the Jewish classroom increases the program's effectiveness, taking into account the unique needs and opportunities of the Jewish educational system.

Recent advancements which involve including blended learning in Jewish schools include:

The Affordable Jewish Education Project (AJE) presently includes three Jewish schools, Yeshivat He’Atid of Bergen County which launched in September 2012 and Tiferet Academy and Westchester Torah Academy which are just opening their doors this September. These schools rely heavily on blended learning to provide their student population with a high quality Jewish and secular education as they keep the tuition costs well below that of mainstream Jewish Day Schools. Long-term studies of this project will not be available for several years but in the short-term the school's supporters believe that the framework enables them to provide their students with a high quality learning environment which enhances student learning as it provides educators with tools to provide the students with a personalized learning experiences and evaluations.  

A three year study is underway at both Frisch and Yeshivat Noam to evaluate the effects of technology on Jewish education. The schools are committed to blended learning and find that it offers a high quality learning model for the majority of their students. At Frisch, via the RealSchool curriculum, students in every grade participate in a Wiki platform that integrates the various disciplines into broad themes and enables them to use this platform to create learning content while the students interact with their peers. The project includes the use of ipads and ibooks for both limudei kodesh and secular education.

The JconnecT Learning program is aimed at Jewish adolescents and pre-teens who would like to have a Hebrew School enrichment experience but either don't live in close proximity to a congregational school or have not integrated into such a framework. JconnecT students, including homeschooling Jewish students, meet every Sunday morning for a Sunday Morning Live class in which they are exposed to Hip Hop Hebraics conversational Hebrew and thoughtful introduction to and analysis of Conventional Jewish Issues. The JconnecT program partners with the Margolin Hebrew Academy of Memphis and students are invited to spend two Shabbatons at the Academy to meet and enjoy a Shabbat experience with their peers.  

Jerusalem EdTech Solutions (JETS) partners with Jewish Day Schools, afternoon schools and other public and parochial schools to present a wide range of Jewish and Israel-themed synchronous and asynchronous classes. The classes include subjects such as an analysis of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Tikkun Olam, Hip Hop Hebraics, the Ethiopian community in Israel, Jewish environmentalism, Jewish and Israel history and overviews of Jewish cultures and traditions. The program also pairs Israeli classrooms with North American classrooms in a "Shutafut" program which allows Israeli and North American students to "meet" each other virtually as they complete assignments and share ideas, concepts and impressions.