Hevruta as a Form of Cooperative Learning

Abstract

Although paired study (hevruta) has been a part of Jewish learning and an essential aspect of rabbinic education for centuries, over the past decade it has become an increasingly formalized vehicle in the training of rabbis in non-Orthodox seminaries. Little research has focused on its organization and process and what role it plays within the context of rabbinic education. This study seeks to investigate the practice of hevruta as it has developed in the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Methodologically, the study makes use primarily of standardized long interviews. The results of this study indicate that while hevruta shares many characteristics of cooperative learning in higher education, it remains a distinct Jewish learning strategy.