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Project Zero was founded at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1967 by the philosopher Nelson Goodman to study and improve education in and through the arts. Goodman believed that arts learning should be studied as a serious cognitive activity, but that "zero" had been firmly established about the field; hence, the project was given its name. Today, Project Zero is building on this research to help create communities of reflective, independent learners; to enhance deep understanding within and across disciplines; and to promote critical and creative thinking. Project Zero's mission is to understand and enhance learning, thinking, and creativity in the arts, as well as humanistic and scientific disciplines, at the individual and institutional levels. Project Zero's research initiatives build on and contribute to detailed understandings of human cognitive development and the processes of learning in the arts and other disciplines. They place the learner at the center of the educational process, respecting the different ways in which an individual learns at various stages of life, as well as differences among individuals in the ways they perceive the world and express their ideas. Many of these initiatives involve collaborators in schools, universities, museums, or other settings in the United States and other countries.Use the following links to see selected projects in many of Project Zero's research areas or browse through an alphabetical listing below. Learning in Out-of-School Settings Projects Multiple Intelligences Projects School Change/School Improvement Projects Adult Multiple Intelligences Study was a five-year (August 1996-August 2001) collaboration between Project Zero and World Education, Inc., investigating and supporting the work of adult literacy educators in developing innovative instructional strategies, curriculum, and assessment based on multiple intelligences theory. APPLE Project (Assessing Projects and Portfolios for LEarning) was a research and development effort focused on studying effective ways of assessing student performances; fair documentation and assessment of children's work on series projects; and determining how best to implement portfolio assessment in schools. The Artful Thinking program helps students develop thinking dispositions that support thoughtful learning--in the arts, and across school subjects. Currently in use by teachers in grades K-8, the Artful Thinking program is a member of growing international network of K-12 programs, linked by the theme “Visible Thinking." Arts PROPEL: Integrating Teaching and Assessment was a five-year collaborative project focused on developing model programs that combine instruction and assessment in music, visual arts, and imaginative writing. ARTS SURVIVE was a three year national study investigating why some arts education partnerships between schools and professional artists and/or cultural institutions survive and others do not. It worked to provide a greater understanding of what survival means to arts education partnerships, as well as determining what is essential to build and sustain them. ArtWorks for Schools was a collaborative project with arts organizations and schools that focused on teaching high-level thinking in and through the arts. Assessing Historical Understanding Project was a collaboration between Project Zero and Facing History and Ourselves to develop tools, criteria, and frameworks for deep understanding of the rise of Nazi Germany and other periods in history. ATLAS Communities (Communities for Authentic Teaching, Learning, and Assessment for all Students) was a project dedicated to designing "break-the-mold schools" for the 21st century. ATLAS Seminar was a series of seminars, convened by Principal Investigators of the ATLAS Communities Project, for the purpose of examining central issues in school reform. Catalyst: Developing Technology for Education was a project that investigated how computers could best be used as teaching machines. The Creative Classroom Project is a collaboration between Project Zero and the Disney Learning Partnership to produce tools and knowledge to inform and support creativity in teaching. Cultures of Thinking is a collaboration with Bialik College in Melbourne, Australia. The project looks at the process of creating a school-wide culture of thinking that supports the development of students' thinking dispositions. Early Symbolization and the Transition to Literacy was a group of closely related studies centered on representation capacities in younger children. The Evidence Project was a three-year effort, working in a small number of Massachusetts schools serving youth from low-income communities, to develop effective methods of assessing instructional practices in K-8 classrooms. Currently project staff are writing a book with colleagues from the Academy for Educational Development and Coalition of Essential Schools on this work. Figurative Language was an investigation of the development of figurative language skills in children. The GoodWork Project is a large-scale study of the beliefs and practices characterizing the lives of professional people. Researchers are examining both the relation between children's and adolescents' beliefs and practices and their commitment to an area of work; and adults' beliefs and practices and their ability to perform cutting-edge work. Innovating with Intelligence is an international project that is developing a research-based approach to teaching thinking dispositions. Based partly at Lemshaga Akademi in Sweden, and partly at pilot schools in the U.S., the program is exploring high-leverage ways to develop students' thinking dispositions in such areas as truth-seeking, understanding, fairness, and imagination. Interdisciplinary Work and the Future of Education is exploring the cognitive, organizational, and pedagogical qualities of interdisciplinary work as it takes place in exemplary expert institutions, collegiate, and pre-collegiate educational programs. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum/Project Zero Educational Collaboration was established for the purpose of developing educational activities and curricula to help make the Museum's unique collections more accessible to schools and other populations. L@titud is the Latin American Initiative toward Understanding and Development. The L@titud network gathers professionals to promote educational innovations that support understanding and intelligent action in Latin America. L@titud seeks to promote regional dialogue and support local initiatives that build on conceptual frameworks developed at Project Zero. It also strives to strengthen local expertise through professional development, the production and dissemination of educational materials in Spanish, and research activities. L@titud es una red de profesionales que busca promover innovaciones educativas para el mejoramiento de la comprensión y la acción inteligente en contextos sociales diversos en Latinoamerica. L@titud busca promover el dialogo regional y apoyar iniciativas locales basadas en marcos conceptuales desarrollados por Proyecto Cero. Ademas, L@titud busca generar experticia regional a traves de la difusión de materiales educativos en español, el desarrollo de programas de actualización profesional e investigación. Learning in and from Museum Study Centers: The Harvard University Art Museums (HUAM) and Project Zero are conducting a one-year collaborative research project to investi-gate the nature of visitor learning at HUAM’s two study centers, the Agnes Mongan Center for the Study of Prints, Drawings and Photographs and the Study Room of the Busch-Reisinger Museum. Learning Innovations Laboratory (LILA) is a small community of business leaders, academics, and organizational researchers collectively exploring themes of leadership, human development and innovation in the workplace. Lincoln Center Institute Project: Curricular Frameworks in Aesthetic Education was an artist-in-residence program designed to expose students to the arts, and to immerse students and teachers in an intensive aesthetic education program. Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners is a three-phase project. The first phase, a collaboration between Project Zero and the Municipal Infant-toddler Centers and Preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, examined how to document and assess individual and group learning. The second phase explored these ideas with American preschool, elementary, and middle school teachers. In Phase III we are expanding the research and reach of these ideas through a monthly MLV Seminar with American teachers from preschool through high school, the development of MLV institutes at Project Zero, the publication of new materials documenting these ideas in American classrooms, and a partnership with teacher educators. Mather Afterschool Program: A Project-Centered Approach to Literacy Instruction was a collaborative undertaking which resulted in the development of a project-based afterschool program designed to build students' literacy and thinking skills. MoMA's Visual Thinking Curriculum Project was an investigation of the educational impact and potential of the Museum of Modern Art's Visual Thinking Curriculum. Multiple Intelligences Schools was a research study examining the many ways Multiple Intelligences theory has been applied in schools, as well as the types of impact it has made. Parent Partners was a project to develop a website for parents. It aimed to help them understand and support their children's growth in seven areas of development from birth through age 14. Patterns of Thinking was a multi-year investigation into the nature of critical and creative thinking. The project's focus was the understanding, teaching, and assessment of thinking dispositions. Practical Intelligence For School was a research project exploring the question "What do students need to know in order to succeed in school?" Project Co-Arts was a national study of community arts centers in economically disadvantaged communities that focused on education. The project developed a framework to help administrators and teacher/artists make thoughtful decisions regarding the provision of quality education. The project also worked to enable art centers and other educational institutions to document and assess their educational effectiveness. Project MUSE (Museums Uniting with Schools in Education) was a collaboration of researchers, museum educators, and classroom teachers focused on exploring the potential of art museums to serve as integral elements of education. Project Spectrum, based on the belief that every child exhibits a distinctive spectrum of abilities, offered an alternative approach to assessment and curriculum development during preschool and early primary years. Project SUMIT (Schools Using Multiple Intelligences Theory) was a research project which identified, documented, and promoted effective applications of Multiple Intelligences in schools. Project Zero/International Schools Consortium Partnership focuses on Project Zero's framework, Teaching for Understanding, with secondary attention given to issues about assessment and thinking dispositions, Multiple Intelligences, and the arts in education. Project Zero/Massachusetts Schools Network was a three-year collaboration between Project Zero, the Massachusetts Department of Education, and eleven Massachusetts elementary schools which brought together practitioners, policy makers, and researchers for the purpose of exploring how portfolios can be implemented to provide effective assessment of students and programs. The Qualities of Quality: Excellence in Arts Education and How to Achieve It is a study aiming to synthesize what is currently understood about the critical elements of high quality arts teaching and learning and to identify effective strategies for creating those experiences for school-age youth in diverse settings. REAP (Reviewing Education and the Arts Project) reviewed what can be learned from the massive number of studies about the effects of arts instruction (multi-arts, visual arts, music, drama, and dance) on cognition and learning in non-arts domains. ROUNDS at Project Zero provides opportunities for educators to regularly gather together to share their work and discuss professional issues. Rubrics and Self-Assessment Project was aimed at improving writing skills of middle school students by engaging them in regular self-assessment using scoring rubrics. Shakespeare & Company Research Study was a project which closely examined two components of a professional theater company's school-based educational programs. Smart Schools provided a structure for schools by envisioning a learning community that is steeped in thinking and deep understanding; that engenders respect for all its members; and that produces students who are ready to face the world as responsible, thinking members of a diverse society. The Story Work Project. This partnership with the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee sought to understand the power and role of storytelling in individual and community learning and development. How do communities craft and use stories to learn? How do individuals create personal stories that enhance their growth? Insights into questions such as these are revealed through extensive literature reviews and interviews with leading practitioners who use stories and storytelling in a variety of fields. Archivists and folklore leaders from the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian also worked with the project to share the work with the broader public. This project was funded by the Krispy Kreme Foundation. The Studio Thinking Project is a study conducted in two high schools that take the arts seriously. In these schools, teachers are artists, students enter by audition in the visual arts, and students receive a minimum of ten hours per week of visual arts instruction. The project's purpose is to understand instruction in visual arts classes, both the instructors' goals and how instruction is carried out. Teaching for Understanding: Enhancing Disciplinary Understanding in Teachers and Students was a collaborative effort of researchers and practitioners targeting middle and high school for the purpose of developing and testing a pedagogy of understanding. Understanding for Organizations was an action research endeavor, in collaboration with the Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Bogota, Colombia, developing a framework which foregrounds personal and organizational inquiry in the workplace and communities. Project Zero researchers are working with a group of administrators at the university to cultivate personal investment and action projects that advance various aspects of university life. Understandings of Consequence Project explores how students' limiting assumptions about the nature of causality impact their ability to learn complex science concepts and is helping teachers learn how to address these patterns so that students gain deeper understanding. Visible Thinking is an approach to teaching and learning that emphasizes the use of thinking routines and documentation to make thinking more visible in classrooms. Thinking routines support the development of students as self-directed learners and learning for understanding. Visible Thinking is used as the instructional approach in several projects and the ideas associated with it continue to develop. |
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