Developing Self-Efficacy in Learners
Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s belief in their capacity to act in the ways necessary to reach specific goals. When we nurture this trait in our learners, we are cultivating their belief in their own capacity to engage with tradition meaningfully and create the Jewish experiences that matter
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Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s belief in their capacity to act in the ways necessary to reach specific goals. When we nurture this trait in our learners, we are cultivating their belief in their own capacity to engage with tradition meaningfully and create the Jewish experiences that matter to them. By creating environments where students lead their own learning journeys through Jewish texts, tackle challenges with resilience, and create their own rituals and experiences, we foster confident builders of vibrant Jewish community, not just passive observers of it.
Start Here
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Tool Introduction: Develop Self-Efficacy in Learners (Beverly Socher-Lerner, Makom Community) — A short overview of building learner self-efficacy, from the DRJC e-course
Watch
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Mamie Morrow's TEDx Talk: Why Self-Efficacy Matters — A TEDx talk on how believing in your own capacity transforms outcomes
Read & Explore
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Self-Confidence Makes Courage Possible (My Jewish Learning) — A Torah commentary on Parashat Sh'lach connecting the spies' story to confidence and self-belief
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Makom Community Blog — Ongoing examples of self-efficacy in action from Makom's teaching and learning practice
Let’s Learn Together
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DRJC for You: Self-Efficacy - Explore this source sheet for self-guided learning related to this DRJC tool
Discover more
These Purim lesson plans for K-12 students explore bravery, advocacy, and identity through engaging, accessible activities.
J-JEP is a multi-denominational collaboration between Beth Shalom, a traditional Conservative congregation, and Rodef Shalom, a Classical Reform congregation. The learning in J-JEP reflects the belief that no two households are the same.
Peninsula Temple Beth El (PTBE), San Mateo, CA. Families in small groups with similar age kids begin learning together, move into separate groups for parallel study and then come back together for a family activity followed by participation in Shabbat worship.
Congregation Emanu-El of NYC. 8th graders explore different ways of doing social justice including fundraising and philanthropy, community organizing and advocacy as well as the Jewish context for these approaches. They volunteer throughout the year.
Our Village takes a learner-centered approach in everything they do. Learners’ questions and concerns are the starting place for each lesson and faculty engage in comprehensive training to support this orientation. An essential component of this approach is the development of deep relationships
JewPT gives people a way to explore Jewish texts and ideas on their own terms, at their own pace. It's not a replacement for human teachers or rabbinical guidance—it's a companion for the moments in between.