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IsraelX: Cultivating a Caring and Benevolent Environment in Education

4.7 stars
10 ratings

This course invites you to learn in an experiential, empowering and even magical way how to promote a caring and benevolent environment in education and in other contexts. Upon its completion, you will have gained new insights and practical tools to change both your personal and professional environments. Curious? Log into the course.

Cultivating a Caring and Benevolent Environment in Education
13 weeks
3–4 hours per week
Instructor-paced
Instructor-led on a course schedule
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Started Mar 28
Ends Feb 1, 2025
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Cultivating a Caring and Benevolent Environment in Education

About this course

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The course offers an innovative, ground-breaking approach to cultivating a caring, benevolent environment in your personal and professional life and in educational settings. You’ll acquire simple, practical tools for creating such an environment, based on current, up-to-date research. No prior knowledge is required – just curiosity and the will to be surprised.

The course was developed by Prof. Ofra Mayseless from the University of Haifa, Israel, along with many others. We invite you to go on a journey in the realm of caring and benevolence. Enter a magical world of wonder and play, where you will learn mostly through experience.

The course includes theoretical models and practical tools for advancing the personal development of teaching staff and students and provides participants with tools for changing the social-emotional climate of educational institutions by relying on "contemplative education". Contemplative education promotes deep listening to the self and to others, connecting with one’s deep meaning of life and developing a sense of understanding and caring towards yourself and others around you. Within the realm of caring, participants will enter eight different gateways. These are gateways through which one can readily summon a deep and meaningful experience of caring and benevolence. * The course provides practical tools that do not necessarily require additional resources. *

**By relying on extant theory, research and practice the main aim of the course is to promote the possibility of applying "contemplative education" in the educational practice and personal lives of its participants and to create a caring and benevolent culture. **

Awards

edX Prize 2023 Finalist

At a glance

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated skills:Curiosity, Teaching, Innovation, Research

What you'll learn

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  • Practices for cultivating a caring and benevolent environment in educational and other settings
  • Skills and tools for promoting your personal and professional development
  • The importance of cultivating a caring and benevolent environment and how to do so
  • Major concepts and themes from both theoretical literature and applied research

Syllabus

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The course is composed of 8 gateways:

Gateway 1: Welcome to the Realm of Caring
Invites you to learn about caring in general, and in education, and the reasons why it’s important and even essential to promote caring in education.

Gateway 2: Listening to Yourself
Opens the door to a more profound encounter with yourself and allows you to experience one of the most amazing tools we all possess.

Gateway 3: Seeing the Other
Focuses on our ability to feel empathy and compassion, and to see the other and the beauty of their inner world and spirit.

Gateway 4: Nature and its Magic
Invites you to experience nature, learn about its importance in our lives, and discover practical ways to promote and recreate its incredible qualities.

Gateway 5: Joy and Playfulness
Shows how you can infuse joy, pleasure, playfulness, and humor even into environments as stressful as the education system.

Gateway 6: Art, Music and Movement
Invites you to discover new realms and engage your heart and mind in creative methods of learning, experiencing, and teaching.

Gateway 7: Meaning and Life’s Mysteries

Focuses on our need for meaning in life and the importance of pondering life’s big questions.

Gateway 8: “Back to the Future”

Helps you gather all the insights, tools, and experiences you’ve acquired in the course, so you can use them to light the way in your personal and professional journeys. Including a surprise!

The course includes a short quiz at the end of each gateway, a final exam and a concluding essay describing the implementation of the skills acquired in the course.

Learner testimonials

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This was the best online course I’ve ever taken. The innovative, revolutionary notion of benevolence towards the student has captured my heart and left a lasting impression on me. (Sari Gottlieb)

A huge thank you for a very special, thought-provoking, and enriching course, both personally and professionally. I enjoyed the unique learning experience, which allowed us to try and implement the important insights we’ve learned. (Nasreen Badir)

Joining the others in saying thank you for a unique, moving experience. You’ve definitely inspired joy and creativity in me! (Noa Shechter-Livne)

Frequently Asked Questions

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Are all the gateways available for viewing upon sign-up, or are they released one by one?

One by one. You can find the release date for each gateway under "Introduction to the Course" in Gateway 1.

Does the course include practical suggestions and tools?

Yes, the course offers plenty of practical tools and ideas which can be applied in both personal and educational settings.

What are the course assignments?

1. A concluding quiz (10 multiple-choice questions) at the end of each gateway.

2. One practical assignment: You will be asked to apply one (or more) of the practices featured in the course in an educational setting and write a report on your experience.

3. A final exam (40 multiple-choice questions).

4. Reflection Assignment: **** Writing a reflection on the course.

I'm not an education professional. Is this course right for me?

Yes, we believe everyone can benefit from this course. While it was designed with education professionals in mind, it offers many tools that can be used in one's personal life as well.

Ways to take this course

Choose your path when you enroll.

Certificate

Free

Price

$69 USD

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Access to course materials

Unlimited

Limited

Expires on Jun 27

World-class institutions and universities

edX support

Shareable certificate upon completion

Graded assignments and exams

Read our FAQsin a new tab about frequently asked questions on these tracks.

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