Preliminary results of a qualitative study of the lived experience of teaching and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic are presented. An instructor, a program director and five doctoral students in different stages of their coursework and dissertation proposal development, wrote a reflective journal. Participants varied in their levels of familiarity with technology-assisted education, personal backgrounds and circumstances including work and family responsibilities. Participants’ journals documenting their reactions, struggles and coping since the abrupt move of the university from face to face to online classes were content analyzed. The analysis was co-conducted by five participants to identify themes and generate understanding of the experience. Two main themes emerged from the analysis: a developmental process of participants’ reactions, perceptions and meaning making of the experience and factors that shaped it. Lessons learned are discussed and recommendations for professional education and directions for future research are suggested.

Investigating both the causes and initial triggers for disaffiliation from Orthodox Judaism is an important part of understanding the complex lived experiences of exiters. This study documents an extensive number of causes for leaving Orthodox Judaism, as well as initial triggers, a less‐often investigated, yet important component of disaffiliation. Using an online survey, over 700 open‐ended responses were collected from 303 participants who self‐identified as having grown up practicing Orthodox Judaism but had since stopped practicing. Content analysis was used to organize responses, resulting in distinct categories that fit into two themes: intellectual and social‐emotional, the former more often reported by males and the latter by females. The most commonly reported causes and initial triggers, respectively, were issues with the community and lack of belief in Torah and Orthodoxy. Our results give voice to exiters by documenting nuanced accounts of the full disaffiliation journey, beginning with the initial trigger.