PZ Online Courses

Why choose professional development with Project Zero? Our research-based online courses engage teams of educators to learn, reflect, share, and test in their own context. Experienced PZ instructors and coaches support both individual and team learning in a mostly-asynchronous format designed for busy educators in all time zones. Throughout the year, you can choose from either an in-depth (12 weeks) or mini (4 weeks) course that will:

IN-DEPTH COURSE

Join fellow educators and leaders from around the world for a deep dive into essential PZ ideas that can be implemented in real time with professional and peer feedback over the course of several months.

WHAT TO EXPECT

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

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

Sep. 9 to Dec. 6, 2026
Starting at $655

Learning is social. Every day, children and adults learn from and with others, encountering new perspectives, strategies, and ways of thinking. Together, groups can achieve greater perspective and understanding than any individual can alone, but to design for those achievements, we need tools for sharing thinking and making learning visible to others. Drawing on the collaborative research between Project Zero and educators in Reggio Emilia, Italy, explore approaches to documenting student learning in ways that "make visible" what and how students learn, providing valuable data for reflecting on and improving teaching.

MINI COURSES

Busy schedule? Gain a condensed burst of PZ inspiration and deep learning with educators and leaders worldwide over the course of just one month.

WHAT TO EXPECT

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

Using Thinking Routines Purposefully

Oct. 19 to Nov. 15, 2026
Starting at $355

Thinking routines can be powerful resources for educators to support rich patterns of thinking across subjects, grade levels, and a wide range of educational settings. So often, thinking routines are used in learning contexts as activities rather than as tools to deepen content understanding and cultivate students' thinking skills and dispositions. With these insights, try out a selection of thinking routines in your own setting and learn how to implement them purposefully to deepen learning.

Creating Cultures of Thinking: Exploring the Purpose and Promise of Schools

Oct. 26 to Nov. 22, 2026
Starting at $355

Today we seek to develop engaged and empowered learners ready to act thoughtfully and effectively in the world. To accomplish this, we need to change more than the curriculum and our instruction—we need to change the culture of our classrooms and schools. This course helps you demystify how deep learning cultures are created. Use the 8 cultural forces as a lens to analyze the culture of your own learning context and deepen your understanding of one of them—"language"—as a powerful mechanism for sending messages. Learn how to begin to build strong "cultures of thinking" where learning is active and deeply valued for yourself and in your own context.

Developing Learner Agency: Exploring Design, Complexity, and Systems Thinking

Oct. 26 to Nov. 22, 2026
Starting at $355

Sensitivity to design develops when young people and adults have opportunities to look closely and reflect on the design of objects and systems, explore the complexity of design, and understand themselves as designers of the systems that structure and shape the world. Using PZ ideas from our Agency by Design project, learn about the core capacities necessary to facilitate and lead this kind of learning in your classroom. Try out some of the PZ thinking routines that support the development of those skills and consider how you can integrate these ideas into what you are already doing to enhance student learning.

Teaching and Learning for Understanding

Jan. 25 to Feb. 21, 2027
Starting at $355

The future our students are preparing for is filled with challenges and complexity. To thrive in it, developing transferable knowledge and skills they can apply in situations and contexts they have never encountered before is key. This requires learning experiences that are meaningful to them (both now and in the future) and that last beyond the test. Explore the difference between "knowing" and "understanding," consider the challenges and obstacles to teaching and learning for understanding, and consider strategies for addressing them.

The Power of Making Thinking Visible

Jan. 25 to Feb. 21, 2027
Starting at $355

Use thinking routines to deepen your own learning, since the best way to learn a routine is to experience it as a learner. Each step of the way, the instructor and study group facilitators will "pull back the curtain" on the thought process that teachers go through to use the routines to best support improved student learning and thinking. Strengthen your use of the three core practices of listening, questioning, and documentation associated with strengthening your effectiveness at making thinking visible.

Investigating the Forces that Shape Cultures of Thinking

Feb. 22 to Mar. 21, 2027 
Starting at $355

Often, when we think of effective teaching, we focus on good planning and instructional design. Yet effective teaching also requires attention to the culture of the classroom. Learn about the eight forces that shape classroom and school culture and take an in-depth look at four of them—modeling, opportunities, interactions, and environment. Consider how you can leverage aspects of the forces to create cultures that support students in deep learning and thinking.

Developing Thinking Dispositions: When Thinking Becomes Routine

Feb. 22 to Mar. 21, 2027 
Starting at $355

In a world that demands greater adaptability, flexibility, and the ability to solve problems in uncertain and unfamiliar situations, delve into a core principle guiding the effective use of thinking routines—cultivating students' thinking dispositions. "Thinking dispositions" are the inclination, sensitivity, and ability to use thinking skills. Practice using thinking routines with thinking dispositions in mind and build an understanding of why they are key to develop student agency and deep learning.

Let's Play: Teaching Strategies for Playful Learning

Apr. 5 to May 2, 2027
Starting at $355

Play is central to how children learn. Yet incorporating it into a formal school setting can be challenging because the nature of play and the nature of school are often at odds. Engage with the core principles and practices of playful learning, and based on these ideas, develop your own "Indicators of Playful Learning." Then, design and try out a playful learning approach in your context. Receive feedback on your experience and how you can improve.

Cultures of Thinking in Action

Apr. 5 to May 2, 2027
Starting at $355

Culture is built on the values and beliefs embedded in the messages we send learners both implicitly and explicitly. Lasting transformation begins by embracing a set of beliefs where thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted. This course supports educators to explore both the 8 cultural forces and 10 mindsets that support deeper learning and thinking. Practice building a foundation for a culture of thinking within your team and develop action steps to build the culture in your classroom and school.