The Master’s degree in Arts and Learning is founded on the premise that art and the creative process are essential components of learning in all settings. The program utilizes an experiential, adult education model through which students become immersed in their own art experiences in order to understand how to facilitate the creative process in others. Students of varying levels of artistic involvement and expertise develop a greater understanding of the theory and practice of the creative process. They also develop enhanced skills for utilizing the process and the arts (music, dance, drama, poetry, visual arts, and story-telling) in educational settings and in all endeavors.
The Master of Education in Arts and Learning is a 22-month program that prepares candidates for classroom instruction, curriculum development, and a wide range of careers based upon the transformative effects of the creative process. The program is therefore beneficial to certified teachers, community leaders, therapists, artists, museum directors, and others who are seeking to integrate the arts and creative processes into their work.
Students enrolled in the Arts and Learning program participate in a studio-based residency in addition to engaging in research with a focus on portfolio materials. The portfolio will include curriculum and materials for immediate application in classrooms, work settings, research materials, and artistic experiences.
Comprehensive Evaluation
The Comprehensive Evaluation process for the Master of Education in Arts and Learning program utilizes a variety of methodologies in recognition of the combined didactic and experiential nature of the program. The Comprehensive Evaluation is an integrated synthesis of learning demonstrated through curriculum and art portfolios, presentations, and an integrative paper, presented during the Creative Arts Seminar, upon completion of all program requirements.
These different methodologies provide a comprehensive approach to the variety of learning styles and experiences that students have encountered in the course of their studies. This provides students with wide latitude in demonstrating and portraying their learning, in keeping with the ideology of the discovery-oriented nature of the program.
Program Outcomes
- Articulate through verbal, written, and artistic methods an understanding of the personal creative process.
- Demonstrate an understanding of multiple intelligences through the arts.
- Create engaging, interactive arts-integrated curriculum that meets diverse learning challenges and complexities in learning environments.
- Demonstrate enhanced skills to integrate art into classroom, community, studio, or therapeutic environments.
- Demonstrate competency in facilitating creativity and the use of imagination as sources of learning and as a tool in teaching.
- Effectively facilitate creative art processes in a learning environment.
Note: The Arts and Learning program is NOT linked to Massachusetts Teacher Licensure.