Rabbi Moshe Shulman is Spiritual Leader of the Young Israel of St. Louis and the founding Head of School of Yeshivat Kadimah High School.

Background

In developing a new Modern Orthodox high school in St. Louis, Yeshivat Kadimah, one of our policy decisions was gender separation in Jewish Studies classes. This policy, common in Orthodox Jewish education, was adopted primarily for religious, ideological reasons but included the potential for educational benefits as discussed in contemporary professional literature (Benders, 2012; Sadker and Sadker, 1994, Tricket, 1982). The implementation of the this policy, however, also brought with it challenges inherent in small schools that maintain single sex classrooms, both with regard to budgetary concerns and vis-à-vis educational issues, such as small class sizes and the related impact on classroom dynamics.

Distance learning: An innovative solution

As luck would have it, 21st century technology offers a unique solution to a challenge that predates the technological age. As a synagogue Rabbi, I became acquainted with an online Sunday school program called JconnecT in which students from various parts of North America study Jewish topics together in a virtual classroom, each student working at his/her own computer. Why couldn’t similar technology allow students in different classrooms to study together? After contacting Smadar Goldstein, the director of JETS (Jerusalem EdTech Solutions), the distance learning provider that delivers the JconnecT program, the pilot Contemporary Jewish Issues class at Yeshivat Kadimah was born.

The Contemporary Jewish Issues class examines issues facing the modern Jewish community in light of traditional Jewish sources and similar issues that arose at other times in Jewish history. It is delivered in a multi-station distance learning format to two single sex classes, one that includes 5 girls and one that includes 6 boys. Each student works at his/her own laptop, but the course is highly interactive. The online teacher, Smadar, utilizes the Webex computer conferencing platform which allows for a live synchronous presentation and a lively discussion. She also utilizes a Haiku LMS (learning management system) and a variety of online tools that enable students to enter and save their work and to learn collaboratively. Smadar utilizes a variety of written, audio, and video tools that allow for differentiation and enrich the way in which students brainstorm, share information, and give feedback on each other’s work. It is wonderful to see the high degree of student engagement that this engenders.

In addition to facilitating our religious requirements, the distance learning approach brings with it additional educational advantages. We have found that the webconferencing platform provides neutral ground where all students feel comfortable participating without the intimidation that might prevail in the coeducational classroom setting, where collaborative learning takes place naturally in a socially uncharged atmosphere, and where active participation is maximized by the LMS that enables students to respond concurrently to the teacher and to each other. Clearly, the learning dynamic created within a coeducational group of 11 students is much richer than the dynamic that would exist in separate single sex groups of 5 or 6 students each.

What does it look like?

I think it worthwhile to demonstrate the approach and its outcomes with an anecdotal illustration.

One of the most important and successful elements of the class is that the students are continuously encouraged to read each other’s posts, exchange ideas and provide feedback. These activities strengthen each participant’s own grasp of the subject material while adding to the learning process for the entire class.

During the first semester of the class, the students learned about the destruction of the Second Temple and the debates that raged among the Jews of Jerusalem as to whether to negotiate with the Romans or try to hold on to Jerusalem at all costs. They reviewed biblical and rabbinic sources relating to the issues involved and historical precedents, as well as the historical events that transpired at the time, including Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai’s escape from the city and his negotiation with Vespasian that ultimately enabled him to reestablish the Sanhedrin in Yavneh. This served as the basis for students to consider the implications regarding the current “Land for Peace” debate going on in Israel. The students were asked to prepare an online debate on “Why Israel should give up land or prisoners for peace” or “Why Israel should not give up land or prisoners for peace.”

