Math empowerment: a multidisciplinary example to engage primary school students in learning mathematics

This paper describes an educational project conducted in a primary school in Italy (Scuola Primaria Alessandro Manzoni at Mulazzano, near to Milan). The school requested our collaboration to help improve upon the results achieved on the National Tests for Mathematics, in which students, aged 7, registered performances lower than the national average the past year. From January to June, 2016, we supported teachers, providing them with information, tools and methods to increase their pupils’ curiosity and passion for mathematics. Mixing our different experiences and competences (instructional design and gamification, information technologies and psychology) we have tried to provide a broader spectrum of parameters, tools and keys to understand how to achieve an inclusive approach that is ‘personalised’ to each student. This collaboration with teachers and students allowed us to draw interesting observations about learning styles, pointing out the negative impact that standardized processes and instruments can have on the self‐esteem and, consequently, on student performance. The goal of this programme was to find the right learning levers to intrigue and excite students in mathematical concepts and their applications. Our hypothesis is that, by considering the learning of mathematics as a continuous process, in which students develop freely through their own experiments, observations, involvement and curiosity, students can achieve improved results on the National Tests (INVALSI). This paper includes results of a survey conducted by children ‐’About Me and Mathematics‘

Introducing Computational Thinking in K-12 Education: Historical, Epistemological, Pedagogical, Cognitive, and Affective Aspects

Introduction of scientific and cultural aspects of Computer Science (CS) (called "Computational Thinking" - CT) in K-12 education is fundamental. We focus on three crucial areas. 1. Historical, philosophical, and pedagogical aspects. What are the big ideas of CS we must teach? What are the historical and pedagogical contexts in which CT emerged, and why are relevant? What is the relationship between learning theories (e.g., constructivism) and teaching approaches (e.g., plugged and unplugged)? 2. Cognitive aspects. What is the sentiment of generalist teachers not trained to teach CS? What misconceptions do they hold about concepts like CT and "coding"? 3. Affective and motivational aspects. What is the impact of personal beliefs about intelligence (mindset) and about CS ability? What the role of teaching approaches? This research has been conducted both through historical and philosophical argumentation, and through quantitative and qualitative studies (both on nationwide samples and small significant ones), in particular through the lens of (often exaggerated) claims about transfer from CS to other skills. Four important claims are substantiated. 1. CS should be introduced in K-12 as a tool to understand and act in our digital world, and to use the power of computation for meaningful learning. CT is the conceptual sediment of that learning. We designed a curriculum proposal in this direction. 2. The expressions CT (useful to distantiate from digital literacy) and "coding" can cause misconceptions among teachers, who focus mainly on transfer to general thinking skills. Both disciplinary and pedagogical teacher training is hence needed. 3. Some plugged and unplugged teaching tools have intrinsic constructivist characteristics that can facilitate CS learning, as shown with proposed activities. 4. Growth mindset is not automatically fostered by CS, while not studying CS can foster fixed beliefs. Growth mindset can be fostered by creative computing, leveraging on its constructivist aspects

Educational robotics studies in Italian scientific journals: A systematic review

In recent years, there has been increasing attention to applying educational robotics (ER) in learning settings and, consequently, it has concerned and involved the entire pedagogical field, giving rise to a large amount of experimentation and research. Educational robots are used within the school curriculum and in extra-curricular activities to improve student interest, engagement and academic achievement in various fields, such as STEM and digital literacy, and in many other ways, for example fostering specific cognitive and socio-relational skills. In Italy, as in many other countries, an increasing number of publications are featuring this subject. While there are also some reviews, none of them has been interested in reviewing studies published in Italian journals. The aim of this work is to provide a systematic review of the literature regarding studies investigating educational robotics and provide suggestions for further research and teaching practices. To do this we used the PRISMA statement process. In total, 28 studies published between 2011 and 2021 in 49 Italian journals were analyzed. The main findings from this review provide the current state of the art on research in ER. Furthermore, the paper discusses trends and the vision toward the future and opportunities for further research

