Source: YU News
How do you teach Sefer Yeshayahu (Book of Isaiah)? Fourteen yeshiva high school teachers came together on Yeshiva University’s Wilf Campus in late March to ask each other and themselves that question, under the auspices of YU’s Institute for University-School Partnership. Hailing from a range of schools across the tri-state area, the teachers were united by the subject they all taught (Navi, or The Prophets), their desire to enhance their own approach, and the opportunity to learn from others.
The group started as an offshoot of YUHSChinuchCommunity.org, one of the YU School Partnership’s seven online Communities of Practice. These online communities allow educators to organize discussions around a plethora of topics, from incorporating technology into a lesson to creating more meaningful Judaic studies classes for younger children, and provide a forum for shared experiences, ideas and questions. The Navi teachers, now meeting in person for the second time, had already been in touch with each other and additional educators for over a year as part of an online sub-group specifically for Navi teachers, where they compared the specifics of their classrooms and curricula, posted lesson plans and suggested helpful links.
At this year’s gathering, teachers presented sample lessons, explaining how they contextualized the sefer and what priorities and ideas they hoped to transfer to students. Their colleagues listened, took notes and asked questions. How could Smart board technology be manipulated to offer a layered experience for students of varying capabilities? What chapter serves best as an introduction to the material? How could the harsh mussar [rebuke] segments of the sefer be made relatable to young students?
By the end of the day, the group was already planning to visit each other’s classrooms and post their presentations online for the benefit of other Navi teachers across the country.
See the entire article at YU News.