Adult Education Resources – Selected Bibliography

  • by: Rivkah Lambert Adler, Ph.D.

Prepared by: Rivkah Lambert Adler, Ph.D. , Director of Adult Education
Center for Jewish Education

Print Materials – Adult Jewish Learning

Internet Materials – Adult Jewish Learning

Internet Resources – National Adult Learning Programs

Internet Resources – Community-Based Adult Learning Programs

Print Materials – General Adult Learning

Print Materials – Adult Jewish Learning

Aron, Isa. Becoming a Congregation of Learners. Jewish Lights. 2000.
Cohen, Steven M. and Aryeh Davidson. Adult Jewish Learning in America: Current Patterns and Prospects for Growth. JCCA/JTSA, 2001.
Epstein, Maxine. “Communities of Learning“. Journal of Jewish Communal Service, v. 74, no. 4, Summer 1998. pp. 228-232.
Hyman, Paula. Who is an Educated Jew? Sh’ma. February 2002.
JESNA. Adult Jewish Learning Reader. 1993. Out-of-print.
Olitzky, Rabbi Kerry and Rabbi Ronald Isaacs. Rediscovering Judaism: Bar & Bat Mitzvah for Adults: A course of Study. KTAV. 1997.
Peerless, Shmuel. To Study and to Teach., 2003. ISBN: 965-7108-55-1
An analysis of the methodology Nechama Leibowitz used to teach Torah to adults.
Reimer, Joseph. Succeeding at Jewish Education: How One Synagogue Made It Work. JPS. 1997. See Chapter 2 – “Educating the Adults”.
Schuster, Diane Tickton. Jewish Lives, Jewish Living: Adult Jewish Learning in Theory and Practice. UAHC Press, 2003.

Internet Materials – Adult Jewish Learning

Aron, Ph.D., Isa. Becoming a Congregation of Learners. Jewish Lights. 2000.
http://www.eceonline.org/
JESNA. Agenda: Jewish Education, A Decade of Adult Jewish Learning, No. 12. 1999. http://archive.jesna.org//pdfs/agenda_12.pdf
JESNA. Spotlight on Adult Jewish Learning
http://archive.jesna.org/pdfs/sl_adult.pdf
Keller, Carolyn. “From the Outside In:” Adult Jewish Learning An examination of the renewed interest in adult Jewish learning. Sh’ma. November 2000.
Schuster, Diane Tickton. Placing Adult Jewish Learning at the Center. JESNA. Agenda: Jewish Education, Renaissance and Renewal, No. 16, Summer 2003.
http://archive.jesna.org//pdfs/agenda_16.pdf
UAHC Anfei Ha-Etz. Journal materials for adult Jewish learning, designed for Reform congregations. http://urj.org/educate/anfei/

Internet Resources – National Adult Learning Programs

CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership
Extensive Adult Educational materials and courses are offered covering a wide variety of topics. Through its Community and Leadership Development Series, its Institute for Professional Education and its Institute for Policy Development, CLAL has become a leader in Jewish Adult Education.
Edah
Lots of great essays here from a Modern Orthodox perspective.
JESNA
Go to this site and do a search on “adult ed” for a listing of Internet resources, including specific programs in other communities.
Jewish Learning Institute
Currently operating at over 200 locations. Each year, three courses are offered concurrently at all of its locations, creating an international “dialogue” in Jewish learning.
Me’ah
A two-year text-based course designed for adults who want to dig more deeply into Jewish history and thought.
Melitz
MELITZamerica is a program that brings visiting educators to local communities for an intensive Israel/Jewish identity learning experience. MELITZamerica offers Jewish education and leadership from Israel.
The Florence Melton Adult Mini-School
The Florence Melton Adult Mini-School is the largest pluralistic adult Jewish education network in the world.

Internet Resources – Community-Based Adult Learning Programs

Community Foundation for Jewish Education, Chicago
CFJE coordinates an innovative two-year program of adult Jewish learning for members of the Metropolitan Chicago community.
Lehrhaus Judaica
Lehrhaus Judaica is a unique non-denominational Jewish studies adult school. Every course is open to the general public, and all interested adults are welcome, regardless of age, religion, or ethnicity.
Dawn R. Schuman Institute, Chicago
The Dawn R. Schuman Institute of the Community Foundation for Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit organization devoted to Jewish adult education. Our mission is to reach more Jews and help each one find deeper meaning in Jewish life and learning.

Print Materials – General Adult Learning

Apps, Jerold W., Mastering The Teaching of Adults, 1991. ISBN: 0-89464-558-7
Coaching for teacher of adults to become better teachers. Includes specific classroom strategies.
Brookfield, Stephen D., Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning, 1986. ISBN: 1-55542-355-8
A guide for the facilitator of adult learning.
Brookfield, Stephen D., The Skillful Teacher, 1990. ISBN: 0-7879-5605-8
Insights and practical suggestions for teachers who educate adults.
King, Kathleen P. and Lawler, Patricia A., New Perspectives on Designing and Implementing Professional Development of Teachers of Adults, 2003. ISBN: 0-7879-6918-4
Reviews current research on designing and producing professional development programs for those who teach adults.
Knowles, Malcolm, Holton III, Elwood F. and Swanson, Richard A., The Adult Learner, Fifth Edition, 1998, ISBN: 0-88415-115-8
The definitive classic in adult education.
Merriam, Sharan B. and Caffarella, Rosemary S. Learning In Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide, 1999 ISBN: 0-7879-1043-0
A comprehensive, up-to-date overview and synthesis of what we now know about adult learning.
Merriam, Sharan B., The New Update on Adult Learning Theory, 2001.
ISBN: 0-7879-5773-9
Reviews the contributions of the last decade in expanding our understanding of adult learning.