Researching Learning Through Practice with Project Zero

August 18, 2014
By Educator Innovator

Educator Innovator partner Project Zero, a research group based out of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is a collective of independently-sponsored research projects focused on key aspects of learning such as the nature of intelligence, understanding, thinking, creativity, and ethics.

How do students learn? What resources and tools are most relevant for their lives? What are the common threads and connections between the many ideas available to learners of all ages? Project Zero works to answer these questions and dozens more through practice with initiatives that help educators navigate the sometimes cluttered landscape of the learning community. Programs like Out of Eden Learn push at the borders of the traditional classroom, building a broad global network of connected learners. Agency by Design, a new multi-year research initiative, puts the spotlight on the pedagogies and practices of maker-centered learning experiences like hacking, building, and tinkering.

Project Zero has a positive outlook about not having all of the answers when it comes to educational practices. In fact, many of their programs and initiatives greatly value what is learned during the pursuit of answers. “Although the zero began as a marker for the state of things, a noun, it has evolved into a dynamic set of practices and ideas that allow us to zero in on learning, as it unfolds in all its complexity.” View the video above to learn about Project Zero’s mission and work.