Last date for nomination: TBA
Note: Nominations will be reviewed only after the last date of nomination (Aug 20). We will reach out to you after the review process.
About This Course
Course Objectives
EdSparks Collective is a unique professional development program designed for educators and practitioners who want to harness the power of visual arts to transform student learning. Through focused specialization tracks, participants explore areas such as 21st-century skills and SEL, library education, and interdisciplinary teaching through art, including approaches tailored to early childhood.The program equips participants to meaningfully integrate art into their practice and align it with their educational goals for children. Each session is highly interactive and hands-on, using diverse, multimodal strategies to build practical skills in designing and implementing engaging, art-based learning experiences
Course Outcomes
By the end of the program, participants will develop a strong understanding of the value and impact of the visual art in education; recognizing their essential role in children’s growth, critical thinking, and overall development. They will be equipped to design and implement thoughtful, context-responsive art-based interventions tailored to the needs of the children they work with.Through the program, participants gain clarity on what meaningful art-led learning looks like, how to create engaging learning experiences, and how to effectively support children through the process. This enables them to adopt innovative teaching practices and confidently integrate them across diverse learning contexts.
Participants will also become part of a Community of Practice, enabling ongoing collaboration, reflection, and shared learning beyond the program.
Pre-requisites
The program is open to NGO leaders and teams, educators, teachers, and curriculum or instruction specialists working with children, especially those open to trying new approaches.For greater impact, organisations are encouraged to nominate both a program level decision-maker and an implementation team member, so the learning can be effectively applied.
Langauge Requirements: English/Hindi
Expected Commitment
Six (6) hours per session (9 full-day sessions, 54 hours). In the second phase of the program, participants will implement an Action Learning Project using provided curriculum, session plans, and materials, enabling them to build hands-on facilitation experience.Course Details
The program consists of (3) phases:Phase 1 – Foundational course: The program begins with an in-person, immersive experience, enabling participants to deeply engage with the learning process. This phase helps strengthen their practice and build conviction and confidence in art education.
Phase 2 – Action Learning Project (ALP) (at participants’ location / learning space): Participants apply the program’s learning in their own contexts, putting it into practice, observing outcomes, and gathering insights on the impact of the arts on children’s learning, development, and growth.
Phase 3 – Specialization tracks (Online): In the final phase, participants choose from three focus areas; art integration, library education, or 21st-century learning and SEL, and engage in deeper learning within their selected track. This phase supports them in shaping clear, context-specific implementation strategies aligned with their goals for the children they serve.
Facilitator(s):
Nisha Nair, Founder and Executive Director, ArtSparks FoundationAnu Parthasarathy, Education and Training Lead, ArtSparks Foundation
Vidya Iyer, Program Manager - Professional Learning and Development Program, ArtSparks Foundation
Saagarika Chatterji, Manager - Program Operations & Development Lead, ArtSparks Foundation
About The Resource Organization
ArtSparks Foundation is an educational nonprofit that works to support the development of 21st century learning and life skills in children through the medium of visual art and design. ArtSparks also supports the professional development of teachers and educators, encouraging them to reflect on their teaching practice, and explore new ways to enrich their students’ learning.Website: https://www.art-sparks.org/
| Phases | Module | Activity/No of hours | Mode of Delivery | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Exploring learning styles | Six(6) hours | In-person | Bengaluru |
| Art and children’s development | Six(6) hours | In-person | Bengaluru | |
| Exploring materials and themes #1 | Six(6) hours | In-person | Bengaluru | |
| Exploring materials and themes #2 | Six(6) hours | In-person | Bengaluru | |
| Assessment in the arts | Six(6) hours | In-person | Bengaluru | |
| Designing curriculum in the arts | Six(6) hours | In-person | Bengaluru | |
| Phase 2 | Action learning project | Two to seven (2-7) hours (2 to 6 sessions, 1 hour each – participants can choose the number of sessions) | In-person | Within participants’ own organizations /spaces/sites |
| Phase 3 | Track #1 – 21st century learning and SEL skills | Six (6) hours per session (3 full-day sessions, 18 hours) | Online via Zoom | Within participants’ own organizations /spaces/sites |
| Track #2 – Library education | Six (6) hours per session (Three full-day sessions, 18 hours) | Online via Zoom | Within participants’ own organizations /spaces/sites | |
| Track #3 – Art integration: teaching through art (including Early Childhood Education)) | Six (6) hours per session (Three full-day sessions, 18 hours) | Online via Zoom | Within participants’ own organizations /spaces/sites |
Facilitators
Nisha Nair
Nisha is an educator, researcher and designer who is committed to elevating the position of art and design as mediums for pedagogy and transformation, both individual and social. Her two-decades long tenure in education in the USA and India has involved facilitating learning experiences for children from underserved communities, advancing the role of art and design in developing the whole child, building more inclusive learning environments, promoting 21st-century learning and life skills development, and investing in the transformative development of teachers. Her past research has explored the intersections of art, education, and the development of human capabilities. Nisha is currently engaged in scholarly research studying the ways in which reciprocal material and social interactions embedded within creative encounters can elicit transformations in the perspectives of teachers and facilitators.
