Cultures of Thinking in Action

Building culture in our classrooms and schools, whether online or at a distance, involves more than merely instituting a set of practices. As useful as practices like thinking routines, documentation, and effective questioning can be, culture runs deeper. Culture is built on our values and beliefs and embedded in the messages we send learners both implicitly as well as explicitly. Deep and lasting transformation begins by embracing a set of beliefs about teaching, learning, and schooling. In this mini course, we 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. As we explore these principles in this mini course, we will look at the research behind them as well as the actions and data we can use to advance our practice in whatever teaching and learning environment we find ourselves in.

Course Designers & Instructor

Co-Designer: Ron Ritchhart has been a researcher at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education since 1994. His research focuses on understanding how to develop, nurture, and sustain thoughtful learning environments for both students and teachers. Ron’s interest in “cultures of thinking” has led him to conduct research in areas such as intellectual character, mindfulness, thinking dispositions, teaching for understanding, creativity in teaching, and the development of communities of practice. Prior to joining the Project Zero research group, Ron taught for fourteen years in elementary and middle schools. In 1993 he received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Secondary Mathematics Teaching. Ron earned his Ed.D. in human development and psychology from Harvard University. He is the author of a number of books and articles, including The Power of Making Thinking Visible (co-authored with Mark Church, 2020); Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools (2015); Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners (co-authored with Mark Church and Karin Morrison, 2011); and Intellectual Character: What It Is, Why It Matters, How to Get It (2004).

Co-Designer & Instructor: Mark Church works throughout the world with schools that wish to create cultures of thinking in their classrooms. He believes in the difference teachers can make for students when they strive to make thinking visible, valued, and actively promoted as part of the day-to-day experience of their learners. Mark encourages teachers to become students of their students, and more broadly, students of themselves and the choices they make to leverage the power of making thinking visible. Mark is currently a consultant with Harvard Project Zero's Making Thinking Visible and Cultures of Thinking initiatives, drawing upon his own classroom teaching experience and the perspectives he has gained working with educators across grade levels and content areas. Together with Ron Ritchhart, Mark is co-author of the book Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners (co-authored with Ron Ritchhart and Karin Morrison, 2011) and The Power of Making Thinking Visible: Practices to Engage and Empower All Learners (co-authored with Ron Ritchhart, 2020).

What past participants are saying:

“This course has inspired me to become a better teacher; provoking students to think more deeply and creating a safe space where challenges are not seen as insurmountable, or the classroom seen as a place where students can fail.”

“This course actually changed my mind about the teacher's role in the classroom. The course’s 10 Principles are treasures for me to dig into.”

“Creating a true, authentic culture of thinking in a classroom and school is transformational. It changes the perspectives, the focus of class time, and the conversations between teachers and students.”

Online Course Schedule

Orientation and course site introduction for the mini courses is available no later than two days prior to the course launch.

• All participants will receive email invitations to the course site three days prior to the course start. The required review of the course policies assignment is available during the “Getting Ready” self-guided orientation to the site.
• Remember, if you joined the course as an individual and not as a member of an already formed team, you will be placed on a virtual team and will be sent an email introducing you to your virtual team members no later than 4 days prior to the course launch.
• We strongly recommend all teams schedule their weekly, required 60- 90 minute team meetings prior to the start of the course. Usually scheduling team meetings toward the end of each week is most helpful so all members have time to complete assignments in advance of the meeting.

Creating Cultures of Thinking

• Week 1: TBD
• Week 2: TBD
• Week 3: TBD
• Week 4: TBD
• Course Closes: TBD
   

Who Should Participate

Required Course Textbook

This course does not require a textbook.

Tuition, Discounts, and Scholarships

Tuition

• For In-Depth Courses (6 sessions, 13 weeks), tuition is $615 per person registering as a member of a team, and $695 per person registering as an individual who will be placed (by Project Zero) on a virtual team.
• For Mini Courses (4 sessions, 4 weeks), tuition is $295 per person registering as a member of a team, and $375 per person registering as an individual who will be placed (by Project Zero) on a virtual team.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available for educators from qualifying organizations. For online courses (in-depth and mini courses) offered from September 2022 through June 2023, scholarships will cover approximately 70% of the tuition. Eligibility guidelines and the application link are below. Scholarship applications must be submitted and accepted prior to registration for the course. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please do NOT register for the online course until you have completed the scholarship application and have been approved for scholarship. Those who register for the online course prior to applying for a scholarship will become ineligible for the scholarship. Please note: scholarships are limited and are assessed and awarded on a first come, first serve basis.

Eligibility guidelines: With generous support from the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation and many individual donations honoring Project Zero’s 50th anniversary in 2017, Project Zero is able to offer a limited number of professional learning scholarships to support a range of schools, districts, and organizations as well as a diverse group of educators. These scholarships aim to support teams of educators and individual educators working in under-resourced contexts and/or with historically marginalized students.

• In the United States, public school educators working in schools with a free and reduced lunch rate of 25% or more OR educators working primarily with students who attend these schools.
• Outside of the United States, educators whose schools or organizations serve 25% or more students whose families meet the country-defined standard for low-income.

Apply for a Scholarship

Registration

Register for the Online Course

Confirmation and Payment

Registration confirmations are sent automatically from the registration software. Please keep these emails as they include your receipt of payment for documentation as well as your confirmation number should you need to access your registration in the future.

Payments are accepted via credit card or invoice for payment by check or wire transfer. Confirmation of registration does not confirm full payment if participants selected to pay other than by a credit card. All required paperwork and payments must be completed (or evidence provided of payments in process) by the registration deadline. For participants whose required paperwork and/or payments are not finalized at the registration deadline, they will be removed from the course roster and placed on a wait list.

Deadline for Registration

For Cultures of Thinking in Action starting TBD 2023, the deadline for registration is TBD 2023 at 11:59 pm Boston time.

Please note: Space is limited. The courses may fill prior to the registration deadline.

Refund Request and Participant Substitution Deadlines

Requests for refunds and participant substitutions for the Cultures of Thinking in Action course starting TBD 2023 must be submitted by TBD 2023 at 11:59 pm Boston time.

To request a refund, submit a participant substitution, or to ask questions, please email pzlearn@gse.harvard.edu.