Makers at School, Educational Robotics and Innovative Learning Environments

This open access book contains observations, outlines, and analyses of educational robotics methodologies and activities, and developments in the field of educational robotics emerging from the findings presented at FabLearn Italy 2019, the international conference that brought together researchers, teachers, educators and practitioners to discuss the principles of Making and educational robotics in formal, non-formal and informal education. The editors’ analysis of these extended versions of papers presented at FabLearn Italy 2019 highlight the latest findings on learning models based on Making and educational robotics. The authors investigate how innovative educational tools and methodologies can support a novel, more effective and more inclusive learner-centered approach to education. The following key topics are the focus of discussion: Makerspaces and Fab Labs in schools, a maker approach to teaching and learning; laboratory teaching and the maker approach, models, methods and instruments; curricular and non-curricular robotics in formal, non-formal and informal education; social and assistive robotics in education; the effect of innovative spaces and learning environments on the innovation of teaching, good practices and pilot projects

Apprendimento narrativo in attività di coding: differenze di genere nella scuola di primo grado

The recent introduction in Italy of Computational Thinking at the primary and secondary levels by the Educational Reform Act (October 2015) raises two critical issues: first, women are underrepresented in the computer field (OECD, 2015a; OECD, 2015b); second, girls lose their interest in computer sciences during adolescence (Gras-Velazquez et al., 2009). Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate gender differences in self-efficacy and engagementthrough educational narrative methods for learning programming at middle school, a period considered critical in the research literature (Bandura, 1997; Pajares & Schunk, 2001a; Pajares & Schunk, 2001b). This is generally due to a decline in the self-efficacy beliefs of girls in science. Although this is an exploratory study, the implications that emerged show the potential of narrative educational activities to serve as a “cognitive bridge” to engage and improve the self-efficacy of the girls in computational thinking activities.La comunità scientifica a livello internazionale esprime da tempo preoccupazione sulla questione delle differenze di genere in quanto le donne continuano ad essere sottorappresentate nel settore tecnologico (OCDE 2015). Da diversi ricerche emerge (European Schoolnet, 2013; Bandura, 1977, Pajares, & Schunk, 2001a, b) che le ragazze perdono il loro interesse durante il periodo adolescenziale, momento decisivo nella scelta degli studi superiori,in quanto si registra un declino di self-efficacy e di interesse per l’ambito scientifico.Tale questione risulta cruciale, data la recente Riforma Educativa che prevede l’introduzione del Computational Thinking in tutta la filiera formativa. Pertanto, lo scopo di questo lavoro è di indagare le differenze di genere sulle credenze di self-efficacy e del coinvolgimento percepito in un laboratorio di programmazione, rivolto ad adolescenti tra i 10 e 12 anni, progettato su metodi didattici narrativi. L’obiettivo è di verificare come e quanto tale strategia di apprendimento possa coinvolgere le/gli adolescenti. Sebbene sitratti di uno studio esplorativo, le implicazioni emerse mostrano il potenziale ruolo delle attività narrative come “ponti cognitivi” per coinvolgere e migliorare la self efficacy e il coinvolgimento delle ragazze in attività di programmazione

Implementation and Assessment Methodologies of Teachers' Training Courses for STEM Activities

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Teachers’ perspectives on the intertwining of tangible and digital modes of activity with a drawing robot for geometry

The GeomBot is a drawing robot that combines the well-known strengths and opportunities offered by Scratch with those of Papert’s original robotic drawing-turtle. In this study we look at the GeomBot as a physical programmable artifact around which action research with a group of teachers and a researcher was carried out with the aim of designing, implementing and discussing geometry activities for primary school classes. The aim of this article is to investigate teachers’ positioning and perspectives with respect to the activities and the educational environment emerging around the Geombot in the action research. The action research meetings between September 2018 and June 2019 included nine primary school teachers from seven different Italian schools, who met regularly with the first author. After the design and experimentation sessions, in June 2019, the teachers shared their experiences during a final meeting and group discussion guided by the first author. The data collected from the teachers were analyzed using cultural categories from the Semiotic Systems of Cultural Signification, theorized by the Theory of Objectification, to identify the most significant features defining the teachers’ perspectives and identity. The seven emergent features cover teachers’ positioning with respect to: forms of rationality and language and languages: sensuous cognition and the use of ideal and material semiotic resources; accepted teaching practices, problems and situations; mathematical knowledge; the conception of the student; social interaction and forms of rationality; ethical issues; technology

