1. David Schlusselberg Professor Rothwachs
Tools Portfolio
Title of Tool:Wait Time
Description of Tool: It can sometimes be difficult for an enthusiastic teacher to slow down the
pace of a lesson. When a teacher performs a check for understanding and wishes to see if the
students have grasped the material, more often than not, the teacher finds himself/herself calling
on the first student whose hand is raised. After posing a question to the class, a teacher should
allow the student’s time to process the question and think of an answer. “When these periods of
silence lasted at least 3 seconds, many positive things happened to students' and teachers'
behaviors and attitudes” (Stahl, 1995).
Application: There are many points throughout a lesson when wait time can be implemented.
Moments to incorporate wait time include: when raising a question to the class, when allowing a
student who pauses during a response to think his thought through carefully and to pause after
the student finishes his/her response (Stahl, 1995). “From the speaker’s perspective, the pause
might represent an opportunity to reflect on what has been said and to consider what to say next.
That is, the pause provides a speaker with an opportunity to think” (Tobin, 1986). This tool will
be even more beneficial for students with learning disabilities who need more time processing
information.
Application Limits: The only potential downside to wait time is too much wait time. If the
teacher pauses for an exuberant amount of time, it opens the window to the students losing
interest in the question, and may cause some students to even forget their planned responses.

2. The fear though, is not that teachers will use to much wait time, but more often than not, teachers
do not provide enough wait time.
Application Challenges in Jewish settings: The only plausible difference with implementing
this tool in a Jewish setting, is that a Gemara teacher should be aware that wait time may cause a
break in the flow of the Gemara. However, in most cases, wait time is a powerful tool that
should be implemented in all settings.
Personal Reflection: The first time I experienced this tool was when I was a student in Azrieli
last year. At first, I was confused why the teacher didn’t call on the student whose hand was
raised first, and then, as more questions were posed I realized it was a deliberate tactic. It was a
very liberating feeling as a student to know that I didn’t have to rush my thinking process, and I
could take the time to process the question, and formulate a response. Since that moment, I have
always been a tremendous advocate for wait time, and realize its value in education.
Resources and References:
Api_5814_user322090. (n.d.).Effects of Teacher Wait Time on Discourse Characteristics in
Mathematics.Scribd. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/24551819/Effects-of-
Teacher-Wait-Time-on-Discourse-Characteristics-in-Mathematics
Using "Think-Time" and "Wait-Time" Skillfully in the Classroom. ERIC Digest.
(n.d.).ERICDigests.Org. Retrieved from http://www.ericdigests.org/1995-1/think.htm

3. Title of Tool: Visual Timers
Description of Tool: Students with Asperger’s syndrome are wired to cling to their schedules.
In order to prevent a student from being under tremendous anxiety, any change in the daily
schedule must be told to these students hours in advance. These students rely on visual aids to
process information. They require a hard copy of the daily schedule, and need to see everything
in writing. In order to help them manage time, a visual timer enables them to follow how much
longer they have to complete an assignment. Due to their punctual nature, and their demand to
know every step of the process, a visual timer gives them ownership over time.
Application: A visual timer can be used by a teacher in a variety of settings, including: test
taking, classroom assignments, meetings with the student, homework etc. This tool is appropriate
for all students and for all ages, regardless of whether they have special learning needs or not.
Although it is a benefit for other types of learners, for students with Asperger’s this tool becomes
more of a necessity (Dettmer, S., Simpson, R. L., Myles, B. S., &Ganz, J. B., 2000).
Application Limits: There are no limits on this tool, and it can be used for all students of all
ages.
Application Challenges in Jewish Settings: There should be no additional challenges that
would be faced using this tool in a Jewish setting than in a non-Jewish setting.
Personal Reflection: I believe the benefits for this strategy will make it much easier to run a
classroom for students with Asperger’s syndrome. This tool provides tremendous structure to a
classroom, and enables the students to feel like they know exactly what is going to happen. It is
a rather inexpensive tool which can be implemented multiple times daily. In my Azrieli class
with Dr. Feuerman, Teaching Jewish Studies, he uses this tool almost every lesson. When we
work together in groups, he puts on the screen an electric hourglass and timer that makes it clear

4. to us exactly how much time we have left for group work. It allows us to pace our work, and
gives us a clear understanding of how much time we have left. It is a simple tool that has
tremendous benefits.
Resources and References:
Dettmer, S., Simpson, R. L., Myles, B. S., &Ganz, J. B. (2000).The Use of Visual
Supports to Facilitate Transitions of Students with Autism.Focus on Autism and Other
Developmental Disabilities, 15(3), 163-169. doi: 10.1177/108835760001500307
Visual timers can be purchased at the National Autism Resources website
at:http://www.nationalautismresources.com/time-timer.html.

