The Moriah School will hold its second Educator’s Experience for educators from Jewish day schools around the country on November 15. The Educator’s Experience provides Jewish day school administrators and teachers with a professional-development opportunity to observe personalized learning in real time and begin to contemplate how to incorporate some of the methods that they see into their own practice.
Personalized learning is instruction that offers pedagogy, curriculum and learning environments to meet the individual student’s needs. Data drives instruction so that every student is challenged to learn and grow in a unique and distinct fashion. Moriah has established itself as a leader in the field of personalized learning.
Education professionals who participate in the Educator’s Experience begin their day with Rabbi Alter, Moriah’s head of school, who explains the educational theory and Moriah philosophy behind the personalized learning program. They then visit a number of classrooms to observe personalized learning in practice, in both general studies and Judaic classes. They have the opportunity to ask questions about room set-up, student groupings, curriculum and digital content throughout the day. The day ends with an opportunity to discuss the program with a number of Moriah teachers whom they have observed so that they can ask deeper questions about what they viewed.
The Moriah School received a major grant from three foundations five years ago. These foundations, the Avi Chai Foundation, the Kohelet Foundation and Affordable Jewish Education, were looking for schools that could use technology effectively towards enhancing student learning. This transformative grant changed the way teachers at Moriah educate. Technology is now used as a tool to ensure that every student is challenged at their own unique level with materials that are adapted for them. “We were so excited about the positive changes in student learning taking place at Moriah that we felt a responsibility to share what we gained with the wider yeshiva day school community,” said Lauren Adler, coordinator of instructional technology and the force behind the program. “We receive calls from schools around the country looking to learn from us and replicate our practice on a regular basis.”
The inspiration for the Educator’s Experience originated in Boulder, Colorado. “I brought a number of Moriah faculty members to Boulder last year to observe a school that was doing innovative work,” said Rabbi Alter. “We participated in one of their educator visit days and loved the framework. So we brought the concept back to Moriah.” Moriah now runs two Educator’s Experience days every year.
Becoming a leader in the field of yeshiva day school education has been a priority at Moriah for a number of years. According to Evan Sohn, a former board president, this was an important agenda item for Rabbi Alter. “A number of years ago, when we were searching for a new head of school, Rabbi Alter presented a compelling vision to us of a school that sets the bar for school excellence in numerous metrics, not just for our own school community, but for the entire Jewish day school world. The vision of a school that sets our own children up for success emotionally, spiritually and academically was exciting in its own right. The idea of becoming a lab school that sets the bar and allows others in to learn from us, was an extremely ambitious vision and it is exciting to see it come to fruition.”
Moriah faculty have presented on the topic of personalized learning at national conventions such as INACOL (International Association for K-12 Online Learning), at a special meeting for the AVICHAI board of directors and on webinars and classes geared towards school leaders around the country.
The Educator’s Experience is so popular that both the fall and spring session are at capacity. Moriah is presently creating a waiting list for those who want to visit next fall. To sign up to visit next year, please contact Lauren Adler at [email protected].
