OLD THOUGHTS, NEW IDEAS - COMPARING TRADITIONAL TALMUDIC EDUCATION WITH TODAYS MEDICAL-EDUCATION

The authors compare innovative learning strategies in medical educatio n today with the traditional educational methods of Jewish Talmudic st udy. These methods began to be developed in yeshivas (the highest Jewi sh educational institutions) in the third century BC and continue to b e used in yeshivas today. The teaching in thousands of yeshivas of Tal mudic study worldwide emphasizes student-centered, problem-based, smal l-group, and lifelong learning. Further, in the yeshivas rote memoriza tion is discouraged; students are selected on the basis of merit rathe r than social status; and the teachers (particularly master teachers) are expected to act as role models for all aspects of living. Over the centuries, the yeshiva has been slightly modified and specialized, an d the number of students has increased, but the institution has retain ed its basic instructional format; The authors briefly describe each a spect of Talmudic study and how it relates to current educational prac tices in medical schools. They argue that comparing these two educatio nal institutions-the yeshiva and medical school-is valuable, in that t he history of the yeshiva educational system, which has successfully p roduced generations of creative scholars, educators, and leaders, as w ell as an enormous body of literature, validates the innovative teachi ng approaches being used in medical schools today.