5. Title of tool: Peer Tutoring
Description of Tool: In an educational utopia, the lessons would consist of a teacher teaching a
student in a one-on-one setting. Although this is nearly impossible, the same benefits may be
achieved in a peer tutoring environment. While students are working together to learn a lesson,
both students (in a 2 person peer tutoring structure) are actively engaged in the material. “When
peer tutoring is used within a system, each student assumes the role of tutor and tutee within each
session” (Heron, T., Villareal, D., Yao, M., Christianson, R., & Heron, K., 2006).Active
involvement in the material will automatically help them learn the material better, and
comprehend the lesson on a deeper level than had they been passive listeners in the classroom.
While the peer tutoring is occurring, the teacher in the classroom can walk from group to group
visually observing which students understand the material, and help those that may need
assistance.
Application: Peer tutoring can be implemented during various sections of a lesson. The teacher
may choose to star the lesson by having students learn new material in a peer tutoring session. A
teacher may also choose to use it as a check for understanding, while students work together on a
worksheet to demonstrate the learning that had just occurred.Studies have shown that peer
tutoring can also produce positive outcomes amongst children with autism (Heron, T., Villareal,
D., Yao, M., Christianson, R., & Heron, K., 2006), and with ADHD (Plumer, P. J., 2005).
Application Limits: The disadvantage to peer tutoring is that it can be difficult to monitor all the
simultaneous groups learning. A problem can arise when multiple groups need assistance from
the teacher(s) in the classroom. Since the students are learning the material at their own pace,
the teacher should provide an anchor activity to provide structure to those students who finish the
material before their time expired.

6. Application Challenges in Jewish settings: The Jewish studies curriculum in Jewish day
schools can make it more difficult to apply peer tutoring. Since most issues with Judaic studies
stem from difficulties in grasping the Hebrew and Aramaic languages, the students have to
struggle with the language barrier as well as the content of the material.
Personal Reflection: Peer tutoring not only helps the students learn and retain information better
than frontal teaching, but it also enables the teacher to maximize his/her time by meeting with
students one-on-one, or by visually observing how the students are learning the information.
Peer tutoring also allows the students to change gears from their daily ritual of sitting in a desk
and taking notes. I see tremendous advantages in this tool and feel its implementation can
positively change the dynamics of a classroom.
Resources and References:
Heron, T., Villareal, D., Yao, M., Christianson, R., & Heron, K. (2006). Peer Tutoring Systems:
Applications in Classroom and Specialized Environments. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 22(1),
27-45.doi: 10.1080/10573560500203517
Plumer, P. J. (2005). The Relative Effects of Classwide Peer Tutoring and Peer Coaching on the Positive
Social Behaviors of Children With ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 9(1), 290-300. doi:
10.1177/1087054705280796

7. Title of tool: Differentiated Instruction
Description of Tool: Differentiated instruction allows a class to learn the same required
material, while simultaneously enabling each student to learn it on their own level. This
dichotomy is able to co-exist due to hands-on learning by the students. Either, after having
taught material, the teacher will either hand out a worksheet that is geared to different levels of
learning, or, the teacher will have the student’s learn the material in groups through DI source
sheets. While working on the material in groups, the teacher has the freedom to go form group
to group making sure everyone in the group is working together, and that the students can ask
any questions they need. This tool enables the students to learn on their own level. “It is also of
critical importance for teachers to have an understanding that, if they are to learn how to use
reading and writing strategies, struggling students often need explicit, direct and extended
instruction beyond what is provided in the whole-class setting” (Tobin, R., &McInnes, A., 2008)
Application: This tool can be used by a teacher who wants the students to learn the material
through differentiated instruction. The teacher will then provide different source sheets of the
material, and a variety of aids for the weaker students to gain the same information. The teacher
may choose to teach the material to the whole class, and decide to use a source sheet through
differentiated instruction. For the weaker students in the class, it gives them the tools necessary
to learn the required material for the texts, without feeling overwhelmed by material that is too
difficult for them. For the more advanced students in the class, DI allows them to maximize
their learning potential. The teacher can ask questions on an advanced worksheet that goes
beyond the scope of the initial lesson, and may ask more thought provoking questions that is
directly applied to the lesson just learnt. This tool can be very useful in teaching students with
special needs because of the wide range of disabilities in a typical special education classroom.

