Projects

Our Projects
Project Zero Logo 16-9
Project Zero Online Courses
 
Overview
Several new Project Zero Online Courses were developed through a partnership with PZ and PPE including the provision of tools and processes for collaborative online course design, development, and evaluation.
 
Project Objectives
Project Zero (PZ) began moving key offerings from an older learning management platform, WIDE World, to Instructure’s Canvas, in the Spring of 2015. Since then, seven online PZ courses have been designed and/or redesigned for Canvas and for new audiences of educators around the world.
 
TLL Engagement
The TLL partnered with PZ leadership, staff, and faculty, along with the Director of Online Learning at Programs in Professional Education (PPE) to provide coaching in online course design, development, and evaluation processes. This work included project planning timelines, collaborative tools and resources, Canvas course site templates, learning loop conversations to review feedback from learners and coaches, and a comprehensive toolkit for undertaking future, similar projects.
 
Timeline
This work concluded in the Spring of 2016 with the launch of several new online courses, but an ongoing consultative relationship continues between PZ and the TLL. Learn more about Project Zero’s Online Courses.
Project Zero
CAEL
Certificate in Advanced Education Leadership
 
Overview
The Certificate in Advanced Education Leadership (CAEL), based upon the ground-breaking Doctor of Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) Program at HGSE, is an online certificate program comprised of 12-week modules led by HGSE faculty and offered on rotation throughout the year.
 
Project Objectives
The certificate program brings together education professionals from around the world to create a dynamic community of practice. Leveraging the resources of HGSE and the collective wisdom and expertise of program colleagues, participants develop strategies for system-level change that can be implemented both immediately and over the long term. As of June 2016, two modules have been offered and three more are in development. Over the course of the certificate program, learners choose four of the following modules:

Leading Learning with Liz City
Managing Evidence with Marty West
Developing Myself with Lisa Lahey and Deb Helsing
Driving Change with Andrés Alonso
Leading for Excellence and Equity with Deborah Jewell-Sherman
 
TLL Engagement
The TLL worked with the Education Chair and PI for the CAEL project, Dr. Liz City, from the very beginning to craft the objectives, framework, and assessment strategies for the overall program. We developed the 12-week model used in each CAEL module, which includes weeks for learning, experimentation, application, and evaluation. Each module is designed in partnership with the TLL, the faculty teaching team, and PPE. We then develop the assets, build the course site, execute an evaluation plan, and recommend continuous improvements for revised offerings.
 
Timeline
The first CAEL module, Leading Learning, launched in February 2016, followed by Managing Evidence in May 2016. The TLL is currently working closely with PPE and faculty teaching teams to design Developing Myself and plan for Driving Change and Leading for Excellence and Equity.

Learn more about the CAEL Program.
 
Related Blog Posts
Lessons in Course Design and Principle-Driven Design: The Certificate in Advanced Educational Leadership
CAEL
MLA
Two-Week Online PD Workshops
 
Overview
Our professional development workshops, known as Modular Learning Assets, are lightly facilitated, two-week learning experiences providing thousands of educators with access to research-based practices from HGSE faculty at an affordable price point. The TLL partnered with PPE in the conception and implementation of this unique approach to reaching the field.
 
Project Objectives
These workshops provide an accessible entry point for engagement with a broad audience of educators, leaders, parents, and others. They also provide an opportunity for educators to engage with HGSE faculty research, identify connections to their practice, test ideas, and reflect with a community of practice. These modular assets also provide PPE and the School with the flexibility to “mix and match” experiences with other offerings, as pre-work, follow-on resources, and/or to package them together into a series of experiences around a common theme.
 
TLL Engagement
The TLL works with PPE, faculty, and doctoral students to create these learning experiences. The learning design features a low-touch facilitation model maximizing peer learning with self-assessment, reflective dialogue, and high-quality, accessible, multimedia materials. Each experience includes:
Content: Faculty video (45-60 minutes total divided into 5-10 minute segments), readings and research summaries
Application & Reflection Discussion Boards: a forum for further synthesis and refinement of practice with an online community of practice
Self-Assessments: multiple-choice quizzes to check understanding and open-ended self-reflection prompts
Learn more about a upcoming offerings at HGSE’s Professional Programs in Education.
 
Timeline
The first MLA launched in January 2016, followed by two more this past spring semester. This summer, the TLL and PPE will work with faculty and doctoral students to develop several additional offerings to launch throughout the coming months.

Learn more about a recent MLA offering, The Opportunity of Bilingualism: Serving Today’s Young English Language Learners
MLAs
DataWise
Data Wise Leadership Institute Online
 
Overview
The Data Wise Leadership Institute Online and Data Wise in Action are learning stages within the larger framework of the Data Wise Project whose mission is to support educators in using collaborative data inquiry to drive continuous improvement of teaching and learning for all students.
The Data Wise Leadership Institute Online was developed to help school leadership teams plan the launch of the Data Wise Improvement process in the convenience of their own settings. Once the plan is complete, participants take the Data Wise in Action online course, where they implement the plans within their own settings and receive personalized feedback and coaching during the process.
 
