Students engage and learn from community partners in the arts, transforming future classrooms
Belmont’s College of Education expanded its curriculum with a new class for spring 2026, Introduction to the Creative Arts and Learning Through Play. Centered around creativity and exploration of play, the class allows future educators to re-imagine the K-3 classroom experience through the power of play before stepping into their own classrooms, while connecting with local organizations who are sustaining resources for arts education.
Students learn how play and the arts can create positive results in the classroom, including support for all aspects of child development, especially for learners with diverse abilities.
“This course is opening my eyes to even more creative ways to create accessibility and bridge the learning gap between students of all grade levels and abilities,” said Tarah Haley, education policy student.
Learning Through Play challenges students to think about learning in new ways and rethink how classrooms look, sound and feel in order to best serve the next generation of learners.
From the Classroom to the Community
Professor Dr. Rachael Flynn created the course to be as much about community connections in Nashville as it is the actual classroom.
“We are looking into integrating access to the arts across curriculum,” said Flynn. “To be able to do that, my students and I are aiming to get out in the community and engage with the people and organizations who can support learning through play locally.”
Throughout the semester, students will hear from community organizations from four main areas of the arts: music, movement, drama and visual arts.
Students will also connect with community partners and see local resources available to elementary schools. By creating these professional connections, students expand their networks and draw on these resources for their own classrooms.
Participating organizations include:
From puppet shows to accessible playgrounds, each organization has a unique approach to education through art and play.
Learning Through Ballet
Recently, Briona Richardson, Nashville Ballet’s sr. manager of community engagement, shared her personal experience with Flynn’s class, highlighting the importance of dance in academic lessons for elementary school students and gave students the chance to brainstorm lessons of their own.
Through exciting in-school performances, interactive storytelling times and lesson plans centering around performance season shows, the Nashville Ballet makes a great effort to reach students in the community.
During the visit, Belmont students explored how it feels to learn through dance as Richardson led them through guided movement activities and explained how purposeful movement can reinforce certain academic concepts.
Highlighting the various learning styles children possess, Richardson shared, “We can cue and guide children through movement and learning, and it helps them understand certain material kinesthetically.”
Richardson also made note of the value of accessibility of dance in learning. “Being able to manage all levels, abilities and learners respectfully, where everyone gets something out of the lesson is important,” she said.
The Nashville Ballet offers these workshops as free educational resources for schools.
Bringing Lessons to Life
As an end of semester project, the students in the Learning in Play course will weave each discipline from the four main art areas into early childhood curriculum and apply developmentally appropriate lessons at the Little Bruins Preschool — an early education experience located on campus for Belmont employees and neighborhood residents. 
By working with the dynamics of a real classroom, students gain the skills to make art education stimulating for kids.
This semester was the first time Learning Through Play was offered, and the course is set to continue through each spring and incorporate returning and new community partner components to continue fueling education students with resources. By moving students beyond theory and into confident practice, Learning Through Play creates classroom-ready professionals who truly embody the lessons they teach.
Learn More
Learn more about the program in this story