Visual Arts Faculty Ms. Bernardoni was recently awarded the Global Action Research Collaborative fellowship—a year and a half long intensive fellowship rooted in their 2026–2027 theme: "Creativity as Catalyst: Teaching for Possibility in Girls’ Schools.”

As part of the Global Action Research Collaborative, fellows will investigate how creative thinking shows up in their own classrooms—how it’s expressed by students, encouraged (or constrained) by instructional choices, and cultivated through daily practice. Fellows will explore questions such as: What does it look like when students engage in creative thinking during a lesson? How can we design learning experiences that invite originality, inquiry, or risk-taking? How might assessment practices shift to capture the value of creative thinking and process?

In this highly research-based role, Ms. Bernardoni will be spending four to five hours per week on her research, attend international conferences, and attend workshops—both online and in-person. Her research will culminate in a paper, video, or presentation to be shared at the second international conference.

“I believe this will make my work more purposeful as I'll have the goal of implementing international change at the forefront of my instruction. I'm especially excited about the theme for 2026–2027, as it involves creativity and how essential it is in the classroom. I am hoping that this will mean a deeper integration of the arts into all disciplines. When I received the news that I'd been admitted as a fellow I was very excited and a little overwhelmed. That being said, this is work that I believe needs to be done in support of the arts and for girl's education around the world. I can't wait to collaborate with educators around the globe to make that happen!”