Project Objectives
These online offerings offer a team-based approach that gives participants the flexibility of planning and implementing the Data Wise Improvement process in the convenience of their own settings with feedback from peers and trained coaches.
 
TLL Engagement

The TLL partnered with Kathy Boudett, the Data Wise content team, and Professional Education to provide coaching in online course design, development, and evaluation processes. This work included project planning timelines, developing collaborative tools and resources, developing course assets, evaluation and revision, and maintenance support as needed.

Learn more about online Data Wise offerings through the Data Wise Project site.

Data Wise
Instructional Moves
Instructional Moves
 
Overview
Instructional Moves (IM) spotlights reflective Harvard professors employing instructional moves (high-leverage teaching strategies) applicable to multiple settings and grounded in teaching and learning research. Moves are anchored in videos showcasing classrooms across the university and combining class footage with reflections from instructors and students. Moves are supplemented with relevant research on their efficacy, tips for enacting them in diverse settings, and related resources for deeper exploration. The first phase of the project was completed with the launch of the current website in the fall of 2017. Phase 2 will include building out more moves, refining existing materials, and exploring various ways to scaffold and facilitate learner interaction with the content.
 
Project Objectives
IM seeks to help university instructors learn research-based pedagogical techniques, gain deeper insight into classroom complexities, and explore resources geared toward improving teaching and learning outcomes. Carefully curated and designed for both independent and guided use, IM aims to facilitate powerful conversations about pedagogy among university-level instructors.
 
TLL Engagement

The core IM project team consists of Meira Levinson as the principal investigator and the TLL as the design and development engine. Through an iterative design process, incorporating several rounds of user testing, the TLL created the set of resources comprising IM’s website.

Learn more at the Instructional Moves site.

Instructional Moves
How People Learn Logo 16-9
How People Learn
 
Overview
How People Learn is a project funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to create an online, personalized course that will be part of a common core experience for all incoming master’s students at HGSE. The course will focus on connecting the science of learning and human development to professional practice in education across roles.
 
Project Objectives
The goals of the project are twofold. The first is to design and build a foundational, personalized learning experience for future education professionals. The second is to fund faculty experimentation with personalizing curriculum, pedagogy, and assessments in their teaching. Through both of these goals, HGSE hopes to pioneer how we think about personalization in a professional school.
 
TLL Engagement
The TLL is spearheading the How People Learn course development, working in coordination with other departments around HGSE. Multiple workstreams around content, technology, learning design, student experience, and media are working together to create, deliver, and evaluate the project. By working in iterative design cycles, the TLL is able to innovate and get rapid feedback on the many aspects of the course.
 
How People Learn
EDU T127
Teaching and Learning Lab Practicum
 
Overview
The Teaching and Learning Lab Practicum (T127) is offered each semester for both master’s and doctoral students. In the practicum, students apply course principles related to the design and development of learning experiences to ongoing projects within the TLL. Students work on active project teams that may include HGSE faculty, administrators, and TLL staff members and produce real-world work products that they display on their professional portfolios. In past semesters, students have contributed to the development of online courses; they have designed and developed flipped/online class sessions; and they have created evaluation aids such as accessibility checklists and media editing guidelines.
T127
Zaentz Online Logo
Zaentz Online Learning Academy
 
Overview
The Zaentz Online Learning Academy (ZOLA) is part of the Saul Zaentz Initiative whose mission is to promote the knowledge, professional learning, and collective action necessary to cultivate optimal early learning environments and experiences. It is an online experience consisting of several topic series linked together to develop knowledge and skills for early childhood leaders, which will culminate in a Certificate of Early Education Leadership. Each series is broken into two parts. The first part will introduce students to key concepts within the topic area and provide opportunities to practice and discuss concepts. The second part will provide learners with opportunities to apply the Zaentz tools and strategies in their settings.
 
Project Objectives
The goal of the project is to equip early education leaders with the knowledge, tactics, and networks they need to enhance young children's learning environments while also allowing them the flexibility and convenience of learning and implementing the strategies in the comfort of their own settings.
 
TLL Engagement
The TLL is working with faculty directors, Nonie Lesaux and Stephanie Jones, and the Zaentz Program Director, Robin Kane to incorporate a design thinking approach in the overall design of the program. We conducted user interviews, drafted user profiles, created prototypes and mockups, and evaluated user feedback and data to craft the framework for the overall program. We are also work in partnership with the Zaentz content team, the faculty, and PPE to design, develop, and deliver each topic series as well as the Certificate in Early Education Leadership.
 
ZOLA
Team-Based Approach
The TLL is a collaborative, process-driven organization. All project planning begins with a detailed needs analysis that includes stakeholders and outlines roles, responsibilities, timeline, and budget. Once approved, projects are led by a TLL staff member who maintains a project plan and ensures deadlines are met and all members of the project team stay in close communication. All projects in the TLL are developed through a team-based approach that leverages the expertise of relevant TLL staff members and other HGSE stakeholders to create an efficient, collaborative process.
 
Professional Expertise
The TLL team includes expert practitioners with experience in classroom and online teaching, multi-modal course design, and product and media development. The broad range of expertise allows the TLL to support the holistic development of curricular assets, from initiation and design through development and deployment.