By Avi West, Master Teacher and Director of the Shulamith Reich Elster Resource Center at the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning

This article was printed in the Washington Jewish Week - Nov. 4, 2010

Have you ever been in a class or at a lecture and you find your mind wandering after just ten minutes into the presentation? Have you noticed how much more focus you have after moving around or taking a walk? Did you realize that you only remember 20% of what you hear—but it rises to over 60% of what you hear AND see? How often do you find yourself immediately repeating someone’s name after being introduced for the first time because otherwise the name is out of your mind in minutes? And when you are trying to recall things from the past - how often are the best memories attached to sights, sounds, smells and tactile impressions?

Researchers in neuroscience are unlocking the secrets of how our brains best learn; how we store and retrieve information most efficiently. At the same time, experts in communication are using this information to redesign advertising campaigns so that the message, idea or product is “sticky.” A sticky idea is one that is understood, that is memorable and that can be retrieved as a tool to changing behavior or attitudes. If you ever saw a catchy advertisement, and then while shopping recalled the image and words to decide to buy that product, you have experienced “sticky advertising.”

Adults learning Jewish texts are now experiencing new and more engaging ways to learn that “stick.” Teachers are abandoning the classic role of being the “sage on the stage” in favor of becoming learners’ “guide on the side.”

Technology helps bring images and voices to the table that provide even more commentary and stimulate the senses. Study groups form around social networks so that food and friends increase the motivation and emotional bond to the content.

An opportunity to jump start your learning in this mode is the Global Day of Jewish Learning on November 7. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue will host the local venue of this international celebration marking Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s completion of making the Talmud accessible to modern learners. Co-hosted by the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning and The Foundation for Jewish Studies with a keynote by David Gregory, you will feel a part of world Jewry as we are linked by satellite hookup to other celebrations, and you will find many modes of sense-stimulating learning in the breakout sessions. For details on the event, visit www.pjll.org.

07734 - Did you ever notice that if you hold these numbers upside down it spells hello? Just making sure I still have your attention – a skill among others that local Jewish congregational educators learned last weekend at the Kallah conference which put research into action for learners of all ages with a “Stuff That Sticks” theme.

The Jewish tradition of teaching, learning and making meaning has always been ahead of the curve in its use of the senses and other attention-grabbing devices to make the idea or the moment stick. This may explain why the Passover nights-of-the-round-seder plate, the Hanukkah candle lighting/latke eating/dreidle spinning gathering and the bar/bat mitzvah eat-pray-love-fest coming of age ceremonies maintain popularity and are fairly good at staying on-message. But holiday or life cycle events are not the only place where stimulating the senses can add to the storehouse of memories that build our Jewish identity.

The Jewish Folk Arts Festival returns November 20-21 to stimulate our senses and add to the texture of our Jewish identity. Words and music, dance and art, texts and textiles all help interpret the Jewish experience and values. For more information, visit www.jewishfolkartsfestival.com.

Jewish learning… It’s not your grandparent’s cheder! Find your niche, feed your soul and deepen the components of your Jewish identity. It makes SENSE!

For great Jewish learning resources including numerous podcasts by Partnership expert staff, log on to www.pjll.org and click “Resource Center” on the home page.