Halverson, Richard

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Rich Halverson is a former high school teacher, school technology specialist, curriculum director and school administrator. He has taught English, American History and Philosophy in a Catholic urban high school. Dr. Halverson has earned an MA in Philosophy and a PhD in the Learning Sciences from Northwestern University. He was raised in Manitowoc, WI and is a rabid Packer and fantasy sports fan. Dr. Halverson has served as a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since fall 2001.

Dr. Halverson’s research aims to bring the research methods and practices of the Learning Sciences to the world of educational leadership. His dissertation work showed how classical ideas of wisdom and practical knowledge can be used to understand the complex work of contemporary school leaders. He has continued this line of work to develop research methods and theoretical frameworks to access, document and communicate the expertise of school leaders. Dr. Halverson has recently applied his methods to untangling several complex areas of school leadership research such as leadership for social justice, teacher evaluation, urban school leadership and data-driven decision making.

Dr. Halverson has developed his interests in the role of technology in education and leadership by pioneering research and design methods to communicate representations of expert instructional leadership through web-based media. Recently, his collaboration with the Games and Professional Practice and Simulations (GAPPS) research group has enabled him to investigate how video games point to the next generation of multimedia environments for professional learning.

Faculty website: http://www.education.wisc.edu/elpa/people/faculty/halverson.htm