International Baccalaureate Organization Recognizes Project Zero’s Professional Development Programs

Project Zero’s professional development programs, offered through the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Professional Education group, has been recognized by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) as “Category 3” PD, which can be used by IB educators worldwide to fulfill their ongoing evaluation requirements.

"The IB-Harvard learning alliance that we are launching provides our educators with a unique option to continue developing their IB teaching practice with one of the world’s top universities,” said Andrew Macdonald, chief schools officer at the International Baccalaureate. “We work hard to provide IB educators with enriching collaborative workshop experiences with leaders and providers who inspire and who have reliable expertise to share. The Project Zero courses at Harvard Graduate School of Education will enhance the innovative professional development opportunities we provide to our IB educators.”

Project Zero’s professional development offerings help educators develop engaging learning experiences and support the development of important skills for today’s complex, global, and interconnected world. This mission dovetails with IB’s longstanding mission to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring life-long learners who help create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.  

“For decades, IB schools have been invaluable research partners with Project Zero — serving as important collaborators in the development of visible thinking routines, global competency frameworks, and teaching for understanding practices,” said Daniel Wilson, director of Project Zero. “They share our commitment to create accessible high-quality education and teacher development across a range of socio-economic and cultural contexts. I am delighted with this news which will expand the conversation into the future of education and how we can best support children (and teachers) for the global demands facing society.”

Project Zero’s professional development offerings provide educators with opportunities to engage in-person and online throughout the year. The on-campus institute, Project Zero Classroom, leverages 50 years of Project Zero research that has examined many facets of human potential — such as the nature of intelligence, creativity, learning, ethics, and thinking — and how educators, schools, and other learning environments support its development. The institute attracts more than 350 participants each year who learn research-based frameworks, practices, and tools that promote understanding, critical thinking, ongoing assessment, and creativity in schools and other learning environments.

Project Zero’s 13-week online, coach-facilitated course offerings – among them Creating Cultures of Thinking: Learning to Leverage the Eight Forces that Shape the Culture of Groups, Classrooms, and Schools; Multiple Intelligences: Expanding Our Perspectives to Support All Learners; Thinking and Learning in the Maker-Centered Classroom – are grounded in day-to-day teaching and leadership practice.

“As a long-time IB educator and Project Zero practitioner, I couldn't be more thrilled at the inclusion of the Project Zero Classroom and the online courses in the official offerings of IB professional development,” said Jim Reese, director of Professional Development Collaborative at the Washington International School (an IB school since 1977). “The IB and PZ have had a deep relationship for many years now. I have seen first-hand how the pairing of PZ practices with IB programs strengthens a school.”

This set of programs have already had robust engagement from the IB community, with almost a quarter of recent participants coming from IB schools.

“Through a close collaboration with Project Zero, we engage thousands of educators around the world each year including an impressive community of International Baccalaureate educators,” said Stephen Hyde, managing director of Professional Education at HGSE. “We value the relationship with IB a great deal and appreciate their sense that HGSE offers rigorous and relevant professional learning for their educators. We are excited to deepen our relationship with the International Baccalaureate organization."