8. Application Limits: The main difficulty in applying DI is the time it takes for a teacher to
prepare a DI lesson. This factor scares off many teachers from every trying a differentiated
lesson in a classroom. Teachers should know that it is not an all-or-nothing approach to
differentiated instruction, and they should certainly try to implement it in small increments
throughout the school semester.
Application Challenges in Jewish Settings: In a Jewish setting the added component of reading
foreign languages (Hebrew and Aramaic) makes it even more important to integrate
differentiated instruction. If there was no DI, and a group was given a Hebrew text, the weaker
students who may not know majority of the words may give up at the start of the lesson. By
giving punctuation, definitions and syntax to the Hebrew words on a worksheet, it makes group
work much more manageable for a weaker student.
Personal Reflection: I have seen DI implemented in a classroom, and it is amazing to see the
active participation of all the students in the classroom. There isn’t a student in there who feels
overwhelmed by what they are learning, and if any group has a question, the teacher is free to
come over and help them. DI gives the students independence to learn at their own pace and at
their own level. I think more teachers should begin to implement DI on a regular basis.
Resources and References:
Tobin, R., &McInnes, A. (2008).Accommodating differences: Variations in differentiated
literacy instruction in Grade 2/3 classrooms.Literacy, 42(1), 3-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-
9345.2008.00470.x

9. Title of tool: Cooperative Teaching
Description of Tool:Co-teaching is a method where two trained teachers are working together to
teach a classroom. There are a wide variety of ways that co-teaching can be implemented. Co-
teaching can mean that one teacher teaches the entire lesson to the class, while the other teacher
(usually a special education teacher) helps out those students that need the most assistance.
Other co-teaching environments may have both teachers each present half the material of a
lesson to the whole class, while then working together to assess the students. This form of co-
teaching exposes the students to different learning styles throughout each lesson learnt. Having
two teachers with different teaching styles allows the teachers to learn from one another.
However co-teaching is done in a classroom, both teachers share the load of the students, and
work together to be sure that all students are keeping up with the pace of the class(Harbort, G.,
Gunter, P. L., Hull, K., Brown, Q., Venn, M. L., Wiley, L. P., & Wiley, E. W., 2007). .
Application:In recent years, co-teaching has become much more used in general education
settings because of government actions. “Co-teaching, collaboration between a general
education teacher and a special education teacher on all aspects of classroom teaching and
management for all students in the classroom, has come to the forefront as a way to (a) address
the mandates of NCLB and (b) provide the mandated assistance for students with disabilities of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” (Harbort, G., Gunter, P. L., Hull, K., Brown, Q.,
Venn, M. L., Wiley, L. P., & Wiley, E. W., 2007). Co-teaching is now used primarily for the
special educator in the classroom to help assist the students in the class with learning disabilities.
The co-teachers still need to work together, and plan curriculum and instruction together for the
classroom.

10. Application Limits: It is never a disadvantage to have more helpful hands in a classroom.
However, depending on the number of students in the classroom, and the number of children in
the classroom with learning disabilities who may require even more attention, two sets of hands
may not be enough. It can be difficult in a class of 25 students, five of whom have some form of
a learning disability, to give every student the direct attention they may need.
Application Challenges in Jewish settings: In a Jewish setting co-teaching may be more
difficult due to the wide-range of Jewish and secular curriculum the school wishes to cover.
Other than the quantitative challenges to co-teaching in a Jewish setting, qualitatively, there
should be no difference between a secular and Jewish setting.
Personal Reflection: With a tremendous focus placed on the need for better education and
educators, the greater implementation of co-teaching is a step in the right direction. Besides all
the obvious benefits of co-teaching which I described above, I think it also provides the
opportunity for the co-teachers to evaluate each other’s performance. It is detrimental to a
school if a poor quality teacher is teaching students for a whole year (or more in many cases)
without having ever been observed by an administrator for evaluation.I think there is a way for
the co-teachers to guide each other to become great teachers, and I don’t mean for them to go to
the principal to have the other fired for poor teaching. If they work together as a team, they can
fine tune their teaching abilities, and allow maximum learning and student success to take place
in the classroom.
Resources and References:
Harbort, G., Gunter, P. L., Hull, K., Brown, Q., Venn, M. L., Wiley, L. P., & Wiley, E. W.
(2007). Behaviors of Teachers in Co-taught Classes in a Secondary School.Teacher

11. Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the
Council for Exceptional Children, 30(1), 13-23. doi: 10.1177/088840640703000102

12. Tool: Verbal Praise
Description of Tool: Words can be cheap. Everyone has experienced bumping into a friend on
the street who asks us, “How are you doing?” Often, we get the sense that this person doesn’t
really care how we are doing; rather, he/she asks the question because it is the proper protocol
when you see someone you know. In the classroom, students can inherently sense when a
comment from a teacher is genuine or not. When a teacher gives genuine verbal praise to a
student, it can have tremendous impacts on this students learning and motivation. A study on this
subject “revealed that graduate students exposed to well-administered verbal praise by a
professor performed significantly better on a professor-created examination, spent significantly
more time doing homework and exhibited higher motivation to learn in the classroom than did
students who received no verbal praise” (Hancock, D. R., 2002).When a teacher makes a student
feel good about their academic success (even by a student answering a question), the student is
motivated to continue impress the teacher by their academic success.
Application:Throughout every lesson, a teacher will be challenged with how they respond to the
comments, questions and answers of students. The response of the teacher has the potential to
relay to the student that they simply don’t care about their comment, or can have the positive
effect, when done properly, that they are acknowledging the students achievement. The response
of a teacher to a student with a learning disability is even more critical. The teacher must relay
the message that they care about the comment the student is giving, and validate the students’
emotional needs with appropriate praise. “Effective verbal praise must (a) specify clearly the
behavior being reinforced; (b) be believable to the recipient of the praise; (c) be contingent upon
the behavior being reinforced; and (d) be offered soon after the occurrence of the behavior being
reinforced” (Burden, 1995; Woolfolk, 1998).

13. Application Limits: The danger to verbal praise is false praise, and too much praise. As I wrote
above, if a teacher doesn’t mean the praise they give to a student, that certainly has the potential
to do more harm than good. The students have a natural sense for what is a genuine comment
and what is not. Sometimes a teacher can give too much praise, heavily diluting the effect a true
praise can have.
Application Challenges in Jewish settings: There are no differences that would occur in a
Jewish setting that would not occur in a secular setting.
Personal Reflection:Verbal praise is one of the most powerful tools that a teacher can use when
done correctly. In my own experience, I was always more motivated in the learning when I had
a teacher that made me feel good about myself on an academic level. I didn’t want to disappoint
them, and they made me believe in myself. I think of the difference between a teacher that gives
over positive verbal praise and one that does not as the difference between a teacher who views
teaching as a job, and one who views teaching as a way to help children.
Resources and References:
Hancock, D. R. (2002).Influencing graduate students' classroom achievement, homework habits
and motivation to learn with verbal praise.Educational Research, 44(1), 83-95. doi:
10.1080/00131880110107379

14. Tool:Extrinsic Rewards
Description of Tool:Every teacher is going to have at least one student who doesn’t perform to
the teacher’s expectations. Some students need extra motivation to get them to maximize their
potential. Providing a student with an external motivator as a reward can allow the student to
reach the teacher’s desired outcome because of the appealing reward. The goal of the teacher is
to wean this student off of the reward system while still receiving scholastic success from that
student. Besides rewards being used to academically motivate a student, rewards are
implemented to eradicate an undesired behavior. However the system between the teacher and
student is set up, the root is the same in every case – the removal of the undesired behavior will
earn the student a reward. Hopefully, the teacher will soon be able to expect the proper behavior
from the student without the extrinsic motivator of a reward.
Application:There is often a correlation between a student’s behavior and their academic
performance. “When students have low self-esteem in academics, they may revert to means other
than schoolwork for obtaining attention. Attention-seeking behaviors are among the most
common forms of student noncompliance” (Witzel, B. S., & Mercer, C. D., 2003). If a reward
system is working for a student, it is not only solving this student’s academic issues, but may
also eradicate this student’s behavioral issues. In a special-educational environment, the needs
for a rewards system may be even greater than in a mainstream educational classroom. “In
special education, dealing with student behavior is important for minimizing distractions and
having students focus on academic topics. It is logical to assume that classroom management is a
concern for students with disabilities who may have repeatedly failed academically”(Witzel, B.
S., & Mercer, C. D., 2003).

