Early Childhood

Changing our Skin: Creating Collective Knowledge in American Classrooms

Abstract: In this essay, the author explores the notion that the focus of learning in classrooms and schools extends beyond the learning of individuals to create a collective body of knowledge that is larger than what any one person knows. This idea was examined in a collaboration between Project Zero researchers and educators from the municipal preschools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, around understanding, supporting, and documenting individual and group learning. The author draws on the experiences of classroom teachers in Massachusetts to suggest at least four key components in creating collective knowledge: (a) rethinking the nature of the learning task; (b) fostering a pedagogy of relationships; (c) addressing four kinds of learning; and (d) documenting student and teacher learning.

Kids Are the Experts! Making Learning Visible in Boston Public Schools

During the 2011-12 school year, 30 Boston Public School early childhood teachers and eight Head Start teachers took a course called Making Learning Visible: Kids are the Experts! The teachers explored how to help children recognize and communicate to others their areas of expertise through words, images, and demonstrations. This short film follows the process of making how-to books and other products in two classrooms at the Gardner Pilot Academy.

Documentation: Transforming our Perspectives

This 16-minute film by Melissa Rivard and Stephanie Cox Suarez for the Documentation Studio at Wheelock College features conversations with leaders from Reggio about the practice of documentation and its role in teaching and learning.

Multiple Intelligences FAQ

A collection of the frequently asked questions, and Howard Gardners' responses, around Multiple Intelligences.

Places to Play in Providence: A Guide to the City by our Youngest Citizens

The guide that resulted from a collaboration between the Making Learning Visible team at PZ and a school-readiness initiative, Ready to Learn Providence (R2LP). The publication was created by preschool children and teachers from eight inner city programs and programs and features children's illustrations and descriptions of their favorite places to play in the Rhode Island capital.