This session will provide you with six ways that you can make your teaching more accessible for all students, no matter how they learn best. You will learn the principles, habits of mind, and strategies of accessible music education: evidence-based ways that pedagogical practices from special education, music education, and general education can be woven together to reduce and remove barriers to student engagement, participation, and learning.
Rhoda Bernard
- Biographical Information
Dr. Rhoda Bernard is the Founding Managing Director of the Institute for Accessible Arts Education and the Assistant Chair of the Music Education Department at Berklee College of Music. She is an international leader in the field of accessible arts education, and is a dynamic keynote presenter, clinician, and workshop leader in high demand in venues around the world. In her roles at Berklee, Dr. Bernard has created and leads a wide range of programs, including Arts Education Programs for people with disabilities, ages 3 to 103; first-of-their-kind Graduate Programs in accessible arts education; and Professional Development Programs and Resources for educators. Bernard earned her doctoral and master's degrees in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Jazz Voice Performance at New England Conservatory and her Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University. Dr. Bernard has published research and scholarship in numerous peer reviewed journals and book chapters. In fall 2025, her book on accessible arts education will be published by Solution Tree Press. She is driven by her deep desire to provide arts education opportunities for every person, no matter how they learn best.