Abigail Uhrman

Assistant Professor of Jewish Education

Department: Jewish Education, William Davidson Graduate School, Religious Leadership

Phone: (212) 280-6029

Email: abuhrman@jtsa.edu

Building Room: Brush 305A

Office Hours: By Appointment

BIOGRAPHY

Abigail Uhrman is an assistant professor of Jewish education in the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Dr. Uhrman teaches a number of courses on pedagogy, curriculum, professional development, and qualitative methods and conducts research on inclusion and diversity and Jewish education. She also serves as the faculty advisor for the JTS program in Israel.

Dr. Uhrman completed her PhD in 2013 at New York University, where her dissertation, Alike and Different: Parenting a Child with Disabilities in the Jewish Community, focused on parents’ experiences in Jewish day schools and educational decision-making. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Los Angeles with a major in history and minor in education studies in 2001.

Outside of her academic interests, Dr. Uhrman has considerable experience working in teaching, administrative, and consulting capacities in the Jewish community. Her work in the field deeply informs her research and teaching practice.

PUBLICATIONS

  • “The Parent Perspective: Disabilities and Jewish Day Schools,” The Journal of Jewish Education (forthcoming)
  • “Inclusion Coordinators at Jewish Summer Camps,” The Journal of Jewish Education (forthcoming)
  • “Expanding the Circle and Embracing Diversity,” The Jewish Week, January 2016
  • “Exploring Options and Opportunities,” in Gleanings: Dialogue on Jewish Education, Volume 2 (2) Summer 2015
  • “Preparing Experiential Jewish Educators,” With Dr. Jeffrey Kress and Mark Young. Experience and Jewish Education (ed. David Bryfman), 2014
  • Hebrew Charter School Center, Contributed to elementary school curriculum on the history of Israel and world Jewish communities for Hebrew language charter schools, 2011
  • “Differently Abled: The Lesson of Rabbi Elazar,” Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Call for Justice (eds. Rose, Kaiser, & Klein), 2007
  • Matan, Curriculum for Students with Learning Disabilities for Jewish after-school programs, 2003

 LECTURES AND PRESENTATIONS

  • North American Jewish Day School Conference, March 2015, “Engaging Parents of Diverse Learners in the Education Conversation”
  • Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, Spring 2011, “Yom Iyun/Day of Learning on Special Education”
  • Hebrew Language Academy, Teacher Professional Development, Series of workshops for Hebrew language charter school teachers on curriculum development, literacy, and reflective practice
  • Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan, Professional development sessions for teachers on balanced literacy, using the Teachers College Readers and Writers Workshop model, and social action lesson planning and programming
  • Matan, Workshops for religious school faculty and staff on special education including accommodations for children with special needs, differentiated instruction, and developing curricula for diverse learners

GRANTS AND HONORS

  • Jewish Theological Seminary Davidson Doctoral Fellowship
  • NYU Steinhardt Dean’s Research Grant
  • NYU Steinhardt Fellowship
  • Drisha Institute for Jewish Education
  • Beit Midrash and Hasha’ar Jewish Education Fellowship

RESEARCH

Dr. Uhrman’s research focuses on individuals with disabilities in the Jewish community, both generally and within specific Jewish educational settings.  In addition to day schools, she has worked with a number of summer camps training senior leadership and conducting research on camps’ inclusive practices in the areas of programing and staff development.  She is also interested in the area of professional learning more broadly and its capacity for instructional and institutional change.  Dr. Uhrman’s research seeks to bridge theory and practice and offer compelling, evidence-based data to inform work in the field.