Anuradha Parthasarathy
Anuradha is an art educator committed to advocating for the arts. She has worked for several years, both in India and the USA, in different capacities. These include conducting art classes for children within her local community, and working with schools, teachers and administrators to usher innovative practices in teaching and learning. She has also served as a product designer, has set up and ran as director and partner a business to support traditional craft practices in India, and worked as a web designer and developer in the USA. She herself is an avid painter and photographer.
Vidya Iyer
Vidya leads the Professional Learning & Development Program at ArtSparks Foundation, working closely with educators and organisations to deepen the role of art in education. She curates the EdSparks Collective and supports partners through Communities of Practice, enabling meaningful art-based interventions in diverse contexts. Her experience spans facilitation, teaching, and program coordination across classrooms and community learning spaces, with a focus on early childhood, environmental education, and art-based learning. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education from Azim Premji University and an MSc in Wildlife Biology from Bharathidasan University, bringing an interdisciplinary perspective to her work.
Saagarika Chatterji
Saagarika is an art educator and social worker with over 11 years of experience across art education, life skills facilitation, program management, curriculum development, and educator capacity-building. She holds a BA in Psychology and an MSW in Human Resource Development and Management from Christ University, Bengaluru. Her work involves deep engagement with communities, stakeholders, children, and young adults, giving her a strong understanding of their needs and challenges. She leads with a clear vision, guiding program strategy, mentoring teams, and strengthening impactful learning initiatives.
Testimonials
Rohan, Parag
“The patience and participation with which each session of this workshop was conducted gave me the opportunity to open some layers of the process of facilitation. Every aspect of the process we were experiencing in this workshop was designed very thoughtfully. We also got to experience the kind of magic that can happen by following the process. People from different institutions, with their own understanding of art, can come together and do such amazing things and have such interesting discussions on the processes. It is a safe space to learn and unlearn.”
Abhisheka, Program Manager, Nature Conservation Foundation
“This has been one of the most welcoming and the best courses I have attended. In my teaching, I was constrained by the use of materials as I wasn’t comfortable with many mediums and therefore had not used them with my learners. I discovered that art can be introduced at any age and experimentation in art can be encouraged even at a very young age. I understood the importance of encouraging collaboration in the classroom and not competition. I would always ask kids to focus on their own work and not copy from each other. But it was interesting for me to see how we can get ideas from each other and create art collectively. I had used art as a tool to teach about nature, but now I see how nature can be integrated into art making itself. The training also got me thinking about how little time we give these days for children to be with themselves, work on their art in silence, and reflect upon their art. I realised that we as adults should keep away our own biases and create learning environments that will allow children’s innate capacities to come through. I understood the value of art in helping step out of one’s comfort zone.”
Jyoti, SATH Foundation
“Compared to my teaching practice in general, I could experience how without instructing the children on what to learn, children themselves are learning by engaging with art. Here, as a teacher I just needed to point out certain things and guide the children. I did not have to continuously and repeatedly talk about a concept but let the children experience it themselves. This method of teaching was actually easier than the normal didactic way of teaching."
