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Cognition, Thinking & Understanding

What do thinking and learning look like, and under what conditions do they thrive? What is understanding and how does it develop? These and similar questions about the nature of human cognition have animated Project Zero inquires for several decades, beginning with early work in the nature of creativity and intelligence, to more recent work that emphasizes a performative view of understanding, a dispositional perspective on thinking, a focus on ‘visible thinking,’ and an exploration of the cultural forces that support good thinking. Over the years, Project Zero research initiatives in these areas have yielded a variety of frameworks and practices that help educators understand, design, and document powerful learning experiences in a range of disciplines and settings.

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Article

Toward a Pedagogy of Play

A resource from Pedagogy of Play

Toward a Pedagogy of Play

A resource from Pedagogy of Play

Making room for playful learning in school can be difficult. Formidable tensions exist between playful learning and the way pedagogy is currently structured in most schools. Educators often differ in how they value playful learning practices and their understandings of the nature of play. For, what is playful to one learner may not be experienced as playful by another. To those who view play as a central pathway for learning, resources such as time, space, and materials can seem in short supply. To those who see play as silly and off-task, encouraging playful learning can run counter to educational policies that emphasize efficient coverage of the curriculum.

We believe that a pedagogy of play—a systematic approach to the practice of playful learning and teaching—is needed to bridge these tensions. Creating and operationalizing such a pedagogy requires a school culture where playfulness is celebrated, examined, made visible, and better understood as a powerful pathway of learning. Indeed, bringing play into a central role in a school entails creating a culture that values the core tenets of play: taking risks, making mistakes, exploring new ideas, and experiencing joy.

The purpose of this paper is to share ideas that are emerging from a recent research initiative called a Pedagogy of Play that explores how playful learning can assume a central role in school.

Use the resource links on the right to download the full paper.

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Article

Children Are Citizens: The Everyday and the Razzle-Dazzle

A resource from Children Are Citizens

Children Are Citizens: The Everyday and the Razzle-Dazzle

A resource from Children Are Citizens

How do children get to know their city and the city get to know its children? How often are children asked their opinions about their city? The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) established that in addition to children’s human rights to protection from harm and provision of an adequate standard of living, children also possess civil rights to participate in the cultural and civic activities of their communities. We, the authors of this article, maintain that children are indeed citizens from birth with the right to participate in the civic life of their cities. Cities belong to the adults and children who live there—even young children, who are capable of generating compelling insights about their communities.

The recognition of children as citizens is an essential pillar of the Reggio schools. Sustaining the strong bond between children’s and adults’ destinies has characterized 50 years of dialogue and cultural and political collaboration between the city of Reggio and its municipal preschools and infant-toddler centers. Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy, believed that schools are a critical context for fostering the relationship between children and the city. Once Malaguzzi said:

Our children go outside of the school as often as they can. They go to discover what is there or not in the city and to reflect and maybe conquer, with the help of the adults, what could be there . . . [They go] to strengthen relationships with cultural and sports institutions, to run in the fields, to meet the farmers . . . [They go] to discover people’s most beautiful trades, where and how their fathers and mothers work, to make friends with the elderly in their nursing home— images that are missing from their eyes and minds but that are essential to launch themselves into life, into the future. They invite to school the farmer and the factory worker, to hear their stories, their problems, the conditions of the work, and to understand the meaning of life, to feel they are part of a wider community. (see also Cagliari et al., 2016)

How might we help children imagine their futures as active members of their communities? Schools are an ideal setting for fostering a dialogue between children and the city. Like the ancient Greek agora, classrooms can serve as laboratories for life in a democratic community—places where knowledge and culture are both created and transmitted. When children encounter other perspectives—when they discuss, argue, and compare ideas—they are building understanding and making public that which had been private. Cities also provide a construct that three-, four-, and fiveyear- olds can understand—places they can experience and to which they can respond.

This article is written for those who wish to foster a relationship between children and their cities. We start with two examples of children’s contributions to their communities, one from Reggio Emilia—a city with a long and rich history of connecting children to their community, and one from Washington, DC—a city that has more recently built child-community connections. We close by identifying three lessons learned about engaging children in their communities.

From Innovations in Early Education: The International Reggio Emilia Exchange, v. 23, n. 4, published by NAREA (North American Reggio Emilia Alliance)

Download the PDF (under Resource Links) to continue reading this article.

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Article

Why Don't You Tell the Other Kids?

A resource from Making Learning Visible

Why Don't You Tell the Other Kids?

A resource from Making Learning Visible

A short essay by Krechevsky about how Reggio Emilia ideas influenced her parenting See other tools for engaging families in this work on pp.151-162 in the Visible Learners: Promoting Reggio-Inspired Practices in All Schools book.

