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

Tool
Choosing a Honing Question
A resource from Making Learning Visible

Choosing a Honing Question
A resource from Making Learning Visible

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Article from Ideas in Action at ISB...
Building a Space for 3- to 7-Year-Old Makers
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

Building a Space for 3- to 7-Year-Old Makers
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

“The Creator Space feels like a big-kids room”
It is afterschool time in the Creator Space. Four 10-year-old students are using the iPads to explore a tangram challenge on the Osmo app. An 8-year-old boy is navigating a Wonder Workshop robot around the space, sending it dodging under tables and chairs. Three girls from P4 are using beads and hot glue guns to make bracelets, and there is a steady stream of 6- and 7-year-olds building houses and rockets inside of the enclosed LEGO bench. With so many tools and materials to choose from, it is surprising that there are no children from the Kindergarten classrooms. Two 5-year-old girls from K3A walk through the space with Marina Benavente Barbon, their K3A teacher, on the way to the nurse. They look around and pause to ask older children what they are working on, but quickly lose interest and leave. Later, when asked why the Kindergarten classes don’t use the space throughout the day, Marina replies “it feels like a big-kids room.”

Use the links to the right to download the full Article.

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Article
Ideas in Action at ISB
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

Ideas in Action at ISB
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

Article from Ideas in Action at ISB...
The Evolution of Passion Day
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

The Evolution of Passion Day
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

September 2016 saw the introduction of a new ritual at ISB: Passion Day. Differing from the typical school day, during Passion Day children plan and choose activities to participate in. They may spend the day skateboarding, playing chess or reading a book. This picture of practice chronicles how the Passion Day ritual is evolving in the Food Lab (a teaching kitchen in the school) because of middle school teacher Lene Holm Christensen’s reflection on choice and her desire to make the day “more passionated.” How Passion Days contributes to the school’s culture of learning through play is also considered.
Use the link to the right to download the full Article.

Download PDF

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Article from Ideas in Action at ISB...
The Influences on Playful Learning for Adults
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

The Influences on Playful Learning for Adults
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

The genesis of the January staff meeting
While there are numerous opportunities for adults to gather at ISB, such as weekly grade-level team meetings and informal conversations, whole-school meetings occur only six times a year. These meetings, which take place in the evenings, involve a significant expenditure of time and resources. All 80 school employees – from teachers and administrators to cooks and janitors – participate. Per Danish law, staff is paid overtime at one and a half times regular salary for their attendance.

Head of School Camilla Fog feels that these meetings are an important part of the school culture. At the start of the school year she outlines the topics for each staff meeting. Camilla begins planning for the January meeting in mid-December, creating a preliminary agenda and getting feedback from her leadership team colleagues Sue Oates and Kathy Bilgrav. Reviewing the plans, Camilla worries that the update about the budget is “so boring.” She consults the indicators of playful learning to consider how to include more choice, delight and wonder in the meeting.

Use the link to the right to download the full Article.

Download PDF

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Article from Ideas in Action at ISB...
Playful Learning Meets Curriculum Goals
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

Playful Learning Meets Curriculum Goals
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

Aarav1 is a student in Idah and Marc’s class. He and his family live in Billund,
though they originally come from India. It is January, and they are shopping
at a local store. When they get to the cash register, Aarav watches intently
as his dad opens his wallet and begins to use his credit card to pay for their
purchase. Aarav’s dad explains how a concerned Aarav stepped in to
interrupt the process, “Dad, why are you using your credit card instead of
your debit card? You know that you may be paying a lot of interest on it!” A
discussion ensues in which Aarav and his dad talk about the pros and cons of
using a debit card versus a credit card for purchases.

Use the links to the right to download the full Article.

Download PDF

×

Article from Ideas in Action at ISB...
Building a Space for 3- to 7-Year-Old Makers
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

Building a Space for 3- to 7-Year-Old Makers
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

“The Creator Space feels like a big-kids room”
It is afterschool time in the Creator Space. Four 10-year-old students are using the iPads to explore a tangram challenge on the Osmo app. An 8-year-old boy is navigating a Wonder Workshop robot around the space, sending it dodging under tables and chairs. Three girls from P4 are using beads and hot glue guns to make bracelets, and there is a steady stream of 6- and 7-year-olds building houses and rockets inside of the enclosed LEGO bench. With so many tools and materials to choose from, it is surprising that there are no children from the Kindergarten classrooms. Two 5-year-old girls from K3A walk through the space with Marina Benavente Barbon, their K3A teacher, on the way to the nurse. They look around and pause to ask older children what they are working on, but quickly lose interest and leave. Later, when asked why the Kindergarten classes don’t use the space throughout the day, Marina replies “it feels like a big-kids room.”

Use the links to the right to download the full Article.

Download PDF

×

×
Article from Ideas in Action at ISB...
The Evolution of Passion Day
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

The Evolution of Passion Day
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

September 2016 saw the introduction of a new ritual at ISB: Passion Day. Differing from the typical school day, during Passion Day children plan and choose activities to participate in. They may spend the day skateboarding, playing chess or reading a book. This picture of practice chronicles how the Passion Day ritual is evolving in the Food Lab (a teaching kitchen in the school) because of middle school teacher Lene Holm Christensen’s reflection on choice and her desire to make the day “more passionated.” How Passion Days contributes to the school’s culture of learning through play is also considered.
Use the link to the right to download the full Article.

Download PDF

×
Article from Ideas in Action at ISB...
The Influences on Playful Learning for Adults
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

The Influences on Playful Learning for Adults
A resource from Pedagogy of Play

The genesis of the January staff meeting
While there are numerous opportunities for adults to gather at ISB, such as weekly grade-level team meetings and informal conversations, whole-school meetings occur only six times a year. These meetings, which take place in the evenings, involve a significant expenditure of time and resources. All 80 school employees – from teachers and administrators to cooks and janitors – participate. Per Danish law, staff is paid overtime at one and a half times regular salary for their attendance.

Head of School Camilla Fog feels that these meetings are an important part of the school culture. At the start of the school year she outlines the topics for each staff meeting. Camilla begins planning for the January meeting in mid-December, creating a preliminary agenda and getting feedback from her leadership team colleagues Sue Oates and Kathy Bilgrav. Reviewing the plans, Camilla worries that the update about the budget is “so boring.” She consults the indicators of playful learning to consider how to include more choice, delight and wonder in the meeting.

Use the link to the right to download the full Article.

Download PDF

×