Zachary Herrmann

Zachary Herrmann is the Executive Director of the Center for Professional Learning. In this role, he leads the school’s strategy to design and deliver professional learning opportunities for learners across the globe. Zachary also serves as the faculty chair for the Project-Based Learning Certificate Program, and leads professional learning focused on teacher and leader development, innovation, and creative problem solving. Dr. Herrmann taught high school mathematics for several years, during which time he developed a collaborative professional development network of schools dedicated to improving teaching and learning with a focus on complex tasks, collaborative learning, and equity.

Dr. Herrmann also serves as a member of the professional faculty at Penn GSE, where he teaches within several of the school’s master’s and doctoral programs. One of the courses he teaches at Penn GSE is “Collaboration & Conflict,” a new course which engages students in a cross-disciplinary exploration of how people work together to solve complex problems. He also teaches management communication within the core curriculum of the M.B.A. program at Wharton, as well as within the undergraduate program.

Publications

Featured Books

Teaching a Future President: Equipping Students to Take on Almost Impossible Problems

Selected Publications

Herrmann, Z. (2019). Teaching a future president: Equipping students to take on almost impossible problems. Rowman & Littlefield.

Grossman, P., Pupik Dean, C. G., Kavanagh, S. S., Herrmann, Z. (2019). Preparing teachers for project-based teaching. Phi Delta Kappan, 100 (7), 43–48.

Herrmann, Z. (2018). A strategy for effective collaboration. Edutopia.

Herrmann, Z. (2018). Rethinking Teacher Recruitment. Educational Leadership, 75(8), 18–23.

Herrmann, Z. (2018). All educators are negotiators. Usable Knowledge, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Herrmann, Z. (2017). Partner up: The role of collaboration in education. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Herrmann, Z. (2017). Cultivating classroom capabilities. TranscendEducation.org.

Herrmann, Z. (2017). Finding what’s true: A cross-disciplinary search for truth. Usable Knowledge, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Herrmann, Z. & Wolf, Z. (2017). Getting beyond the teacherpreneur. Edutopia.

Herrmann, Z. (2017). Flourish by design. Usable Knowledge, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Herrmann, Z. (2017). The challenge of change. Usable Knowledge, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Herrmann, J., & Herrmann, Z. (2016). Game on! The six lessons teachers can learn from great coaches. Usable Knowledge, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Herrmann, Z., & Kalapala, S. (2016). Consider teaching. Huffington Post, Contributor Platform.

Herrmann, Z. (2016). Teaching a future president. Usable Knowledge, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Herrmann, Z. (2016). Tackling tough problems: Student leadership lessons. Huffington Post, Contributor Platform.

Herrmann, Z. (2016). Making it work for everyone. Usable Knowledge, Harvard Graduate School of Education.

News & Media

In the Media

4 Guiding Questions for Effective Remote Collaboration

"Teamwork has traditionally played a critical role in schools, and while many of us find ourselves physically isolated, our collaborative work with one another may be more important now than ever," Zachary Herrmann writes.

Edutopia | April 22, 2020

The Educator's Playbook

Guidelines for moving college courses online

Set norms. Check emotional health. And remember that your students might already be pretty good at this.

To build community this fall, think of your class as a team

Effective teams have the same characteristics that teachers are striving toward: a strong sense of connection, support, purpose, and accountability.