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Professional Development

Opportunities to engage with the ideas of PZ both in person and online throughout the year.

This was a rich learning experience. It has challenged a 30+-year teacher to rethink teaching and learning.
- Power of Making Thinking Visible Mini Course Participant

We make our research accessible to educators around the world through providing professional learning opportunities. These offerings are research-based and designed to support educators in their day-to-day work. In addition, they are an opportunity for educators to earn professional learning hours.

PZ Online Courses
PZ Workshops
PZ Conferences
Civics Pathways
Civics Education-DKP
For Educators at IB Schools

Scholarships

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


 

Learn practical strategies for making your classroom a place where student engagement, learning, and thinking thrive. The Project Zero Online (PZO) courses feature research-based frameworks and strategies you can apply in your own context as you learn.

  • The In-Depth Courses consist of 6 two-week sessions (plus a 1-week orientation session) over 13 weeks for a total of 30 hours of professional development.
  • The Mini Courses consist of 4 one-week sessions over 4 weeks (plus a two-day orientation period) for a total of 12 hours of professional development.

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, whether that context is 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 to 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, the 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.

In-Depth Courses

Offered in February or September each year.

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

Dates: September 18, 2023 to December 17, 2023
COST: $615 per person for teams of 3-6 people; $695 per person for individuals

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.

Visible Thinking: Using Thinking Routines Effectively to Cultivate Dispositions and Support Learning (VT)

Dates: September 18, 2023 to December 17, 2023
Dates: February 19, 2024 to May 19, 2024
COST: $615 per person for teams of 3-6 people; $695 per person for individuals

Learn a variety of thinking routines and how to use them effectively in classrooms and other learning contexts to support deeper learning and thinking for students, and to cultivate powerful and lasting thinking dispositions.

Teaching and Learning for Understanding

Dates: February 19, 2024 to May 19, 2024
COST: $615 per person for teams of 3-6 people; $695 per person for individuals

How can we ensure that our learners are engaged in learning that is meaningful to them (both now and in the future) and that lasts beyond the test? Learn about the Teaching for Understanding framework, developed through collaborative research with educators, and apply it to create a curriculum unit, lesson, or learning experience that you can use in your context to engage your students in meaningful, lasting, and life-worthy learning.

Mini Courses

Cultures of Thinking in Action

Dates: October 16, 2023 to November 12, 2023
COST: $295 per individual on teams of 3-6 people. $375 for individuals without a team who will be placed on virtual teams.

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.

Maker-Centered Learning: Developing Student Agency & Sensitivity to Design

Dates: October 23, 2023 to November 19, 2023
COST: $295 per individual on teams of 3-6 people. $375 for individuals without a team who will be placed on virtual teams.

What is maker-centered learning? How can educators of all grade levels and subject areas use this powerful approach to motivate students and engage them in the kind of deep and sustained learning that develops student agency and a sensitivity to design? In this mini course, explore a set of maker-centered learning strategies and tools developed by Agency by Design, a multi-year Project Zero research initiative.

The Power of Making Thinking Visible

Dates: January 22, 2024 to February 18, 2024
COST: $295 per individual on teams of 3-6 people. $375 for individuals without a team who will be placed on virtual teams.

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. Develop a better understanding of the benefits of thinking routines, for both teachers and students. And try out core practices associated with making thinking visible and learn how they relate to and interact with one another.

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

Dates: February 26, 2024 to March 24, 2024
COST: $295 per individual on teams of 3-6 people. $375 for individuals without a team who will be placed on virtual teams.

To develop engaged and empowered learners, we need to change 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.

Let`s Play: Teaching Strategies for Playful Learning

Dates: April 15, 2024 to May 12, 2024
COST: $295 per individual on teams of 3-6 people. $375 for individuals without a team who will be placed on virtual teams.

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.

Please stay tuned for updates on PZ's 2023 - 2024 workshops.

See our past Virtual Workshops here.

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 2024

Dates: June 24, 2024 to June 28, 2024
COST: $3,995

The weeklong Project Zero Classroom institute (PZC) 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.

The Civics Pathways are free, teacher-designed and led professional learning focused on K-12 civics instruction that educators can personalize for their needs, learning preferences, and schedule. The pathways are designed and facilitated by Massachusetts teachers with the support of Project Zero, the Democratic Knowledge Project at the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard, and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. View an overview of pathway offerings here.

Note: Currently, the Civics Pathways are open only to Massachusetts public school educators.

Civics Pathway 1: Getting Started with the Student-led Civics Project

Dates: September 26, 2023 to February 08, 2024
COST: Free (Only Open to Massachusetts Public School Educators)

Civics Pathway 2: Going Deeper with the Student-led Civics Project

Dates: November 27, 2023 to February 20, 2024
COST: Free (Only Open to Massachusetts Public School Educators)

Civics Pathway 3: Foundational Civics Pedagogies, Grades 6-12

Dates: January 10, 2024 to April 22, 2024
COST: Free (Only Open to Massachusetts Public School Educators)