Creating a Relationship-Centered Pedagogy
Relationship-Centered Pedagogy is an educational approach that focuses on building positive relationships between learners and educators, and between the learners themselves. This approach honors the Jewish values of community and belonging while simultaneously enhancing educational outcomes by creating spaces where learners feel seen, heard, and empowered to share themselves and their interpretations of text. One of the core methodologies that grows from this approach is chavruta, a traditional Jewish form of partnered study. When teachers and learners practice active listening and reflection, they transform the study of Jewish texts from mere knowledge acquisition into a profound experience of connection—both to the tradition and to one another.
Start Here
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Tool Introduction: Create a Relationship-Centered Pedagogy (Deborah Niederman, Temple Shalom, Dallas) — A short overview of relationship-centered teaching, from the DRJC e-course
Watch
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Video Introduction to Chavruta (Partnered Learning) — An accessible introduction to the traditional Jewish practice of paired study
Read & Explore
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What Is Active Listening? (Harvard Business Review) — A practical article on the listening skills that underpin relationship-centered classrooms
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Pedagogy of Partnership: Core Relational Building Blocks (Prizmah/Hadar) — Five questions every educator should be asking to move relationships to the center of their practice
In Practice
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Havruta Resources from UnitED — A comprehensive toolkit for havruta learning, including step-by-step flows, discussion prompts, and printable student guides
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Pedagogy of Partnership: Warm-Up Activities (Hadar) — Full-group and havruta-specific warm-ups designed to help learners show up for themselves and each other
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Pedagogy of Partnership: Reflection and Assessment (Hadar) — Exit tickets, reflection questions, and self-assessments that help students take ownership of their learning partnerships
Let’s Learn Together
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DRJC for You: Relationship-Centered Pedagogy - Explore this source sheet for self-guided learning related to this DRJC tool
Discover more
Congregation Tifereth Israel (CTI), Glen Cove, NY. CTI learners and their families participate in hands-on experiential learning. The curriculum focuses on Jewish values learned through our stories (both modern and ancient).
Temple Adat Elohim, Thousand Oaks, CA. Families come together twice a month, once to experience Shabbat as a B’Yachad community and another time to help heal the world by participating in Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) projects
Mayim, our initial example of "Additional" Models, could be placed in a Multi-aged, Project-Based Learning, or Experiential Learning bucket. Mayim is a K-5 learning community in which depth of relationships and depth of learning are intentionally fostered and visible everywhere.