Creating Cultures of Thinking: Learning to Leverage the Eight Forces that Shape the Culture of Groups, Classrooms, and Schools (CCoT)

Learn how cultural forces influence thinking and how you can create a culture that supports deeper learning.

Overview

Effective teaching takes more than good planning and instructional design; it also requires attention to the culture of the classroom. But how do we create culture? How do we mold it so that it supports students’ development as thinkers and individuals capable of deep understanding?

In this online course, participants learn how to create “cultures of thinking,” communities where a group’s collective as well as individual thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted every day. Participants will explore the eight cultural forces present in every group learning situation—language, time, environment, opportunities, routines, modeling, interactions, and expectations—and how they influence the group’s cultural dynamic. Using these eight forces as levers of transformation, participants will looks at practical ways they can create a culture of thinking in their classrooms and across their schools and organizations.

Course Details

This online course, developed by Project Zero’s Ron Ritchhart, begins with a one-week orientation, during which you will explore the online platform and get to know fellow members of the learning community. Six two-week content sessions follow, with an average time commitment of about 3-4 hours per week. In each session you will:

• Learn new ideas
• Review and reflect on key ideas from the previous session
• Plan for trying and/or fully implementing course ideas in the classroom
• Work on a project or curriculum unit
• Reflect and share feedback with a coach and peers

Enrollment is by team, which promotes a deeper and richer learning experience and will help you sustain your use of core ideas after the course concludes. Team members will collaborate on most of the assignments, including the development of a project. Teams meet face-to-face every two weeks.

Although the sessions are structured and coach-facilitated, all the online interactions in the course are asynchronous. You and your team can decide when to work on the course materials as long as you submit the assignment(s) on or before the due dates.

This online course is not linked to a degree program. Academic credit is not available. You will be eligible for a digital certificate representing 45 professional development hours upon successful completion.

View the course outline for additional information on course sessions.

Online Course Schedule

Please review the course schedule to ensure that you and your team will be able to participate fully in the course, taking into account your local holidays and vacations. The average time commitment is about three to four hours per week.

Session 1 (Orientation week), September 17 - September 23
Session 2, September 24 - October 7
Session 3, October 8 - October 21
Session 4, October 22 - November 4
Session 5, November 5 - November 18
Session 6, November 19 - December 2
Session 7, December 3 - December 16

Objectives

• Discover the mechanisms that create group culture and learn how to leverage these forces to build a culture of thinking
• Reflect on your guiding expectations for students’ long-term development as learners

Who Should Participate

This course requires enrollment by teams of 3-6 people. Teams should be able to try out course ideas with students/learners in classrooms or other learning environments. Teams should also be able to meet locally, in person, at least once every two weeks to engage in group-based activities.

• Teams may include school leaders and teachers, preK to university.
• Team members can be colleagues from the same workplace or be drawn from across schools or organizations.

(Please note: Course examples will focus on K–12 contexts.)

Course Textbook

The following textbook is required for participants in this course, and is not included in the course tuition. The textbook is available for purchase on Amazon or through the publisher Jossey-Bass — in both paper and digital format.

• Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools by Ron Ritchart

English Language Proficiency Requirements

English language proficiency is a requirement for application to and successful participation in this online course. All participants are expected to have fluency in English, including a basic knowledge of education terminology, in order to effectively engage with the content, complete assignments, and interact with other members of the learning community.

Fees and Policies

This online course is focused on professional development and not linked to a degree program at HGSE. Academic credit is not available for this online course. You will be eligible for a digital certificate representing 45 professional development hours upon successful completion of the course.

Payment or a purchase order must be received within thirty days of course acceptance and prior to the course start. While a purchase order confirms enrollment, an outstanding balance is maintained until payment is rendered. Click here for more information on payment and financial aid.

Please click here for more information on our on-campus and online refund and withdrawal policies.

The Harvard Graduate School of Education reserves the right to change faculty or cancel programs at its discretion. In the unlikely event of program changes, the school is not responsible for non-refundable travel arrangements or other planning expenses incurred.