Fostering Identity and Disposition Development in Jewish Education: A View from the Learning Sciences

Abstract

n this second chapter drawn from the area of science education, Janet Kolodner draws insight from her Learning by Design approach, through which learners not only grapple with subject matter but also come to “see themselves as scientists and engineers.” Kolodner, like Dorph and Schunn in the preceding chapter, sees an analogy to Jewish education’s goals in the area of identity. Knowledge, ability, and identity are inextricably intertwined. The author draws on ideas about learning in communities of practice to emphasize the need to create opportunities for Jewish learners to enact valued, authentic Jewish activities in social contexts. She concludes by using the case of her Kitchen Science Investigator program as a springboard for recommendations for Jewish education.