Lecture by Erik Stern, Weber State University, USA
Date: 09 NOVEMBER 2021 from 17:30 to 19:00
Event location: Sala Rossa, Via Marsala, 26 Bologna - In presence and online event
Type: Lectures
People think in a variety of ways – symbolically, interpersonally, kinesthetically, and more. Many classrooms do not provide access to a range of learning modalities and opportunities. Contrary to how subjects are sometimes taught, it’s natural to link modes of learning in order to gain a rich understanding of a certain problem or subject. In this accessible presentation, Professor Erik Stern will give an overview of three decades of interdisciplinary, collaborative scholarship on choreographic and mathematical thinking. Stern will also share assessment data on an innovative college course using these methods, and how artistic investigation anticipated scholarship from emerging fields. The audience might even experience simple movement approaches for a few minutes.
If you prefer to attend this lecture in presence, you should write to segreteria.isa@unibo.it within November 9th, 12 p.m. and book your place. The places will be assigned on “first come first served” basis.
As per the Decree-Law number 111, issued on the 6th of August 2021, in order to attend lectures in presence you must have a COVID-19 Green Pass and show it on the premises.
Erik Stern received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of California and a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance from California Institute of the Arts, and is a professor at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. He has choreographed at Stanford
University and many other institutions, and presented and performed in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. For 27 years he has co-directed with Karl Schaffer a California-based non-profit arts organization, MoveSpeakSpin. With Schaffer and Scott
Kim, Erik co-authored Math Dance with Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern, a book on their original mathematics and movement lessons. With colleagues at WSU, he has co-author papers in mathematics and interdisciplinary conference proceedings. In collaboration with Mathematics Education scholar Rachel Bachman, he is currently working on a writing project that examines the relationship between embodied math dance methods and Bachman’s research into the efficacy of these approaches. Drawing on research and writings from science and arts, the book includes frameworks for understanding math dance, warm-ups and lessons, and describes the role that body knowledge, social and emotional intelligence, identity, and teamwork can play in mathematics learning. It also addresses how the creative process and educational agency can enrich and increase the potency of the mathematics classroom. Stern’s professional choreographic work has tackled a range of topics besides mathematics, such as dementia, the possibilities of motion, and scientific discovery.
The visit of Erik Stern is organized in collaboration with Alessia Cattabriga from the Department of Mathematics.