Online Course Certificate Programs

Creating Cultures of Thinking “Series”

The constantly changing world in which we live requires us to rethink what a quality education means. It is no longer enough to develop compliant (and too often complacent) learners merely making their way through school. 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 schools. But why does classroom culture matter so much to our students' learning? And how can we begin to change the culture of our classrooms and schools to more effectively support student learning and thinking? This course demystifies the creation of classroom and school culture through an examination of the process of enculturation. We do this by looking carefully at the various “stories of learning” that schools perpetuate. We then look at the “new story of learning” we want to make for our students and consider how the eight cultural forces can help us to enact that story. We conclude the course by examining one of those eight cultural forces - “language” - and how our use of language shapes in deep and subtle ways the culture of the learning environment that surrounds our learners.


Cultures of Thinking: Exploring the Purpose and Promise of Schools

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

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COST: Starting at $355

To develop engaged and empowered learners, we need to address not only the curriculum and our instruction, but also the culture of our schools. In this course, learn about why classroom culture matters deeply to what and how students learn, and analyze the culture of your own classroom, school, or learning context. Explore the cultural force of “language” and its power to shape students’ learning and thinking.
 

Investigating the Forces that Shape Cultures of Thinking

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COST: Starting at $355

Effective teaching requires not only good planning and thoughtful instruction, but careful attention to classroom culture. In this mini course, learn about the eight cultural forces, with a special focus on four of those forces (modeling, opportunities, interactions, and environment) and how to leverage them to create cultures that support students in deep learning and thinking. Reflect critically on your own work as an educator while acquiring new tools, practices, and principles that will help you promote the deep learning of your students.

Cultures of Thinking in Action

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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.
 

Intro the the VT “set” of courses

We all become more effective as learners when we become aware of our learning processes and learn to manage how we think and learn. Visible Thinking, a research-based approach developed by Project Zero and used across subjects and settings worldwide, has two goals: to deepen content learning and to cultivate students’ thinking skills and thinking dispositions.

These courses explore three themes at the heart of Visible Thinking: thinking routines, thinking dispositions, and documentation of student thinking. Participants will explore relevant research, learn to integrate Visible Thinking into their curriculum and assessment, and try out practices with peers and in their own classrooms and other learning contexts.



Visible Thinking: An Introduction to Thinking Routines

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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.

The Power of Making Thinking Visible

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COST: Starting at $355

With the growing popularity of Thinking Routines has come the opportunity to research the impact they have on teaching, learning, and schooling. In this course, learn how the most effective teachers use thinking routines for maximum impact by employing the core practices of listening, questioning, and documentation. Develop a better understanding of the power of thinking routines, for both teachers and students. Try out core practices associated with making thinking visible, and learn how they relate to and interact with one another.

Developing Thinking Dispositions: When Thinking Becomes Routine

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COST: Starting at $355

Delve further into the core principles of Visible Thinking, emphasizing its power to cultivate not only essential thinking skills but also thinking dispositions in students. Through the continued exploration of an expanded set of thinking routines, participants will learn practical strategies for empowering students to develop lasting thinking habits, leading to deeper content understanding and a more thoughtful approach to learning.