Comment

Comment by Kathryn L. Keene on March 8, 2009 at 12:07pm

Thanks Jim and Connie for the info. I'll look up "Harvard Clubs" and see what's available in my area. I am going to check out the David Perkins book as well...I believe he's been there at the CMEI discussions.

Comment by Jim Reese on March 7, 2009 at 5:37pm

Funding for the Project Zero Classroom or the Future of Learning summer institutes: Harvard Clubs around the country have sponsored teachers to attend the summer institutes at Harvard. You don't have to be a Harvard alum to get the funding. It's a service some of these clubs provide to the community. If you want to pursue this source of funding, search for a Harvard Club in your area and contact them with a proposal.
Jim

Comment by Connie Weber on March 7, 2009 at 4:15pm

Great book is out:

Making Learning Whole by David Perkins. It's basically an expanded version of his inspiring lectures at PZC, the one in which learning in general is compared to learning how to play baseball...

"The Seven Principles of Learning By Wholes:
1. Play the whole game.
2. Make the game worth playing.
3. Work on the hard parts.
4. Play out of town.
5. Uncover the hidden game.
6. Learn from the team... and the other teams.
7. Learn the game of learning."

Check it out! Let's get a discussion going about it. Anybody interested in reading it?

Comment by Kathryn L. Keene on February 3, 2009 at 7:10pm

Oh, Connie! now I'm worrying that I was whining! I have been offered a spot in a summer institute at Tufts. It lasts two weeks, July 13th-23rd, Mon. thru Thurs. each week. There is no tuition (that's great news!), but you have to be a student. The discussion points are these: What kinds of citizens (if any) do good regimes need? What should such citizens know, believe, and do? What institutional structures promote the right kinds of citizenship? How do individuals learn civic skills, values, and knowledge? Bob Selman (I think) and Meira Levinson from Harvard will be guest speakers. Instructors are Stephen Elkin, Peter Levine, and Karol Soltan. I am a late-in-life teacher in a very low paying school district, so there are gifts like these opportunities that do come along. If anyone is interested, let me know.

Comment by Connie Weber on February 3, 2009 at 8:53am

Hi Kathryn,
I just wrote a letter asking about scholarship help for the summer institutes, in case I could post some news about it here. There are many people here I WISH would go, WISH SO MUCH we could meet up in Cambridge to study together. The particular institutes don't have any scholarships but other sources were suggested, notably some for Harvard grads. What about the rest of us? I know some school districts find a way to send a few people--and sometimes the whole staff--to PZ (and now the Future of Learning). How do they do it? (And kudos, to them, for investing in entire mindset changing, all for the greatest good of the student learning it'll lead to--and the vastly increased collaboration on the faculty level, which enriches the students, of course.)
Maybe some people will join in with suggestions for how to get help with the tuition.
So group members, and others, if you've found assistance for summer programs in the past, or know of some things that could be tried, please let us know.

Comment by Kathryn L. Keene on February 2, 2009 at 10:20pm

Thanks for spreading the word. I have been receiving information about these courses. Sadly, many of us simply can't afford to attend. Please bring information to us from your learning experience. CMEI at Harvard has a two week course for students and the tuition is free, but you have to be accepted into the program. I'm considering that one...

Comment by Connie Weber on February 1, 2009 at 4:46pm

PS: I may get scolded by the administrators here for such blatent advertising. We'll see; I'll do as they advise. But I put it up because it's something I really believe in... Laura, Anna, Ian, Or-Tal, Mike, is this ok? I wish it were free, or that we had scholarships to give out for this learning experience.
Ian--Christopher Dede will be there. I just read the article you posted by him, and am looking for more like it! Thanks.

Comment by Connie Weber on February 1, 2009 at 4:41pm

Project Zero Classroom is now full--filling up in near record time. Hope to see many of you this summer.

Who's going to be part of the brand new initiative, Future of Learning? Here's the description:

Preparing Minds for the 21st Century
At the dawn of the twenty-first century, important changes in our societies are transforming the lives of young people around the world. Globalization, the digital revolution, and advancements in our understanding of human biology all present new opportunities and challenges to today’s educators.