Makers at School, Educational Robotics and Innovative Learning Environments

This open access book contains observations, outlines, and analyses of educational robotics methodologies and activities, and developments in the field of educational robotics emerging from the findings presented at FabLearn Italy 2019, the international conference that brought together researchers, teachers, educators and practitioners to discuss the principles of Making and educational robotics in formal, non-formal and informal education. The editors’ analysis of these extended versions of papers presented at FabLearn Italy 2019 highlight the latest findings on learning models based on Making and educational robotics. The authors investigate how innovative educational tools and methodologies can support a novel, more effective and more inclusive learner-centered approach to education. The following key topics are the focus of discussion: Makerspaces and Fab Labs in schools, a maker approach to teaching and learning; laboratory teaching and the maker approach, models, methods and instruments; curricular and non-curricular robotics in formal, non-formal and informal education; social and assistive robotics in education; the effect of innovative spaces and learning environments on the innovation of teaching, good practices and pilot projects

The Education of Gender. The Gender of Education. Sociological research in Italy

In questo volume si analizza il rapporto tra genere e educazione rispetto al contesto italiano. Lo scopo \ue8 creare uno spazio per un\u2019area progressivamente varia e densa di ricerca interdisciplinare su genere e istruzione. Poich\ue9 i nuovi campi degli studi di genere sono divenuti fondamentali in sociologia, pedagogia, antropologia, i diversi contributi presenti nel volume indagano in modo dinamico e intersezionale i principali dibattiti emergenti nel panorama italiano dell\u2019education, facendo leva su dati empirici e illuminando una serie di questioni cruciali: l\u2019influenza che la socializzazione familiare e l\u2019educazione prescolare hanno sia sulla formazione delle identit\ue0 di genere che sullo sviluppo dei percorsi educativi; l\u2019egemonia femminile nella demografia del corpo docente e le ripercussioni di questo predominio numerico per colleghi e studenti in termini di schemi e metodologie di insegnamento; la riproduzione delle scelte tradizionali di ragazze e ragazzi nei campi di studio delle scienze, delle tecnologie, dell\u2019ingegneria e della matematica; gli ostacoli che si frappongono ad una visione neutrale rispetto al genere nelle scelte di carriera universitaria; l\u2019influenza del livello di istruzione dei genitori, in particolare quello delle madri, sui risultati scolastici di studenti e studentesse; la crescente importanza dell\u2019apprendimento delle competenze informatiche e digitali per l\u2019occupabilit\ue0, soprattutto per le donne; l\u2019efficacia degli esperimenti di codifica, robotica e apprendimento computazionale nell\u2019ambito di programmi innovativi per gli alunni; i divari di genere nell\u2019alfabetizzazione finanziaria e le differenze di genere nelle competenze finanziarie pi\uf9 complesse; la costruzione sociale delle categorie di genere nelle valutazioni standardizzate delle competenze degli adolescenti. Nell\u2019adottare un approccio critico al genere e all\u2019istruzione come complesso intreccio di queste questioni cruciali, i contributi del volume riconoscono e promuovono l\u2019importanza di sondare il nesso genere-educazione oltre i tradizionali confini dei domini disciplinari.In this volume, we examine the relationship between gender and education with respect to the Italian context. The purpose is to forge a space for a progressively varied and dense area of interdisciplinary research on gender and education. As new gender studies fields are rapidly developing and becoming pivotal in the traditional social disciplines of sociology, educational studies, pedagogy, anthropology, we felt a greater need for a dynamic and intersectional examination that plots emerging definitions and debates while uncovering the critical complexities of gender and education in Italy. These include issues relating to: - the influence that family socialization and pre-school education have on both the formation of gender identities and the development of educational paths; - the female hegemony in the demography of the teaching staff and the repercussions of this numerical dominance for both male and female colleagues and students in terms of patterns and methodologies; - the reproduction of women and men\u2019s traditional choices in fields of study such as STEM in the tracks of the Italian secondary education and university system; - the barriers to a gender neutral vision of university career choices; the influence of parents\u2019 educational attainment \u2013 especially that of mothers \u2013 on the educational achievements of younger men and women over time; - the growing importance of learning IT and digital skills for employability - especially for women; - the efficacy of experiments in coding, robotics and computational learning as part of innovative programs for pupils; - gender gaps in financial literacy and gender divides in more complex financial skills; - the social construction of gender categories in standardized assessments of adolescents\u2019 competences. In adopting a critical approach to gender and education as the complex intertwining of these crucial issues, we recognize the importance of probing beyond the boundaries of specific domains in order to develop a more intersectional focus