PZ Online Courses

Why choose professional development with Project Zero? Our research-based online courses engage teams of educators to learn, reflect, share, and test in their own context. Experienced PZ instructors and coaches support both individual and team learning in a mostly-asynchronous format designed for busy educators in all time zones. Throughout the year, you can choose from either an in-depth (12 weeks) or mini (4 weeks) course that will:

IN-DEPTH COURSE

Join fellow educators and leaders from around the world for a deep dive into essential PZ ideas that can be implemented in real time with professional and peer feedback over the course of several months.

WHAT TO EXPECT

• A one-week orientation period followed by one session every two weeks for 12 weeks
• Professional development hours: 30

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

Sep. 9 to Dec. 6, 2026
Starting at $655

Drawing on the collaborative research between 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

Busy schedule? Gain a condensed burst of PZ inspiration and deep learning with educators and leaders worldwide over the course of just one month.

WHAT TO EXPECT

• A two-day orientation period followed by one session every week for four weeks
• Professional development hours: 12

Using Thinking Routines Purposefully

Oct. 19 to Nov. 15, 2026
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.

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

Oct. 26 to Nov. 22, 2026
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.

Introduction to Maker-Centered Learning

Oct. 26 to Nov. 22, 2026
Starting at $355

Sensitivity to design develops when young people and adults have opportunities to: look closely and reflect on the design of objects and systems, explore the complexity of design, and understand themselves as designers of their worlds. Project Zero’s multi-year research initiative, Agency by Design, developed important ideas and tools for educators to use as they engage their students in learning that is “maker-centered.”

Teaching and Learning for Understanding

Jan. 25 to Feb. 21, 2027
Starting at $355

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.

The Power of Making Thinking Visible

Jan. 25 to Feb. 21, 2027
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.

Investigating the Forces that Shape Cultures of Thinking

Feb. 22 to Mar. 21, 2027 
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.

Developing Thinking Dispositions: When Thinking Becomes Routine

Feb. 22 to Mar. 21, 2027 
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.

Let's Play: Teaching Strategies for Playful Learning

Apr. 5 to May 2, 2027
Starting at $355

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

Apr. 5 to May 2, 2027
Starting at $355

Building on the ideas of Ron Ritchhart’s new book of the same name (2023), this course explores the 10 mindsets that support deeper learning and thinking. Develop your skills 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.