Professional Development Icon
Professional Development Icon

Professional Development

Explore Our 2025-26  Professional
Development opportunities

NEW! Certification Programs

Individual Online Courses

Conferences and Workshops

Scholarships
Frequently Asked Questions

One of the ways we make our research accessible to educators around the world is through providing professional education. These offerings are scheduled at various times throughout the year, research-based, and grounded in the day-to-day work of teachers and administrators. In addition, they are an opportunity for educators to earn professional learning hours and certifications. All current PZ professional learning offerings are listed below.

If you have specific questions about any of our professional development opportunities, please email us at pzlearn@gse.harvard.edu.

In-Depth Courses

A one-week orientation period followed by one session every two weeks for 12 weeks
Professional development hours: 30

Look Listen Interpret Teach

Look, Listen, Interpret, Teach: A Reggio Emilia-Inspired Approach to Supporting Individual and Group Learning (LLIT)

Dates: TBD
COST: Starting at $655

Drawing on the collaborative research between Harvard’s Project Zero and educators in Reggio Emilia, Italy, this course offers you the opportunity to learn how to document student learning in ways that “make visible” what and how students learn and that provide useful data for reflecting on and improving teaching.

 

Mini Courses

A two-day orientation period followed by one session every week for four weeks
Professional development hours: 12

Cultures of Thinking in Action

Cultures of Thinking in Action

Dates: to
Register by:
COST: Starting at $355

The Cultures of Thinking in Action course builds on the ideas of Ron Ritchhart’s new book of the same name (2023). Developed and taught by Ritchhart and colleague Mark Church, the course offers you the opportunity to explore the 10 mindsets that support deeper learning and thinking. You will also develop your skill with tools that you can use to turn your classroom or learning context into a community in which thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted.
 

Let's Play

Let's Play: Teaching Strategies for Playful Learning

Dates: to
Register by:
COST: Starting at $355

Play is central to how children learn. Yet incorporating play into a formal school setting can be challenging because the nature of play and the nature of school are often at odds. This course, based on the frameworks developed in PZ’s “Pedagogy of Play” project, (funded by the Lego Foundation) introduces core principles and practices of playful learning and gives you the opportunity to design and try out a playful learning approach in your own context.

Using Thinking Routines Effectively

Using Thinking Routines Effectively

Dates: TBD
COST: Starting at $355

Try out a selection of thinking routines and learn how to effectively implement them across age groups, subjects, and settings. Through exploration of research and hands-on practice, you'll discover how thinking routines are powerful tools and structures for developing students’ patterns of thinking behavior.

 

WHY CHOOSE PZ?

PZ online courses are:

  • Hands-On. Activities and assignments are designed to help you learn and practice techniques and strategies by trying them out in your own context—in person or online.
  • Team-Based. Register as a team of colleagues from your school or organization, or sign up individually to be placed on a virtual team of educators. Teams are composed of 3-6 members and meet once per session to collaborate on assignments, share experiences and insights, and offer feedback to one another. Teams meet synchronously (either in person or online) every session for 60-90 minutes, a requirement for participating in the course.
  • Facilitated/Coached. In addition to the course instructors, experienced educators provide guidance and feedback as facilitators and coaches for a study group of approximately 6-12 teams, supporting both individual team learning and collaborative learning across teams.
  • Designed for Busy Educators: Asynchronous and Flexible. To provide flexibility, PZ online courses do not include synchronous, real-time meetings with facilitators, coaches, or instructors. While team members meet synchronously once a session, individual members decide when to work on the course material, guided by assignment due dates.

Project Zero conferences are 1-5 day learning experiences designed for educators to engage with PZ research and concepts in a variety of formats. Through the artful curating of plenaries, workshops and reflection/study periods, participants have the opportunity to learn about new research, deepen their understanding of PZ concepts, engage in thought-provoking dialogue with other participants from around the world and reflect on how their learnings apply to their own contexts. Conferences are suitable for educators with minimal to extensive experience with PZ ideas and for those coming from any type of learning environment. Certificates of professional learning will be awarded to participants that complete all conference activities.

Project Zero Classroom 2026

Dates: to
Register by:
COST: $3,999

The weeklong Project Zero Classroom (PZC) institute features research-based tools, frameworks, and approaches to instruction and assessment that deepen learning and understanding for all students. As a participant, you will explore ways to enhance student engagement, encourage learners to think critically and creatively, and make learning and thinking visible. Through a combination of presentations, interactive workshops, and small learning groups, you will have the opportunity to explore ideas and practices with PZ researchers, educators experienced in applying PZ ideas in their contexts, and fellow participants from around the world.