15. Application Limits: There is great debate over the effects of extrinsic rewards. Many believe
that a rewards system is not a good method to gain a desired behavior from a student (Moberly,
D. A., Waddle, J. L., & Duff, R. E. (2005). If a child grows up performing on a task because of a
extrinsic reward, what is going to happen when the rewards cease when the child goes out into
the “real world.” It is also maintained that a teacher should not be rewarding a child for a
behavior that is expected of them; rewards are supposed to be used in situations to motivate
someone to act beyond the call of duty. Even for those who argue that a rewards system is a
positive thing to implement, it still poses its challenges. It may seem unfair to the majority of the
class that a student is being rewarded for a specific positive behavior he/she performs, while the
rest of the class has been behaving well the entire year!
Application Challenges in Jewish settings: Since Yeshiva tuition is at an all-time high, and
seems to be climbing every year, the student’s may feel like they are entitled to behave as they
please. This feeling of entitlement can cause more students to misbehave in Jewish schools than
those in the public school system. It may be more difficult for a teacher to implement rewards
systems for tens of people in each class they teach, and may have to deal with the behavioral
issues with a different tactic.
Personal Reflection: Rewards systems are a very gray area in education. Every situation must
be analyzed carefully, and many factors go into assessing if an extrinsic reward will help a
student. From my experience as an assistant youth director at BneiYeshurun in Teaneck, I have
seen that the first few weeks a reward is in place, the desired behavior may be met, however, the
reward quickly goes from an incentive to an expectation (my personal example was with giving
out baseball cards during groups).

16. Resources and References:
Moberly, D. A., Waddle, J. L., & Duff, R. E. (2005). The use of rewards and punishment in early
childhood classrooms.Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 25(4), 359-366.
doi: 10.1080/1090102050250410
Witzel, B. S., & Mercer, C. D. (2003).Using Rewards to Teach Students with Disabilities:
Implications for Motivation.Remedial and Special Education, 24(2), 88-96. doi:
10.1177/07419325030240020401

17. Tool:RoboMemo (Improving Working Memory)
Description of Tool:It is often difficult for some children in a classroom to keep up with their
fellow peers. There are a myriad of reasons why a student may be struggling. If a student has a
difficulty in reading skills at a young age, they may never catch up to the rest of their class
(Torgesen, J. K., Alexander, A. W., Wagner, R. K., Rashotte, C. A., Voeller, K. K., & Conway,
T., 2001). It is known that many early interventions can prevent these students from falling too
far behind the rest of the class. Sometimes, even early reading interventions to help students
with phonological awareness and letter identification fail. It was discovered improving a
student’s working memory will cause a student to improve their reading comprehension.
Application: Students who used a computer program for thirty minutes a day for a five week
period reported to have tremendous gains in their working memory. RoboMemo was designed
to ask each student questions to help improve the following areas: nonverbal reasoning, working
memory, and reading. Many different methods were used by RoboMemo to help train the
student in those three areas. The computer system was designed to ask questions to target their
specific reading level, and was adapted each day based on the previous day’s learning. This
program can be used with students who are in mainstream classes as well as students in special
education classes (Dahlin, 2010).
Application Limits: The greatest difficulty with implementing this system to improve a
student’s working memory is the amount of effort that is needed by the teacher, school and
student. To properly improve working memory, roughly twenty hours of non-classroom efforts
are needed to use RoboMemo. A teacher is supposed to be present while the child is using the
computer program in case the student needs assistance on any questions. This time requirement

18. may be difficult to comply with. It will certainly reshape a child’s academic future, if a school is
able to accommodate for the needs of students who can benefit from the use of RoboMemo
Application Challenges in Jewish settings: The time requirement for positive results from
using RoboMemo are even more difficult to comply with in a Jewish setting. With double the
curriculum to learn, tremendous self-sacrifice is needed for a student to spend an extra period a
day improving his/her working memory.
Personal Reflection: When a child is struggling learning how to read, anything that can be done
to help improve his/her reading should be done. Reading is probably the most integral skill we
need to succeed in life. No matter how money, time, or energy is required to help a child
become a better reader, a school should do anything they can to make sure the child receives
everything they need.
Resources and References:
Dahlin,I.E. (2010) Effects of working memory training on reading in children with special needs.
(n.d.).Mendeley Research Networks. Retrieved from
http://www.mendeley.com/research/effects-working-memory-training-reading-children-
special-needs/
Torgesen, J. K., Alexander, A. W., Wagner, R. K., Rashotte, C. A., Voeller, K. K., & Conway,
T. (2001).
Intensive remedial instruction for children with severe reading disabilities: Immediate and long-
termoutcomes from two instructional approaches. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 32(1), 33–58.