<HTML>In preparing middle or high school students for Israel trips, folks might
consider using a problem-based learning (PBL) or constructivist model.
This is something I found to be enormously powerful when I taught middle
school kids in a strictly Montessori (obviously, non-Jewish) setting. The
staff gave the students certain guidelines, of course, but basically put
the trip in their hands. They planned which activities, in what time
frames, researched the sites they wanted to see, all according to
guidelines set by staff. Staff were more facilitators and resources than
didacts. The trip was (and has been for years) extremely successful
educationally and socially. Debriefing and building educationally on the
trip were also very successful.
Rob Toren
Samis Foundation
Seattle, WA</HTML>