The Future of Learning is designed to help educators understand how changes in society are affecting learning today and in the future. It invites educators to examine what, where, and how children and adults should learn in order to thrive in the twenty-first century.

For example, how is globalization shaping the lives of migrant children and those who receive them in their communities? How might schools prepare the young for their increasingly global futures? What is worth teaching in societies where unprecedented amounts of information are available at the click of a key? How are new digital technologies redrawing students’ capacity to become active players in their own learning? How can our growing understanding of human biology optimize the education of the young mind/brain?

When teachers embrace learning for the future, they:

* nurture competencies such as expert thinking, collaboration, and entrepreneurship.
* foster intercultural understanding, environmental stewardship, and global citizenship.
* engage students' new digital learning styles
* invite students to inquire, create and express through digital means.
* understand that emotion and cognition are connected in the human mind/brain.
* prepare students to live ethical and reflective lives in rapidly changing environments.



What You Will Learn
A dynamic and relevant learning experience

Four fundamental questions will be addressed throughout the institute:

* In what ways are important changes in today’s societies—global, digital, and biological revolutions—impacting education?
* What should people learn, where should they do so, and how should they learn to thrive in society today and tomorrow?
* What opportunities and challenges do the future of learning present for our own educational practice?
* What does it mean to be a responsible educator of the twenty-first century?



Who Should Attend
The institute is designed for practicing teachers, curriculum designers, and administrators. Educators developing instructional materials and technologies, as well as those working in informal education settings such as museums and NGOs, are encouraged to attend.




Curriculum Overview
Through a combination of plenary sessions, focused interactive courses, and learning groups, participants learn about the world in which we live and its impact on education.

The program helps participants develop new approaches to teaching and curriculum design. It also improves their repertoire of frameworks, classroom techniques, and tools to prepare the young for the future. Participants have opportunities to reflect, make connections to their own practice, and exchange ideas with faculty and colleagues from around the world.

* Plenary sessions examine the global, digital, and biological revolutions and their impact on learning for today and tomorrow.
* Learning groups are organized around participants’ interests and offer a reflection on the applicability of ideas to daily educational practice.
* Interactive courses draw on the themes of: learning twenty-first century competencies, teaching and assessing for deep understanding, creating environments for deep learning, the mind/brain-informed classroom, understanding and educating today’s digital learners, and educating for global citizenship.



Faculty

The institute faculty is comprised of world-renowned experts from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, New York University, and University of Southern California, such as:

* Joseph Blatt
* Veronica Boix-Mansilla: Educational Chair
* Christopher Dede
* Kurt Fischer
* Howard Gardner: Senior Advisor
* Tina Grotzer
* Lois Hetland
* Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
* Carrie James
* David Perkins: Senior Advisor
* Fernando Reimers
* Marcelo Suarez-Orozco
* Shari Tishman
* Daniel Wilson
* Ellen Winner
* Martha Stone Wiske

Learning Groups will be led by nationally and internationally acclaimed consultants, authors, presenters, and practitioners.



It's expensive, I know, but Project Zero is absolutely life-changing, and this--with such cutting-edge instructors, looks to be equally dynamic and powerful. Look at that lineup of instructors!

Want to meet up in Boston? Can your school or business help pay the way?

Comment by Rod Rock on December 13, 2008 at 5:33pm

Connie:

I'm really excited to see the announcement for PZC 09 along with the new institute, The Future of Learning. It's wonderful that additional educators will engage with this amazing learning experience.

Thanks,
Rod

Comment by Connie Weber on December 12, 2008 at 6:21pm

A note from the institute, and the links:

"While both institutes seek to promote quality education by combining
informative plenary sessions with interactive courses and group reflection
time, they differ in focus. PZC emphasizes enduring questions about best
practices in teaching, learning, and assessment. FoL places such questions
in the larger context of our world today and the education that we need
for tomorrow."

Harvard Project Zero, summer 2008

Future of Learning, summer 2008

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