Teacher Education and Credential Programs - Arts Education Instructor - UCLA Extension

UCLA Extension is considered one of the top programs of its kind, offering to more than 35,000 students per year approximately 4,500 classes and non-degree certificate programs to meet the professional development, continuing education, and personal enrichment needs of the full spectrum of nontraditional students as well as companies and organizations throughout and beyond the Los Angeles region.

Foundations of Teaching Artistry & CTE is the inaugural course in UCLA Extension's six-course Artistry Career Technical Education (CTE) Credential Program, developed in partnership with the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture's Visual and Performing Arts Education (VAPAE) Program. This innovative curriculum integrates contemporary teaching artistry with California Career Technical Education (CTE) credential requirements to prepare practicing artists to become effective, credentialed educators in K–12 public schools.

This position requires an in-person instruction and live online instruction.

Through an interdisciplinary approach, candidates explore the foundations of arts education, culturally responsive and equity-centered pedagogy, creative learning theory, social-emotional learning, and the role of teaching artists in today's classrooms. Concurrently, students develop a strong understanding of California CTE standards, professional responsibilities, educational law and ethics, curriculum development, and workforce-connected learning. Throughout the course, participants connect theory to practice by reflecting on their work in school settings and developing instructional strategies that foster creativity, inclusion, and student engagement.

As the first course in the six-course credential sequence, this class establishes the professional, pedagogical, and artistic.

UCLA Extension, in partnership with the Visual and Performing Arts Education Program (VAPAE) at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, seeks an Arts Education Instructor to lead Foundations of Teaching Artistry & CTE, the first course in a new six-course, post-baccalaureate CTE Credential in Teaching Artistry — California's first CTE credential built specifically for teaching artistry pedagogy. This is a limited appointment contract position for one 10-week hybrid course, beginning September 23, 2026.

The instructor's primary area of expertise is arts education — theory, practice, pedagogy, and praxis — with a strong preference for familiarity with the teacher credentialing process and the CTE credential in particular. A CTE Coordinator/Specialist joins periodically as a guest instructor to support the CTE-credentialing portion of the course.

• Lead weekly seminar sessions (in-person and via Zoom), delivering arts education content grounded in social justice pedagogy, social-emotional learning, culturally relevant/sustaining pedagogy, and Universal Design for Learning as applied to arts-education contexts
• Guide candidates through lesson design and facilitation of original arts-based K–12 learning experiences, including supervision of the Micro Team-Teaching lesson and sample art piece
• Coordinate with the periodic guest CTE Coordinator/Specialist so CTE credential content (CTC standards, legal/ethical obligations, the credential pathway) reads as one integrated narrative alongside the arts-education content, not a separate track
• Facilitate weekly creative-reflection practice (Padlet posts, Trio Dives) connecting course content to each candidate's field placement
• Grade and provide feedback on weekly assignments, the Social Message Art Piece, the Micro Team-Teaching Presentation and Lesson Plan, and the Teaching Artist Advisory Network project
• Support each candidate's capstone Teaching Artist Philosophy Statement and Individual Learning Plan, informed by the candidate's ongoing conversations with their mentor teacher
• Maintain the course Canvas site, post weekly readings/media, and manage attendance and grading records

Employment as a UCLA Extension Instructor is dictated by contract terms and conditions. Please take the time to read the UCLA Extension Instructor Employment Policies.

For information on UCLA Extension instructor benefits
, please visit Pay, Benefits, & Privileges.

• Substantial professional experience as a teaching artist and/or arts educator
• Demonstrated fluency in social justice pedagogy, social-emotional learning, culturally relevant/sustaining pedagogy, and Universal Design for Learning as applied to arts-education contexts