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Tool

The 8 Forces that Shape Group Culture

A resource from Cultures of Thinking

The 8 Forces that Shape Group Culture

A resource from Cultures of Thinking

EXPECTATIONS: Recognizing How Our Beliefs Shape Our Behavior

ex•pec•ta•tions |,ekspek’tāSH ns| noun: A set of strong beliefs surrounding future outcomes and anticipated results. As a culture shaper, expectations operate as “belief sets” or ‘action theories’ that influence our own efforts in relation to the achievement of desired goals and outcomes with respect to our teaching. In this way, expectations not only set our course, but also act as an internal compass that keeps us moving toward our goal. It is important to note that this departs from the way teachers more typically think of “expectations”, that is, as an explicit expression of standards used to direct and inform the behavior of others.

LANGUAGE: Appreciating Its Subtle Yet Profound Power

lan•guage |’laNGgwij| noun: The system of communication used by a community to negotiate shared meaning and build group coherence and understanding around ideas, behaviors, and actions. As a culture shaper, language helps us to direct attention and action. However, the words and structures that make up language not only convey an explicit surface meaning, but also impart a set of deeper associations and connections that implicitly shape thought and influence behavior. This is the hidden power of language: Its ability to subtly convey messages that shape our thinking, sense of self, and group affinity.

TIME: Learning to Be Its Master Rather than Its Victim

Time |tīm| noun: The “containers,” consisting of measurable periods, that we allocate, assign or use to accomplish tasks of our choosing. As a culture shaper, all of these conceptions of time are in play. Our allocations of periods of time reflect our values. Our sequencing of events, construction of moments, and reflections on actions allows us to scaffold and draw a connecting thread through learning occasions to create a unity. Finally, our ability to generate, sustain, and capitalize on periods of total engagement allows us to create the energy needed for learning and thinking.

MODELING: Seeing Ourselves through Our Students’ Eyes

mod•el•ing |’mädl-iNG| (Brit. modelling ) verb: To display, demonstrate, or draw attention to as an example for others to follow or imitate. As a culture shaper, modeling operates on both an explicit and an implicit level. Explicitly, we may demonstrate techniques, processes and strategies in a way that makes our own thinking visible for students to learn from and appropriate. Implicitly, our actions are constantly on display for our students. They see our passions, our interests, our caring, and our authenticity as thinkers, learners, community members, and leaders. Adult models surround students and make real a world that they may choose to enter or reject.

OPPORTUNITIES: Crafting the Vehicles for Learning

op•por•tu•ni•ties |äp r’t(y)oonitēs | noun: A set of conditions or circumstances that make it possible to do or achieve something. As a culture shaper, the opportunities present will serve either to constrain or enhance the activity of both individuals and the group as a whole. Although it is possible for opportunities to lie hidden, remain untapped, or to languish; in strong cultures rich opportunities for growth, advancement, and creativity are prominent. In a culture of thinking, these types of opportunities dominate the landscape, guiding and shaping the activity of the group and engaging all individuals.

ROUTINES: Supporting and Scaffolding Learning and Thinking

rou•tine |roo’tēn| noun: A sequence of actions designed to achieve a specific outcome in an efficient and productive manner. As a culture shaper, routines represent a set of shared practices that constitute a group’s way of doing things. They are the classroom infrastructure, guiding much of the activity that happens there. Routines—whether they are for management, participation, discourse, instruction, learning, or thinking—help to minimize confusion, reduce uncertainty, and direct activity along known paths. Ultimately, routines become patterns of behavior for both individuals and the group. Of particular importance in learning groups, is the presence of thinking and learning routines that help to direct, guide, and scaffold learning and thinking.

INTERACTIONS: Forging Relationships that Empower Learners

in•ter•ac•tions |int r’akSH ns| noun: The dynamic phenomenon that emerges when two or more objects have an effect upon one another. As a culture shaper, interactions form the basis for relationships among teachers and students, students and students, and teachers and teachers. Interactions knit together the social fabric that binds individuals together in community. The Interactions among group members help to define the emotional climate, tone, or ethos of a place. In a culture of thinking, teacher’s interactions with students show a respect for and an interest in students’ thinking while nurturing their development as valued, competent individuals able to contribute effectively to the group.

ENVIRONMENT: Using Space to Support Learning and Thinking

en•vi•ron•ment |en’vīr nm nt| noun: The physical space occupied by a group or individual, including its design, aesthetic, setup, displays, artifacts, and furnishings. As a culture shaper, the physical environment is the “body language” of an organization, conveying its values and key messages even in the absence of its inhabitants. The physical environment of a school or classroom will dictate how individuals interact, their behaviors, and performance. The physical space can inhibit or inspire the work of the group and the individual. Although most educators inherit a physical environment fashioned for an old paradigm of learning, there is still much that can be done in the design of that space to facilitate and promote a culture of thinking.

The 8 Forces that Shape Group Culture