Middle School students begin their way in the study of Talmud, and many difficulties present themselves. Aramaic language, apparent lack of textual order and sequence, complex discussions, unfamiliar Rabbinic personalities, etc. Students easily get lost in a seemingly endless stream of sugyot, and it is not clear who relates to what and whom, who is challenging whom, who disagrees with whom, who says exactly what?
The V’Dibarta Bam Talmud Skills Program is designed to resolve these difficulties in initial study of Talmud. Alongside the main enterprise – the study of an actual chapter of Talmud – students of V’Dibarta Bam the basic learning skills required for navigation of the Talmud. Stage after stage, skill after skill, the student begins to see the order in the Talmudic sugyah, and gains the ability to pre-scan the page, strategize his/her learning, and then proceed apace in context with confidence.
The results are almost immediate, and one success leads to the next, while students develop the motivation to learn Talmud based on the skills needed to do it on their own.
Instead of a teacher having to devote precious learning time to issues of classroom management and creation of his/her own materials for differential instruction, V’Dibarta Bam is built for chavruta style learning in a Bet Midrash environment. The teacher becomes the guide, while the students do the work! Differentiation is automatic, enabling focus groups as necessary at various junctures of the study.
The entire V’Dibarta Bam Program takes two to three years to complete, and includes student workbooks, teacher guides, computerized learning centers, posters and diagnostic assessments. As in the V’Shinantam Mishnah Program, teachers participate in a preliminary in-service, and receive accompaniment and guidance in implementation of this unique skills-based program. No teacher left behind!
