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.

Resources

Article
Playful Participatory Research: An emerging methodology for developing a pedagogy of play
Published: 2016
The Pedagogy of Play project aspires to change the way that educators, family members, and policy makers think about play and learning through play, and to offer tools and... Read more
Article
Children Are Citizens: The Everyday and the Razzle-Dazzle
Published: 2016
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... Read more
Article
How To Be A Global Thinker
Published: 2016
Article
Finding Our Way
Published: 2015
Tool
Understanding Map
Published: 2015
A visual depiction of the ways in which students make meaning and understand concepts. Read more