Richard
Halverson
NEWS OF NOTE
Dr. Halverson is currently moving into the last year of a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award for his work on understanding how leaders create Data Driven Instructional Systems in schools. His team is working to develop data visualization tools for understanding formative assessment data.
BIO
Rich Halverson is an Associate Professor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Rich is a co-founder of the Games. Learning and Society Research Group and the Learning Sciences Program at UW-Madison, and has appointments in the Educational Psychology and Curriculum and Instruction Departments. Dr. Halverson holds a PhD in the Learning Sciences from the Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy, as well as an MA in Philosophy from Northwestern. Raised in Manitowoc, WI he is a rabid Packers fan and fantasy sports enthusiast.
Dr. Halverson’s CV is available in PDF format.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Halverson’s research aims to bring the research methods and practices of the Learning Sciences to the world of educational leadership. His recent research has explored two distinct applications of educational technology for school leadership: The effective use of data driven instructional systems, and the development of game and simulation based tools for professional learning.
Dr. Halverson’s work integrates how classical ideas of wisdom and practical knowledge can be used to understand the complex work of contemporary school leaders. He has developed research methods and theoretical frameworks to access, document and communicate the expertise of school leaders. Dr. Halverson has applied his methods to untangling several complex areas of school leadership research such as leadership for social justice, teacher evaluation, urban school leadership (link to Madda, Halverson & Gomez article) and data-driven decision making. More information about his ongoing work with Data Driven Instructional Systems is available at the DDIS website.
Dr. Halverson co-founded the Games Learning and Society (GLS) research group at UW-Madison. He also pioneered research and design methods to commmunicate technicological representations of expert instructional leadership throug web-based media. As PI on the Remembering Math project, Dr. Halverson worked to create a research based example of a digital tool for professional learning, while his work with School Leadership Games (SLG) research group allows him to investigate how video games point to the next generation of multimedia environments for training in-service and pre-service educators.
COURSES
ELPA 702: Introduction to K-12 Instructional Leadership
ELPA 703: Administration of Teaching and Learning Organizations
ELPA 961: Technology and School Leadership
RESEARCH GROUP
Dr. Halverson directs the Data Driven Instructional Systems research group.
REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS
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Halverson, E., & Halverson, R. (2008, in press). “Fantasy Baseball: The Case for Competitive Fandom.” Games and Culture, forthcoming. |
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Halverson, R., Grigg, J., Prichett, R., & Thomas, C. (2007) “The New Instructional Leadership: Creating Data-Driven Instructional Systems in Schools.” Journal of School Leadership, 17(2), 159-194 |
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Madda, C., Halverson, R., and Gomez, L. (2007) “Exploring Coherence as an Organizational Resource for Carrying out Reform Initiatives.” Teachers College Record, 109(8), 1957-79. |
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Halverson, R., and Clifford, M. (2006) “Evaluation in the Wild: A Distributed Cognition Perspective on Teacher Assessment.” Education Administration Quarterly, 42(4).578-619. |
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Halverson, R. & Thomas, C. N. (2006) The Roles and Practices of Student Service Staff as the Data-Driven Instructional Leaders. Paper prepared for the 2006 Annual Conference of the University Council of Educational Administration. San Antonio, Texas. |

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Halverson, R. (2005) A Distributed Leadership Perspective on How Leaders Use Artifacts to Create Professional Community in Schools. Paper presented at the 2005 Annual Conference of the University Council of Educational Administration. Nashville, TN. November 11, 2005
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Halverson, R. (September, 2005) What Can K-12 School Leaders Learn from Video Games and Gaming? Innovate 1(6) http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=81. |
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Halverson, R. & Rah, Y. (2005) Representing leadership for social justice: The case of Franklin School. Journal of Cases in School Leadership, 8(1) Spring 2005.
http://dssl.wceruw.org/ |
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Shaffer, D., Squire, K., Halverson, R., & Gee, J. (2004) Video games and the future of learning. Games and Professional Practice Simulations White Paper |
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Halverson, R. (2004) Accessing, documenting and communicating the phronesis of school leadership practice. American Journal of Education. |
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Halverson, R., Kelley, C. & Kimball, S. (2004) Implementing teacher evaluation systems: How principals make sense of complex artifacts to shape local instructional practice. In W.K. Hoy and C. G. Miskel (Eds.) Research and Theory in Educational Administration, Volume 3. Greenwich, CT.: Information Age Press. 2004. |
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Halverson, R., Linnekin, B. Spillane, J. & Gomez, L. (2004) Multimedia cases of practice: On-line learning opportunities for school leaders. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 7(1) Spring 2004.
http://ddis.wceruw.org/docs/11%20HalversonLinnekinGomezSpillane%20JCEL.pdf
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Halverson, R., (2003, October 10). Systems of practice: How leaders use artifacts to create professional community in schools. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11 (37). Available at
http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v11n37/ |
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Halverson, R. (2002). Representing phronesis: Supporting instructional leadership practice in schools. Doctoral Dissertation: Northwestern University: Evanston, IL.
Please contact me if you are interested in the larger work. |
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Spillane, J. P., Halverson, R., and Diamond, J. B. (2001) "Investigating School Leadership Practice: A Distributed Perspective." Educational Researcher, 30 (3). April 2001 |
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Halverson, R. & Gomez, L. (2001) "Phronesis and Design: How Practical Wisdom is Disclosed through Collaborative Design." Paper presented at the 2001 American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Seattle WA.
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Halverson, R. & Gomez, L.M. (1998) "Technology and schools." Digital Infrastructures Think Papers: Metropolitan Chicago Group.
http://www.it.northwestern.edu/metrochicago/think3.htm |
CONTACT DR. HALVERSON:
Address:
Educational Sciences Bldg, Room 1186G
1025 W. Johnson St.
Madison, WI 53706-1796 |
Phone:
(608) 265-4772 |
Email:
halverson@education.wisc.edu |
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