About Hoplaboum Education

Our Story

​

Founded in 2019 by Catherine Pichette, HoplaBoum is dedicated to the training, design, and evaluation of innovative practices in schools, ranging from preschool to high school. The primary area of ​​interest that led to the creation of this concept is the integration of arts education with skill development across academic subjects.

​

In the United States, the extensive body of existing correlational data—specifically the Harvard Project Zero "Reviewing Education and the Arts Project" (REAP, 2001)—shows that students who take a large number of arts education courses (typically a combination of different types of classes) achieve better academic results (as measured by school grades and scores on standardized tests of verbal and mathematical skills) than students who have taken fewer arts education courses or none at all.

​

A 2014 study by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), titled "Art for Art’s Sake? The Impact of Arts Education", showed that this link applied to students at both ends of the socio-economic spectrum.

​

At the same time, Catherine has been enriching her approach by exploring innovative teaching methods for nearly 30 years—such as tiered learning, game-based learning, project-based learning, cooperative learning, and more. This marked the birth of the HoplaBoum teaching method!

​

In 2020, professionals from diverse backgrounds, including teaching, the arts, special education, critical thinking (zététique), modern languages, healthcare, and industry, came together to found the association and bring the HoplaBoum project to fruition.

​

The project comprises 3 components:

• a training center dedicated to promoting innovative teaching methods among education professionals,

• a learning center,

• a bilingual school project featuring innovative pedagogy with an artistic, scientific, and technological focus,

all centered on nature.

​

Our vision

​

We are convinced that education holds the key to meeting future challenges and addressing major societal issues. We believe that fostering children’s innate love of learning,  by providing authentic, stimulating, active, and relevant learning experiences, will naturally lead them to participate in an increasingly diverse and dynamic society.

​

Our missions

​

The HoplaBoum! association was founded in 2021 with the aim of promoting innovative educational methods by supporting the training of education professionals and offering in-school and extracurricular workshops.
We strive to define the key principles, as well as the necessary conditions and factors within the school ecosystem, for the effective and sustainable implementation of our approach.

​

Our approch

​

HoplaBoum invites research and education experts to collaborate on designing training sessions, workshops, and conferences aimed at promoting innovative teaching methods among education professionals in France.
We aim to partner with educators and researchers in the schools where we operate to evaluate the effectiveness of our interventions and the impact of inclusive, collaborative learning environments on student engagement and learning quality.
This feedback also informs our continuous improvement process, ensuring we consistently deliver relevant, sound, and effective interventions.

​

The Hoplaboum pedagogy

​

The HoplaBoum educational approach is the culmination of nearly twenty years of teaching experience. Catherine Pichette, a multidisciplinary artist (theater, visual arts, writing), educator, trainer, and founder of HoplaBoum, describes this approach as a blend of innovative pedagogical methods, such as:
​

• Project-based learning

• Just-in-Time Learning (JIT)

• Problem-Based Learning (PBL)

• Positive pedagogy

• Tiered learning

• Cooperative learning (peer teaching)

• Game-based learning

• Flexible classrooms

• Flipped classrooms