Give every student a voice worth listening to.
For more than 35 years, the National Paideia Center has partnered with schools and districts to build cultures of rigorous intellectual dialogue — transforming how students read, write, speak, listen, and think together.
"All the genuine learning in the world is done by the individual through his or her own activity of mind. The teacher is only a helper, not a worker."
Training programs for every stage of your Paideia journey.
Whether you're new to Paideia or deepening an established practice, our training institutes are designed to meet educators where they are — and move them forward.
Introduction to the Paideia Seminar
Designed for new practitioners, the Paideia Seminar is an integrated literacy cycle built around formal instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking. The purpose of Paideia Seminar is to develop and advance students' ability to think conceptually and communicate collaboratively. This training includes an adult Paideia Seminar and addresses the key components for seminar facilitation. Participants will analyze each component of the seminar cycle, plan for its implementation, and practice seminar facilitation.
One-Day TrainingAdvanced Paideia Seminar Facilitation
Offered to educators who have completed the Introduction to Paideia Seminar training, this institute is focused on furthering the mastery of Paideia Seminar facilitation. During this two-day event, participants will be invited to reflect on past Paideia Seminars and explore the nuances of text selection, question development, facilitation, and participation. Instructional time will also be spent developing a comprehensive Paideia Seminar schedule for a classroom or school.
One-Day Training · Prerequisite: Intro to Paideia SeminarIntroduction to the Paideia Classroom
This training is appropriate for continuing Paideia practitioners who want to supplement their Paideia Seminar expertise. The fully functional Paideia Classroom makes use of three separate but complementary "columns" of teaching and learning: didactic instruction of information, intellectual coaching of academic skills, and facilitated seminar discussion of ideas. Over two days of training, participants will analyze all three columns and design a fully integrated instructional model so that students experience a Paideia Classroom each and every day.
One-Day Training · Continuing PractitionersIntroduction to the Paideia Project
Appropriate for continuing Paideia practitioners, this offering is an in-depth exploration of the Paideia Project — a planning process that builds authentic units of study that culminate in quality student products for a real-world audience. Over the course of the training, participants will analyze components of successful projects and receive help in designing a powerful and memorable Paideia project for a classroom or school.
One-Day Training · Continuing PractitionersSee what a Paideia Classroom looks like.
Hear directly from educators and observers as they describe what they witness in a Paideia Classroom — the dialogue, the energy, and the shift in how students engage with ideas.
Schools celebrating their accreditation.
Each of these schools completed a rigorous process to earn their Paideia designation — and the hard work and dedication behind every one of these moments is worth celebrating.
Paideia Schools for Creative Thinking.
Congratulations to each of the schools on the lists below. They have reached their designated status through many hours of hard work and dedication to applying Paideia principles in their classrooms. We revised our system of certification and accreditation in 2018, and these schools participated in the rigorous process to attain the following status. Note that all Accredited schools are also Seminar Certified.
Is your school next?
In addition to the schools listed above, we are currently working with a number of schools throughout the United States that are working toward certification and accreditation. We invite you to learn more about becoming a Paideia School for Creative Thinking.
Bring Paideia to your school or district.
Whether you're a teacher ready to try your first seminar or a district leader planning a multi-year transformation — we're ready to partner with you.