Understanding the Complexity
of Havruta Learning
Orit Kent
Mandel Center for Studies in
Jewish Education, Brandeis
University
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
The Directive
"Our future depends on our ability to provide
children with opportunities to become
'different individuals'-individuals who know
how to listen, who acknowledge and respect
diverse points of view, who work with others
to solve complex problems, and who can
interpret and understand the world in
increasingly complex ways." (294)
-Mara Krechevsky & Ben Mardell, “Four Features of Learning
in Groups”
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
Purposes of Session
1. Begin noticing complexity of havruta
learning and all that it entails
2. Develop language for talking about
what we see taking place in havruta
3. Identify practices involved in havruta
learning and their potential impact
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
Three Partners of Havruta
Text Study
Text
Context
overlies
everything
Person
Person
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
Understanding havruta as a…
Jewish
A historic Jewish approach that is
now being used in modern settings
Interpretive
Based around meaning-making
activity (not just summarizing or
translating)
Social
Assumes learners are partners –
working with, learning from and
responsible to and for each other
Learning Practice
Not just techniques; potential for
learning about oneself, the text,
one’s partner and life; emphasizes
learning through doing
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
Three Streams of Related
Research
• Text interpretation and interpretive
discussion, e.g. Sophie HaroutunianGordon
• Collaborative/Cooperative learning, e.g.
Elizabeth Cohen
• Classroom Discourse, e.g. Sarah
Michaels, “accountable talk”
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
Six Havruta Practices (Kent, 2008)
Supporting
Wondering
Focusing
Challenging
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
Background to Case
• 4th havruta meeting
• Debbie: 2nd summer of DeLeT; attended
Hebrew schools and Hebrew high school,
majored in Jewish studies and attended
seminary in Israel for 3 months
• Laurie: 1st summer of DeLeT; attended
Jewish day school for 9 years and took
Jewish studies courses in college
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
Listening and Articulating
Definition:
paying attention to
(can have multiple
foci of attention)
Kinds:
following along,
understanding the
other, getting
ideas from the
other, figuring
something out
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
Listening and Articulating
Definition:
Expressing one’s
ideas out-loud
Kinds:
•Thinking out loud, stream of
consciousness of ideas,
“exploratory talk”
•Stating an interpretive idea in
order to a. hone your idea, b.
elicit a response, or, c. make a
claim
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
Listening and Articulating in Havruta
Person # 2
Person #1
Listen
Listen
Articulate
No one’s ideas
are articulated
clearly enough to
work with them
Person #2’s ideas
take center stage
Listen & Articulate
Ideas are
Person #1’s ideas verbalized but no
Articulate
take center stage space to reflect on
them together
Listen
and
Articulate
Take turns
listening and
articulating ideas
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
How do we listen to all three
partners simultaneously?
Text
Context
overlies
everything
Person
Person
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
Focusing and Wondering
WONDERING:
feeling curious
FOCUSING:
concentrating attention
Often takes form of zeroing in on
a particular idea or textual
interpretation.
Need this in order to deepen an
interpretation and come to some
conclusion about the meaning of
the text.
“What does this text mean?”
Often takes form of working
on different ways of
understanding the text.
Questions are key.
Need this in order to generate
creative ideas and get lost in
the text.
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
Supporting and Challenging
Definition:
•Helping one's
havruta develop her
ideas; we even
support that with
which we don't
agree
Kinds:
•Supporting language:
“hmm, I agree, etc.”
•Moves to help develop
partner’s idea: asking
questions, offering
supporting evidence
•Implicit support by
building on your partner’s
idea
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
Supporting and Challenging
Definition:
•Question ideas on
the table
Kinds:
•Explicit: Is this idea really
supported by the text? What
are the limitations of this
idea?
•Implicit: offering alternative
ideas
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
How does this impact how we
think about havruta?
• Six practices in dynamic relationship
• Not just talk, but listening too
• Questions are crucial and serve multiple
roles
• Useful to stop at various points and “take
stock”/self-assess
• Strong working relationship with partner is
the key to navigating the tensions and
balancing each other’s strengths and
weaknesses
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent
How does this impact
teaching havruta?
• Need to induct people into these practices
• Need to help people work on these practices
in the context of their havruta work
© Copyright 2009 by Orit Kent