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Professional Development

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

This course challenged me in my own practices. I am already thinking about how to move forward to improve my performance and be more consistent based on what I expect.
- Cultures of Thinking in Action 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.

Online Courses
Workshops
Conferences

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.

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

Dates: February 27, 2023 to May 28, 2023
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.

Making Learning Visible: The Power of Documentation to Support Individual and Group Learning (MLV)

Dates: TBD 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.

Mini Courses

The Power of Making Thinking Visible

Dates: January 16, 2023 to February 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. Late registration: $325 & $405.

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.

Investigating the Forces that Shape Cultures of Thinking

Dates: March 06, 2023 to April 02, 2023
COST: $295 per individual on teams of 3-6 people. $375 for individuals without a team who will be placed on virtual teams. Late registration: $325 & $405.

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.

Let`s Play: Teaching Strategies for Playful Learning

Dates: April 17, 2023 to May 14, 2023
COST: $295 per individual on teams of 3-6 people. $375 for individuals without a team who will be placed on virtual teams. Late registration: $325 & $405.

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.

Cultures of Thinking in Action

Dates: TBD 2023
COST: $295 per individual on teams of 3-6 people. $375 for individuals without a team who will be placed on virtual teams. Late registration: $325 & $405.

Building a culture of thinking in our classrooms and schools involves more than instituting a set of practices. In this mini course, explore the 10 principles at the heart of the Cultures of Thinking project. These principles guide actions and provide touchstones for all educators who seek to create places where thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted. Learn about the research behind these principles and identify actions and data that you can use in your learning context to advance your practice.

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

Dates: TBD 2023
COST: $295 per individual on teams of 3-6 people. $375 for individuals without a team who will be placed on virtual teams. Late registration: $325 & $405.

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.

Creating Cultures of Thinking: An Introduction

Dates: TBD 2023
COST: $295 per individual on teams of 3-6 people. $375 for individuals without a team who will be placed on virtual teams. Late registration: $325 & $405.

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.

Please stay tuned for updates on PZ's 2023 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 2023

Dates: June 26, 2023 to June 30, 2023
COST: $3,895

The week-long Project Zero Classroom 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.

Past Conferences

Learning and Thinking That Make a Difference

Dates: October 10, 2022 8:30AM to 3:30PM Boston USA Time
COST: $100

This event is complete. Sign up to receive updates about future professional development opportunities.

On October 10, 2022 Northgate School District, Researchers from Harvard Graduate School of Education: Project Zero, and educators from around the region will be learning together about the wonderful complexities of teaching and learning. There will be fantastic sessions on the following topics:

  • What is understanding, and how does it develop?
  • How can we make thinking visible to reveal students' understanding?

All conference participants will be sure to walk away with strategies that will continue to grow and develop their instructional practice. We hope to see you there!

Project Zero Sparks 2022

Dates: July 21, 2022 8:30AM to 4:00PM Boston USA Time
COST: $195 per person ($165 per person for groups of 5+)

This event is complete. Sign up to receive updates about future professional development opportunities.

Re-energize your practice through inspiring talks, interactive workshops, and thoughtful conversations with colleagues! Join Project Zero researchers and educators from around the world for an exciting day of learning. “Spark” your thinking with . . .

  • Fresh takes on some of PZ's most popular and enduring frameworks and how to use them to inspire students’ deeper learning and thinking across grade levels and subjects.
  • Strategies and resources for supporting students to engage thoughtfully with one another as they grapple with complex issues and challenges in the world around them.
  • Approaches to engaging students with systems thinking in ways that inspire their imagination, creativity, and agency.
  • New thinking routines for helping students reflect on their social, emotional, and civic life in complex digital spaces as well as in face-to-face relationships.

Education that Matters (2-Day Online Conference)

Dates: March 18, 2022 to March 19, 2022
COST: $350

This event is complete. Sign up to receive updates about future professional development opportunities.