21st Century Learning at Ida Crown Jewish Academy: 2016-2017
At Ida Crown, we understand that 21st Century Learning is about the four C's.
Communication
Collaboration
Creativity
Critical Thinking
Whether it's an iPad, Chromebook or a device brought from home, students connect and learn at the new ICJA.
This Summer
10 Teachers attended intensive professional development funded by the George Shay Endowment for Excellence in Arts & Sciences
in Project-Based Learning
Project-Based Learning is a revolutionary approach to teaching. Units are designed based on a driving question or challenge that includes a real world connection. Questions might be as broad as "What is truth?" or as specific as "Is the water in Chicago potable and if not, how do we fix it?" Through an inquiry-based process teachers and students set about learning content that will assist them in answering their chosen question. Student voice and choice is embedded into the project and may involve variance in topics pursued, final products or ways to demonstrate mastery. Student work undergoes a rigorous process of feedback and revision and finally, it is presented to an authentic audience. This may be another class within the school, administrators, parents or experts within the field.
Rabbi Segal arranged for several speakers to Skype to the group and share their knowledge. The first was Tikvah Wiener, Chief Academic Officer at Magen David Yeshivah High School and founder of the I.D.E.A. Schools Network. The second was Marc Fein, Coordinator of the ATID Accelerator at PresenTense. Lastly, Rabbi Tzvi Pittinsky and Mrs. Ahuva Mantell of the Frisch School shared their experiences implementing PBL.
Additionally, Rabbi Binyomin Segal and Mrs. Olivia Friedman attended ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education's conference.
There, they were joined by Jewish Educators from around the country. Thanks to the AviChai foundation's generous sponsorship of meals, it was easy to make connections and find out more about best practices in implementing 21st century learning in the classroom and beyond.
This year
Get excited for
- Interdisciplinary project-based learning units
- Subject-specific project-based learning units
- Creative uses of websites & apps in the classroom
- Fostering of the four Cs throughout ICJA curriculum & education!
Want to learn more?
Please contact
- Dr. Rochelle Green, Director of 21st Century Learning and Teaching/ rgreen@icja.org
- Rabbi Binyomin Segal, Educational Technology Coordinator/ bsegal@icja.org
- Mrs. Olivia Friedman, Educational Technology Coordinator/ ofriedman@icja.org