Harvard Project Zero
Harvard Project Zero (PZ) is a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education that explores learning, thinking, and creativity across various disciplines, with a strong focus on arts education and assessment. Founded in 1967 by philosopher Nelson Goodman, Project Zero initially sought to understand how the arts contribute to cognitive development and later expanded its research to include broader themes in education.
Key Research Areas in Arts Education
1. The Studio Thinking Framework
One of Project Zero’s most influential contributions to arts education is the Studio Thinking framework, developed by researchers Lois Hetland, Ellen Winner, Shirley Veenema, and Kimberly Sheridan. This model, introduced in Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education (2007), identifies eight key habits of mind cultivated in high-quality visual arts education:
Develop Craft – Learning skills, techniques, and the proper use of materials
Engage & Persist – Sustaining attention and overcoming challenges in creative work
Envision – Mentally picturing what cannot be directly observed
Express – Conveying ideas and emotions through artistic practice
Observe – Noticing details, patterns, and subtleties in visual information
Reflect – Engaging in self-assessment and critique
Stretch & Explore – Experimenting, taking risks, and learning from mistakes
Understand Art Worlds – Connecting artistic practice to historical and contemporary contexts
This framework has been widely adopted in arts education as a way to evaluate the impact of arts instruction beyond traditional academic measures.
2. The Arts as a Mode of Thinking
Harvard Project Zero challenges the misconception that the arts are merely enrichment activities. Their research suggests that engaging in the arts enhances critical thinking, problem-solving, and social-emotional skills, benefits that extend beyond the studio or stage and into all areas of learning.
A key Project Zero publication, Arts and the Mind (2013), highlights how participation in arts programs fosters cognitive development, particularly in creativity, perspective-taking, and collaboration.
3. Rethinking Assessment in the Arts
One of the biggest challenges in arts education is assessment. How do you measure creativity, expression, and artistic growth? Project Zero has been at the forefront of developing authentic assessment tools that move beyond standardized testing. Their work suggests that arts learning should be evaluated through:
Portfolios – Collections of student work over time
Performance-Based Assessments – Observing students engaging in artistic processes
Self and Peer Reflection – Encouraging students to articulate their learning
Rubrics for Artistic Thinking – Evaluating growth in conceptual, technical, and expressive skills
Rather than reducing arts assessment to grades or test scores, PZ promotes qualitative, process-based evaluation that captures students’ creative and cognitive development.
4. The Role of the Arts in Interdisciplinary Learning
Project Zero also explores how the arts connect with other disciplines, especially in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) education. Their research in Teaching for Understanding emphasizes that arts learning deepens conceptual understanding in subjects like science, math, and history by engaging students in creative inquiry, exploration, and meaning-making.
For example, the Arts PROPEL initiative (developed in collaboration with ETS) integrates arts assessment with creative thinking in music, visual arts, and theater.
Implications for School Leaders
For principals and administrators evaluating arts programs, HPZ’s research underscores the importance of:
Developing clear learning objectives for arts instruction
Using multiple measures (portfolios, performances, student reflections) for assessment
Providing arts educators with professional development in authentic assessment
Recognizing the broader cognitive and social benefits of arts education
It provides a strong foundation for understanding the value of arts education and how to assess it effectively. Their work empowers educators and school leaders to move past outdated metrics and instead embrace holistic, research-backed approaches to evaluating arts programs.
If you're looking for practical strategies to assess and improve arts education in your school, integrating Project Z’s principles into your evaluation framework can be transformative. Brave Art NYC can guide school leaders in applying these insights to build stronger, more dynamic arts programs.
