Rounds

Education has very few opportunities for the kind of lifelong professional learning that those in the medical community can access. At Project Zero we have been engaged since 1995 in an effort to create a powerful learning community based on the medical model of "rounds", where doctors young and old come together to share knowledge and practice clinical diagnostic skills. Designed and facilitated by Steve Seidel, the result is ROUNDS, a monthly discussion group giving educators an opportunity to gather and discuss emerging issues in educational practice, to present their personal puzzles about teaching and learning, and to practice looking at student work together. This group is made up of teachers, administrators, and researchers with varying levels of experience who have either collaborated on Project Zero research studies or have been students at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Everyone is considered to have special perspectives and expertise to offer the group, and those who attend engage in serious and spirited dialogue about educational matters.  We intend to continue ROUNDS in the foreseeable future, hoping that it will continue to foster a rich dialogue month by month and also serve as a viable model of a voluntary, long-term professional learning practice for educators.