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Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
student learning experience, it has also had the
benefit of placing them in the forefront of teaching
and learning for the 21st century. While many
educators in the field scramble to keep up with
their young students technologically, the profes-
sionals participating in the EMA program live and
breathe the world of technology inhabited by
their young students. Indeed, the virtual tools
and learning provided by HUC-JIR are at the
cutting-edge of educational technology.
The second unanticipated benefit of the EMA has
been the College-Institute’s ability to reach out to
alumni of HUC-JIR’s Schools of Education. Each
EMA student is assigned a clinical faculty mentor
and is part of a clinical education group led by
his or her mentor. The clinical faculty mentors are
drawn from the ranks of our Schools of Education
alumni throughout North America and engage with
their students using the same distance learning
tools used in courses. These six exemplary educa-
tional leaders have expressed their excitement at
being able to be part of the Schools of Education
in a way that has traditionally been open only to
alumni who reside close to one of the HUC-JIR
campuses. They are able to continue to learn
and grow while mentoring a new generation
of educational leaders into the field.
The faculty of the Schools of Education look
forward to a second successful year, to graduating
the EMA’s first cohort in May 2013, and, most
importantly, to continuing to blaze new pathways
in expanding the reach of HUC-JIR into cyber-
space and into the future.
For more information: email
or visit
huc.edu/academics/education/execMA
T
hese are just a few of the descriptors shared
by the new cohort of the Executive M.A.
(
EMA) Program in Jewish Education whom the
College-Institute welcomed in late May at a three-
day orientation on the Cincinnati campus. The
EMA program, made possible by a generous grant
frim the Jim Joseph Foundation, is designed princi-
pally for individuals currently serving as Jewish
educational leaders in Reform congregations
throughout North America and who have been in
leadership roles for a minimum of five years. Most
of these Jewish educators have risen to leadership
positions through hard work and a commitment
to Jewish education. For personal and/or family
reasons, however, they have not had the opportunity
to engage in systematic and formal study of Jew-
ish education. By studying in this program, they
will come to understand their work better and
gain important and innovative Jewish educational
tools so they can improve their practice and thereby
transform Jewish education in their communities.
As the program enters its second year (Cohort 1,
comprised of sixteen students, is halfway through
the program), the students’ depth of engagement
and seriousness of purpose are exhilarating.
Approximately 40% of the EMA program occurs
in online courses with the other 60% taking place
in face-to-face meetings at one of the four HUC-
JIR campuses. Indeed, this is the only HUC-JIR
program in which students study at all four cam-
puses (our motto: HUC-JIR – we’re all over it!).
The first two cohorts look forward to traveling
together to Israel and studying on the Jerusalem
campus in December 2012.
Advances in technology, including the ability to
engage in powerful and meaningful learning in
the virtual environment, have made this program
possible, enabling the College-Institute to reach
out to those individuals who are unable to relocate
to one of the campuses as part of a residential
program. Students meet regularly in their virtual
classroom, they study in
chevruta
by Skype, use
YouTube, VoiceThread, and many more technologies
to share their thinking, grapple with new concepts,
and try out new tools. With the guidance of the
College-Institute’s Department of e-Learning,
both students and faculty have shown an
extraordinary willingness and capacity to
embrace new technologies and rethink what
constitutes an effective learning environment.
Any new endeavor brings with it unanticipated
consequences. The EMA is no exception. Two
exciting and wonderful results stand out. First,
while the use of technology has been key in the
Inspired!
Excited!
Moved!
Challenged!
Lesley Litman, M.A.,
Coordinator, Executive M.A.
Program in Jewish Education, HUC-JIR
Dr. Michael Zeldin teaching
students in the Executive
M.A. Program in Jewish
Education during their
two-week intensive course
on the New York campus.
