Facilitate chavruta (paired) learning with your students with Sefaria's new Chavruta feature.
Students learn together, face-to-face, via video chat while the text from Sefaria's library appears on each of their screens. Click here for a tutorial on using Chavruta.
Connecting on Chavruta
Two ways to get your students started on Chavruta.
- In advance of class time, pair the students and create a Chavruta link for each pair. Send each pair their link and they can use it when class meets. If it is a pair that always works together, they can save the link and return to it each class session.
- Teach students how to initiate a Chavruta session. Once pairs are assigned, one student starts the Chavruta session and sends the link to the other. Students can save their link for future chavruta work.
Remote Learning
While on Zoom, or other video conferencing platforms, instruct the students to open a new tab to Sefaria and pair with a partner on Chavruta. While working with their partners, they can mute their Zoom mic and video so that they can concentrate on their chavruta work. Remember to set a time limit so that students know when to return to their Zoom and turn their mics and videos back on.
Hybrid Learning
Perhaps you have some students in the physical classroom and other students at home. Chavruta allows you to pair students in any location for learning. One student can be sitting in the classroom while the partner can be at home! This is a great way for the students at home to feel connected to the students in the classroom.
Classroom Learning
Even if your students are meeting in the classroom, you may not want them sitting near each other as they would in traditional chavruta study. With Chavruta, students can remain in their seats and be paired with anyone in the room. Use headphones to control the noise level.
Chavruta guidelines
- Read the texts out loud
- Think
- Listen
- Keep an open mind
- Be kind
Suggested Texts
- The weekly parasha - Student pairs can write a d'var Torah together based on something that interests them in the parasha.
- Holiday texts - Students can trace a holiday from its first mention in the Torah to later discussions about it.
- Pirkei Avot - Small, meaningful pieces of wisdom
- A Sefaria sheet - Create your own or choose a sheet on Sefaria for student pairs to work on together.