How do we create powerful, enduring learning experiences for our students? How do we explore complex topics in ways that engage all learners? And in what ways can we raise up student voices and foster civic agency? 

These questions and more will be front and center at the tenth annual Washington International School Summer Institute for Teachers (WISSIT).  

This intense--and fun!--week of professional learning introduces educators to effective strategies for cultivating deep thinking and understanding at all grade levels and across subject areas. We will offer concurrent but separate in-person and virtual tracks.

WISSIT is open to participants in the Washington, DC, region and beyond. While we will reserve a majority of spaces for local educators, we welcome those from around the country and the world. Those attending the in-person WISSIT from outside the DC region will be responsible for arranging their own travel and accommodation. (We will provide some guidance on the registration page.)

Support for WISSIT participants continues throughout the following school year through the DC-Project Zero professional development network, which holds events both online and in person throughout the academic year.

What You Will Learn

At WISSIT, you will explore research coming out of Harvard Project Zero (PZ)–an innovative leader in the domains of teaching and learning for nearly 60 years. You will learn with and from PZ researchers and a diverse faculty of outstanding educators from the Washington, DC, region. 

WISSIT introduces PZ ideas and pedagogical tools and strategies and encourages ways to adapt them to participants’ own context.

The institute explores four key themes: 

(1) Building a Culture of Thinking: How do we develop dispositions that lead to thoughtful learning across school subjects, and beyond? How do we effectively create a culture of thinking, in classrooms and schools, that supports all learners?

(2) Learning Deeply with Museum Resources: What can we–educators and students–learn from objects, artworks and archival materials to deepen our understanding of, and engagement with, the curriculum? How can we leverage the unique museum resources that exist in our community?

(3) Encouraging Playful Learning, Creativity & a “Maker” Mindset: In response to the challenging three years we have just experienced, how can play, creativity, and making re-ignite joy in learning? How do they help us to be attuned to nuance?

(4) Fostering Civic Agency in Young People: How do we guide students to develop the capacity and desire to act in positive ways to improve the world around them? How do we lift up young people’s voices and ideas? 

WISSIT brings together educators from a variety of schools—traditional public, public charter, independent, parochial—as well as other educational organizations, such as community-based early learning centers, museums, and non-profits. 

How To Register

Each year, WISSIT has a waiting list. We encourage you to register as soon as possible. Bear in mind that registration does not guarantee a spot in the institute. Registrants will hear back within approximately two weeks of registering about their status. Once a spot has been approved, you will have 30 days to pay the registration fee, by either check or credit card.

For fees and discount Information, click HERE.

If you are interested in attending the in-person WISSIT, click here. 

If you are interested in attending Virtual WISSIT, click here.

Please note that you must choose one or the other.