L@titud

Understanding something in depth entails the ability to use knowledge in novel situations in appropriate, flexible, and intelligent ways. At Project Zero, we view understanding as the goal of formal education and the key for life-long learning. Preparing youngsters and adults to live in a world in which knowledge is constructed at an unprecedented pace, and national and cultural borders are rapidly redefined, entails teaching them to organize their actions to pursue the understandings that they may need.

Over the last decades, Project Zero's research has focused on understanding and intelligent action in various learning environments--i.e., classrooms and schools (K-Graduate), art studios, museums, local communities, organizations, and the professions. The frameworks emerging from these studies have proven particularly appealing to Latin American educators confronting the challenges of changing societies. Every year for the past five years an average of 800 Latin American educators have participated in courses and conferences focusing on understanding, organized collaboratively with Project Zero in various Latin American countries.

In order to promote dialogue and advance educational innovations in Latin America, Project Zero partnered with leading regional agents of change to launch the Latin American Initiative toward Understanding and Development, L@titud. The L@titud network connects professionals and educators from Latin America and supports local initiatives geared toward enabling all individuals to understand the social, cultural, and natural worlds they inhabit.

To accomplish these goals, L@titud works with local educators to create opportunities for professional development (e.g., conferences, seminars, online courses); to produce and disseminate educational materials in Spanish; and engage in research activities.

The L@titud network is organized around regional nodes led by Latin American professionals with extensive experience with Project Zero's frameworks and a track record as agents of change. Although L@titud is no longer an active research strand at Project Zero, it continues to be an active network of educators in Latin America.