 |
|
|
Veronica Boix Mansilla is a Principal Investigator at Project Zero. Her research examines how human beings enhance their understanding of complex problems by using the lenses of disciplines like history, science, or the arts, or by combining disciplinary approaches in novel ways. She studies the developmental progressions that lead youngsters from early intuitive conceptions of the world to understandings that are informed by one or more disciplines. Her research bridges the minds and worlds of experts, educators, and learners and stands at the crossroads of fields like cognitive and developmental psychology, epistemology, sociology of knowledge and education. She links theory and practice learning from, and informing, initiatives in curriculum design, teaching, learning, assessment, and professional development in K-12 and higher education. Veronica is a co-principal investigator with Howard Gardner in the "Interdisciplinary Studies Project"funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. This study examines the intellectual, organizational, and pedagogical qualities of exemplary interdisciplinary work as it takes place in expert institutions and exemplary collegiate and pre-collegiate educational programs. Drawing on data collected at institutions such as the MIT Media Lab, the Stanford Human Biology program, and the Illinois Math and Science Academy, the study is developing a framework to characterize interdisciplinary work and inform interdisciplinary educational practice. Veronica led research initiatives centered on disciplinary understanding in a variety of projects at Project Zero. In "The Pursuit of Understanding" study, she compared award-winning adolescents' beliefs about what makes an account trustworthy in science and in history. The study characterized higher level reasoning in these disciplines and showed their lack of cross-domain transferability. Through the "Assessing Historical Understanding" project, Veronica and her colleagues collaborated with Facing History and Ourselves to develop an exemplary assessment case study. The case sheds light on middle school students' ability to use their understanding of the past to think about the present. As a researcher in the ATLAS Seminar, Veronica focused on examining the role of disciplinary understanding in systemic school reform. Her seminar writings examined the importance and challenges of a disciplinary turn in K-12 curriculum design. Working on the Teaching for Understanding Project she and her colleagues led the development of a framework to characterize dimensions of quality understanding. In addition to her research, Veronica is actively involved in professional development in national and international contexts. She is particularly interested in the challenges of reinterpreting Project Zero's frameworks to serve developing countries--a mission she undertakes as the co-founder and director of the L@titud Project at PZ. The project supports Latin American initiatives that promote deep understanding in schools, museums, and other institutions. Project affiliates participate in professional development endeavors and disseminate information about publications, materials, and events. Veronica serves as an educational advisor at a variety of institutions on matters of pedagogy, curriculum design, assessment and professional development. Examples of institution include the Fundación Omar Dengo (Costa Rica), the International Baccalaureate, the Organization of American States, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Regiones Educativas project (Puerto Rico). |
|
Search the Project Zero web site. |
|
[Project Zero] [Research Projects] [History of Project Zero ] [Principal Investigators] [Summer Institute] [Products and Services] [eBookstore] Copyright © 2009 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 124 Mount Auburn Street, Fifth Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138, Phone: 617-495-4342, Fax: 617-495-9709 |
