I am interested in object-based teaching and learning, embodied cognition, sensory studies, inquiry and interpretation in the arts, and joint attention. My current project engages ethnographic methods and interaction analysis to explore the epistemic ideologies of emerging museum educators at a university art museum.
2021-2022: Affiliated Graduate Student, Center for Ethnographic Research at the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, UC Berkeley
Contact: zss (at) berkeley (dot) edu
Personal Background
Over the past 10 years, I have worked as an education specialist and program coordinator at a variety of arts and cultural institutions, including the Hammer Museum at UCLA, the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, the MassArt Art Museum, and the Harvard Art Museums. I received a B.A. in History from UC Berkeley with a minor in Latin, an A.M. in History from Harvard University, an M.A. in Learning and Visitor Studies in Museums and Galleries from the University of Leicester’s School of Museum Studies, and a Certificate in Social Emotional Arts from UCLArts & Healing.
In prior lives, I was a medieval historian and ninth-grade teacher. Ask me about the odor of sanctity, pilgrim souvenirs, and doing (new) things with (old) stuff.
Select Publications and Presentations
Johnson, J. & Silverman, Z. (2022). Grasping at relevancy: Emerging museum scholars reflect on value, communication, and the future of museums in a post-COVID world. In T. Quinn and X. M. y Oliván (Eds.), Fwd: Museums 2021 (pp. 77-83). StepSister Press.
Lindberg, L., Marin, A., & Silverman, Z. (2021). Improvisational dance as enactive cognition: What do novice dancers teach us about embodied cognition in dance? Journal of Dance Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/15290824.2021.1957480
Silverman, Z. (2021). Breaking the mould: Adding at the Clay Topos. Paper presentation at the annual Education Research Day Conference, Berkeley, CA: UC Berkeley.
Silverman, Z. (2021). Blind contour drawing at a distance. Celebrate the Wins! Ignite talk at the National Art Education Association’s Museum Education Division Virtual Preconference.
Silverman, Z. (2020). Hands on history: Messaging “touch” in California’s history museums. Poster presentation at the Learning Sciences Graduate Student Conference, Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin.
Silverman, Z. (2020). Video, tango, disco: A prolegomenon to materiality in the learning sciences. Paper accepted for presentation at the annual Education Research Day Conference, Berkeley, CA: UC Berkeley.
Silverman, Z., Doherty, J., Hogarth, B., Lindberg, L., Torres-Gypson, A. (2019). Moving every body: Embodied engagement in museums and gardens. Panel organizer and moderator at the American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting (AAM 2019), New Orleans, LA.
Silverman, Z., Callan, M. Corriveau, B., and Eshelman, D. (2017). Minds and hearts: Cultivating well-being through mindfulness. Panel organizer and moderator at the American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting (AAM 2017), St. Louis, MO.