Tracks & Workshops

Professional Tracks

The Conference workshops are organized around four different tracks based on the following target audiences:

• Novice/Intermediate Teachers: Hebrew teachers in their first three years of Hebrew language instruction
• Veteran Teachers: Teachers with four or more years in the field, advanced degrees in Hebrew & second language acquisition, or graduates of significant professional learning programs’
• Hebrew Leaders: Individuals responsible for managing the Hebrew department faculty and curriculum
• School Leaders: School heads, principals, or other instructional leaders who work primarily outside of the Hebrew department

All Conference participants are invited to attend any of the workshops offered in any one of the tracks; however, the sessions will be designed for the specific audience of the track.

Planned Workshops

Plenaries:

The Role of Input in Second Language Acquisition / Prof. Stephen Krashen, Daniella Friedman, Penny Ur
My hypothesis is that We acquire language in only one way, when we understand what we hear and what we read, when we get “comprehensible input.” I focus here on one kind of comprehensible input: Self-selected pleasure reading, especially fiction. I will share the research showing that those who read more fiction not only acquire more language, they know more about history, literature, science, and even practical matters. Fiction readers also develop more understanding of others. As journalist Terry Gross points out, when you read fiction “You’re learning to be somebody else, learning the see the world through their eyes.” 
Responds by Daniella Fridman and Penny Ur, and then there will be time for questions and comments. The session will be in English.

State of the Field Plenary
An opportunity to hear highlights from the State of the Field Report on Hebrew Language Education in North America, including research publications, and new programming from a variety of partners. The session will be in English.

Novice/Intermediate Teachers Track Options:

• Hebrew in Early Childhood: Why and How? / Vered Goldstein, Rachel Raz, Frieda Robins
  Learning Hebrew in the early years can benefit the child in many ways. It can also enhance the teaching experience of the educators and influence families’ engagement. In this session, we will explore the impact of Hebrew in early childhood education on brain development, the foundation of Jewish identity, and much more. Likewise, we will learn from practitioners in the field some best practices and leave this session with ideas and tools to bring back to our communities. The session will be in Hebrew.

• Getting them to talk in Hebrew in the Hebrew lesson / Penny Ur
  It is always a problem getting students to talk in Hebrew: they often prefer to keep silent or to express themselves in their mother tongue. In this session, I shall suggest some teaching strategies which can encourage students to express themselves in spoken Hebrew at different levels of proficiency. The session will be in English.

• Language for Everyone – Teaching Second Language to Students with Learning Disabilities / Irene Brouwer Konyndyk
  The workshop will give teachers tools and strategies to learn how to recognize students with learning issues, help understand their needs, and adapt instruction to meet those needs. Activities will include defining learning disabilities, experiencing dyslexia, and explaining a pedagogical approach that is multisensory, structured, metacognitive, with instruction that is direct and explicit. The session will be in English.

• Using contemporary Israeli culture to advance Hebrew learning / Inbal Barel, Tamar Cytryn, Mick Fine
  In this session, we will discuss a variety of opportunities to promote functioning in the Hebrew language using authentic Israeli materials. The session will be in English and Hebrew.

Advanced Teachers Track Options:

• Writing Makes You Smarter: the “Composing Process” / Prof. Stephen Krashen
  We do not develop an acceptable writing style by writing, but by input (reading). Writing itself helps thinking: Writing and revising what you write makes you smarter. Seeing the need to revise means you are about to learn something new. It is not a sign of failure but a sign of intellectual progress. The session will be in English.

• Data collection and pedagogic discussions / Kyle Ennis, Scott Goldberg, Liat Kadosh
  What are the goals/desired outcomes of your program and how are you communicating those to all stakeholders? How do you measure progress toward your stated goals? What data sets do you currently collect and how do you use that data now? How do you have administrators, teachers, and students interact with the data that you have? How are you using the data that you have to drive pedagogical planning and decisions, including professional development? These are some of the questions we will try to answer when we meet at Hitkadmut 2022. The session will be in English and Hebrew.

• Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the Hebrew Classroom / Dr. Esty Gross
  The purpose of instruction that promotes the acquisition of an additional language is to lead learners to natural and meaningful interactions for the betterment of humanity (Tikkun Olam). In this workshop we will see how, through the Hebrew language and with the help of units from the “Besod Ha-Ivrit” and “Bishivil Ha-Ivrit” CET programs, the Hebrew teacher raises awareness towards Issues of personal identity and collective identity and helps cultivate change agents who impact their local Jewish community, the Israeli society, and the world. The session will be in Hebrew.

• How to bring different Hebrew into the classroom – Diverse student-centered learning methodologies for Modern, Holiday, and Biblical Hebrew / Sharon Fruendel, Adi Barel
  The moment we accept that our lessons ought to be student-centered, questions begin to arise. This may include: What do students need in order to feel “at the center”? What does student motivation in the classroom consist of, and what are some ways to maintain it over time? What diverse methodologies can we introduce into our classrooms in order to preserve student motivation, and at the same time, to maximize the teaching of Hebrew ‘languages’, in all of its diversity? The session will be in English.

Hebrew Leaders Track Options:

• The challenges of school life together with Covid / Yael Alon, Shoshi Becker, Liat Penso
  How have schools coped with restrictions and limitations imposed by Corona including distance learning, and frequent changes? What is happening today, the “corona routine” after a period that has lasted over two years. In the meeting, we will share our findings, from an ongoing study entering the third year, which we gathered from about 300 Jewish schools in the world that study Hebrew and Judaic Studies with iTaLAM. The study describes coping, examines the main challenges the schools have faced and are facing, and compares the achievements of the students over the last three years. In the meeting, we will analyze the reasons that influenced the achievements (surprises are expected!). In addition, we will share the insights and concerns of the principals, teachers, and ours as an organization that represents the curriculum. Likewise, we will share with the principals the managerial tools we have used to manage ourselves in an ongoing state of uncertainty and how each crisis can be turned into an opportunity for success. The session will be in Hebrew and English.

• Using Research to Lead / Gila Azrad, Tal Janner-Klausner, Nir Rikman
  Come join a panel of Hebrew leaders who share their recent research and how they apply their learnings as Hebrew leaders within the Jewish Day School setting. This session will include both presentations and the opportunity to discuss how research can be applied in the field. The session will be in Hebrew

School Leaders Track Options:

• למה עברית?: Your School’s Hebrew Mission / Amy Ben Dov, Tal Gale
  Join this session designed for school leaders who wish to explore and/or sharpen their school’s Hebrew mission. In this session we will explore the multitude of roles that Hebrew can play in your school, share the latest research from the field and share processes that you can lead within your school to engage a multitude of key constituencies in the conversation around Hebrew. The session will be in English.

• The Heads Role in Advancing Hebrew Throughout the School / Judy Finkelstein-Taff, Rabbi Shaye Guttenberg, Rabbi Mitchel Malkus, Dr. Deborah Skolnick-Einhorn
  Four heads of different Jewish day school at different points in their schools’ journey to strengthen Hebrew language learning at their institutions will share their view of the Head of School’s role in leading, nurturing and supporting Hebrew language learning in a Jewish/Yeshiva Day School. The panelists will speak to questions of vision, support for Hebrew faculty, curriculum, and Hebrew integrated throughout the educational program. The session will also explore the many challenges facing day schools and the teaching of Hebrew language. Participants will be asked to engage on the session’s topic as well and gain an understanding of how four heads of school, in different environments and with different personal backgrounds view Hebrew language learning and their roles in supporting Hebrew at their schools. The session will be in English.

All sessions will be recorded and available to all Conference participants for the balance of the month of April.