Episode 91: How The Arts Can Save Education with Erica Halverson

This week we’re joined by a whoopensocker of a guest – Erica Halverson. After telling us all what a “whoopensocker” is, she brings us up to speed on her education intervention of the same name, where teaching artists employ the rules of improv to encourage kids to express themselves and engage in collaborative storytelling. Those stories are then presented back to them in the form of a professionalized vaudeville show on the Whoopensocker podcast and YouTube channel. We discuss how these methods confront some of the failings of traditional learning environments and assessments in the classroom today, as well as honor the importance of The Arts in education in a way that seems absent from most STEAM programs.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

More about Erica Halverson, past and present projects: https://www.ericahalverson.com/ 
Book: How the Arts Can Save Education
The Whoopensocker Project
Whoopensocker Podcast
Whoopensocker YouTube

What the heck is a Whoopensocker?

Playmakers Laboratory, Chicago
Bossypants by Tina Fey (see: “the rules of improv and how they can change your life”)

Henry’s blog series on his open-laptop exam:
The Question
Knowledge Community
What Happened Part One Part Two
Open Laptop Activities Part One  Part Two

Baking Impossible
Portlandia: Put a Bird On It!
Making It with Amy Poehler & Nick Offerman

Carole King – Really Rosie

Kids’ pop culture references:
Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks
Fortnite
Dabbing
Five Nights At Freddy’s
John Cena

Seymour Papert
Mitch Resnick
Computer Clubhouse
Shirley Brice Heath

Constructionism – constructivist theory of learning

Six, the musical

Sputnik Crisis
Margaret Mead – A Creative Life for Your Children
Amy Ogata – Designing the Creative Child

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at [email protected].

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
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In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet  https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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