Jewish Portal of
Teacher Education
The online resource of pedagogical and academic content on teaching and Jewish education
Jewish Portal of Teacher Education
Articles of the week
This year’s MOFET online seminar for the teaching of Hebrew to beheld between January 7 – 17, 2019, will focus on assessment and challenges it poses to teachers and to the planning of learning processes. Assessment is a central component in teaching and learning processes, and in order to perform it correctly and effectively, professional knowledge and mastery of skills are required. In the field of language instruction in general and teaching Hebrew as an additional language, special issues must be addressed, including: How to assess the mastery of language skills (reading comprehension, listening comprehension, written expression, and verbal expression)? Which methods of assessment are appropriate and which are not appropriate? How can technological applications help evaluate?
We look at the new Jewish education ‘laboratory’ at the Kaplen JCC midway through its inaugural year. Starting a school — going from the daydream to the absolute reality of actual ninth-graders looking at you expectantly one September day — is an extraordinary achievement. You get to shape students’ lives. That’s what Tikvah Wiener of Teaneck did with the Idea School, a new Jewish high school whose freshman class started in September. The school’s set at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly; the intergenerational programming inside the building and the wooded acres outside seem a necessary part of it.
Tu B’Shvat, the new year for the trees, begins Sunday evening, January 20, 2019 and is celebrated through sundown on Monday, January 21, 2019. The resources below, including the newly updated 2019 Hazon Tu B’Shvat Haggadah, offer thoughts and ideas to help you celebrate Tu B’Shvat in your home or community. The texts, questions, activities, and suggestions below can serve as guides for viewing Tu B’Shvat through fresh eyes and recontextualizing the tradition.