Presented in collaboration with The Silk Road Project Inc.

What You Will Learn

Deepen your understanding of how learning takes place in and through the arts. Examine the role of engagement, connections, collaborations and communities in learning.

Program Overview

Students bring a wealth of excitement, talent and dreams to the classroom. In order to channel these experiences into meaningful learning for the 21st century, teachers need to be able to capture these passions through proven teaching and learning techniques. The Arts and Passion-Driven Learning explores how educators can use the arts to engage students across all subjects—not only in the arts. The program explores several key questions; How can the arts foster connections between ideas, people and places to deepen learning? How can we turn learning from a requirement into a desire? How can artists collaborate with educators to design powerful learning experiences that focus simultaneously on the individual and the community?  

This unique new program will open with a plenary session with world-renowned cellist, Yo-Yo Ma, and a concert by the Silk Road Ensemble. Along with Harvard faculty, ensemble members will present arts-integrated lessons throughout the institute. You will deepen your understanding of how learning takes place in and through the arts and consider issues of access and quality in the arts. You will join artists and educators from a variety of backgrounds in workshops, panel discussions and small group sessions to experience and analyze what passion-driven learning looks like in practice.

Program Objectives

• Examine how students can become more engaged, empathetic and responsible participants in their communities
• Understand how the arts can lead to deeper learning in other subject matter
• Identify features of strong and productive collaborations among educators, artists and community members for creating rich interdisciplinary learning opportunities

Who Should Attend

• Classroom teachers, particularly those at the middle school level, arts specialists and school administrators
• Artists, teaching artists and arts administrators

Fluency in English is mandatory.

Faculty Chair

Steve Seidel is the Patricia Bauman and John Landrum Bryant Lecturer in Arts in Education and Director of the Arts in Education Masters Program at HGSE. He has worked in the areas of arts and education since 1971. With more than 15 years teaching in high schools, he joined Project Zero in 1986, working since then on projects in arts education, alternative assessment, project-based curriculum and school reform. He was lead principal investigator on The Qualities of Quality: Understanding Excellence in Arts Education. Seidel currently leads the Talking with Artists Who Teach study and is an International Research Fellow at the Tate Museums in London.

Additional Faculty

Mike Block, Silk Road Connect Lead Teaching Artist; cellist, Silk Road Ensemble

Tina Blythe, Adjunct Lecturer on Education, HGSE; Education Advisor, Silk Road Connect; Director of Faculty Development, Boston Architectural College

Yo-Yo Ma, Artistic Director, Silk Road Project; Member, President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities; Kennedy Center honoree

Enrollment Instructions

The Arts and Passion-Driven Learning is a registration program. Registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Fees

The comprehensive program fee includes tuition, all instructional materials and a social event. Participants receive a certificate of completion and a letter confirming clock hours of instruction.

Payment or a purchase order must be received within thirty days of registration and prior to the program start. Participants are responsible for their own travel expenses.

Accommodations

Hotel accommodations are made available to participants at a reduced rate. Rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Detailed hotel information will be made available closer to the program date.

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations must be submitted via fax or email. Full refunds will be given up to 30 days prior to the start of the program. Due to program demand and pre-institute preparations, cancellations received 29–14 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of 10% of the program tuition. Cancellations received within 13 days prior to the start of the program and no-shows are subject to the full program tuition. Please note: cancellation fees are based upon the date the written request is received.

The Harvard Graduate School of Education reserves the right to change faculty or cancel programs at its discretion. In the unlikely event of program changes, the school is not responsible for non-refundable travel arrangements or other planning expenses incurred.

Participant Substitution

Some PPE institutes allow substitutions and others do not. In all cases, substitutions require advance approval by PPE. We ask that changes to group participant lists take place at least two weeks prior to the start date of the program. If individual or team replacements are made within 14 days of the program start date, PPE may not be able to incorporate these changes into some or all of the program materials. We will make our best effort to incorporate requested changes where possible.