The students researched and expressed their opinions on the various moves that Israel has made in the past – the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, the disengagement from Gaza, and various prisoner exchanges including the exchange for Gilad Shalit. As part of the assignment, they were to support their opinions with historical examples and quotes from biblical and rabbinic sources. Students were then required to critique each other’s’ positions. Thus, for example, while one student cited a biblical source that in his opinion would discourage the idea of negotiating land for peace, another raised the contemporary issue of world opinion, while yet another reflected on the ramifications of previous deals made by Israel. These exchanges not only help the students to develop informed opinions on important contemporary issues, but also enrich the learning of the classical texts and of historical events.

One might ask: “Couldn’t the same type of learning take place in a classroom discussion without the use of distance learning or online learning tools?” In our case, as I pointed out earlier, the use of distance and online learning enriches the discussion by enabling us to conduct it among a larger and more heterogeneous population. Beyond that, however, I believe that the online discussion is inherently more meaningful than the classroom discussion. For one, it is a discussion that generates total student participation, both because all students feel more comfortable participating in the debate, and also because their participation can be required and documented. Secondly, the fact that the discussion takes place over a longer time period leads to more profound questions and comments, and more thought out responses. When students agree with one another, they feel validated and enjoy the group support. When students disagree, they are challenged to present their views more deeply. Often, students will end up changing their minds after sharing additional evidence to support their points of view.

While we as professionals have observed these benefits, we hear them from student feedback, as well. Students attest that they “love learning from one another”, and that the ability to learn collaboratively allows them to “review ideas I wouldn’t have thought of myself”. Others expressed delight at the opportunity to debate asynchronously: “My absolute favorite thing is the lino boards (see http://en.linoit.com/) and discussion forums where we can express our opinions on controversial issues.” A number of students felt that the added value of the online discussion is the feeling that they are free to “utilize my own creativity” and “express who I am.”

Conclusion

In many ways, the learning that has been created in our distance learning classroom reflects the havruta approach that has been fostered in yeshivot for centuries. The havruta (lit. “friendship” or “companionship”) approach is a traditional rabbinic approach to Talmudic study in which a pair of students studying in a beit midrash analyze, discuss, and debate a shared text. The educational value of the approach is summarized as follows in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chavrusa):

Unlike conventional classroom learning, in which a teacher lectures to the student and the student memorizes and repeats the information back in tests, and unlike an academic academy, where students do independent research, chavrusa (sic) learning challenges the student to analyze and verbally explain the material, point out the errors in his partner’s reasoning, and question and sharpen each other’s ideas, often arriving at entirely new insights into the meaning of the text. A chavrusa (sic) helps the student stay awake, keep his mind focused on the learning, sharpen his reasoning powers, develop his thoughts into words, and organize his thoughts into logical arguments. This type of learning also imparts precision and clarity into ideas that would otherwise remain vague. Having to listen to, analyze and respond to another’s opinion inculcates respect for others.

The havruta approach is essentially a very successful example of social learning that has been advocated by Vigotsky (1978) and his followers in the last half century.

In recent decades, women have taken their place in the area of Torah study, particularly in the modern Orthodox world, and have made great contributions to the field. Yet, gender-separated education, favored by many in the Orthodox community, has been an obstacle to cross gender social learning as described above. As a result, there are situations, particularly in smaller communities and educational institutions, in which the level of Torah study and Jewish education has had to be sacrificed on the altar of gender separation. With the modern tools and methods fostered by distance and online learning, we have succeeded in creating a “virtual beit midrash” model that maximizes the value of heterogeneous social learning while maintaining gender separation and the educational value that is also inherent in it. Essentially, modern technology has allowed us to benefit from the best of both worlds.

References

Benders, D. S. (2012). A review of gender-segregated classrooms in public schools. Union College – Educational Studies Unit.

Sadker, D. and Sadker, M. (1994). Failing in Fairness: How America’s Schools Cheat Girls. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Trickett, E. J., Trickett, P. K., Castro, J. J., and Schaffner, P. (1982) The independent school experience: Aspects of the normative environments of single-sex and coed secondary schools,” Journal of Educational Psychology (73)13, 374-381.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.