Approccio Montessori, educazione ai concetti matematici e differenze di genere: come possono gli insegnanti rispondere all’ansia per la matematica?

Currently, research concerning anxiety and gender gap in mathematics has not yet provided an exhaustive illustration of the phenomenon, observed mostly through the neuropsychological lens. Since in the last twenty years studies in math education (and STEM in general) have shown how arithmetic skills are essential for being active citizens in the technological and digital society in which we live, finding an effective educational answer is fundamental for the future. The aim of the present study is to analyse the characteristics of the educational action of a Montessori teacher, crossing them with evidence obtained from psychology and neuroscience regarding the effects of math anxiety on learning.Ad oggi la ricerca inerente l’ansia e il gap di genere in matematica non ha ancora fornito un’esaustiva illustrazione del fenomeno, osservato per lo più attraverso la lente neuropsicologica. Dal momento che nell’ultimo ventennio la ricerca in didattica della matematica (e delle STEM in generale) ha dimostrato come le competenze aritmetiche siano imprescindibili per essere cittadiniattivi nella società, tecnologica e digitale, in cui viviamo, trovare una risposta educativa efficace risulta perciò fondamentale per il futuro. Il presente studio analizza quindi le caratteristiche dell’agire educativo di un insegnante secondo l’approccio Montessori, incrociandole con le evidenze ottenute dalla psicologia e dalle neuroscienze riguardo agli effetti dell’ansia matematica sull’apprendimento

Between action and theory: a check list for teachers self-evaluation in Montessori contexts

The article presents the first monitoring phase following the introduction of the Montessori Method in three primary school classes of the public sector in Trentino, Northern Italy. In this context we are proposing a check list developed to observe teachers and children actions into experimental classes, with the aim of monitoring the gap between implemented educational choices and the theoretical references proposed by Maria Montessori. The check list points offer a supportive self-evaluation tool for teachers in Montessori public school contexts. Tra l’agito e il dichiarato: una griglia osservativa per l’autovalutazione del docente nelle classi a metodo MontessoriIl contributo presenta la prima fase di monitoraggio dell’esperienza a metodo Montessori in tre classi di scuola primaria pubblica trentina. In questo contesto viene presentata una check list osservativa costruita per osservare le azioni di insegnanti e bambini all’interno delle classi sperimentali, con l’intento di monitorare lo scarto tra le scelte didattiche messe in atto e i riferimenti teorici proposti da Maria Montessori nell’ambito della scuola primaria. La check list proposta intende offrire uno strumento in grado di orientare il processo di autovalutazione dell’insegnante in contesti di scuola pubblica ad indirizzo montessoriano.

Montessori approach, math education and gender differences: how can teachers manage pupils’ math anxiety?

Currently, research concerning anxiety and gender gap in mathematics has not yet provided an exhaustive illustration of the phenomenon, observed mostly through the neuropsychological lens. Since in the last twenty years studies in math education (and STEM in general) have shown how arithmetic skills are essential for being active citizens in the technological and digital society in which we live, finding an effective educational answer is fundamental for the future. The aim of the present study is to analyse the characteristics of the educational action of a Montessori teacher, crossing them with evidence obtained from psychology and neuroscience regarding the effects of math anxiety on learning

La visione del bambino in Maria Montessori: tra pedagogia speciale, psicologia dello sviluppo e didattica generale

This contribution aims to highlight the aspects of the Montessori Method that are particularly functional to inclusive classroom management and for a heterogeneous school context. The theoretical framework is the idea of education in the Montessori approach in that she is considered the forerunner of an inclusive pedagogical vision. In fact, while the first years of her research were addressed to the field of special education, she was soon convinced of the possibility of extending her studies also to “conventional” schools. On the basis of this belief, her experimental work was soon extended from institutions for disabled children to a series of kindergartens (called “Children’s House”) first in Rome and then in the rest of the world. In the second part of this brief analysis, a study is presented on the use of the QBS questionnaire (Tobia & Marzocchi, 2015) with a sample of 73 Montessori public school children and their parents. The questionnaire on “Quality of Wellbeing at School” is the tool we selected for the phase of data collection, with the intention to investigate the point of view of pupils and their parents. Our analysis aims to understand the perception of well-being at school in children and their families. The statistical analysis applied to the results from the administration of the questionnaires revealed some significant data, in particular in the scale relating to satisfaction and recognition and in the scale relating to the relationship with classmates. At the same time, the statistical analysis of the questionnaire dedicated to parents revealed a significant effect on the scale related to child awareness

Community perception on the quality of public health services delivery in the Norte and Ichilo districts of Bolivia

El presente estudio identifica la percepción de la población respecto a la calidad de los servicios públicos de salud en los distritos Norte e Ichilo (Bolivia), enfatizando la relación entre los trabajadores de salud y los pacientes. Se utilizaron métodos cuantitativos y cualitativos tales como: encuesta, grupos focales, observación directa, entrevistas abiertas con informantes clave y discusiones abiertas con la comunidad. La coexistencia de culturas diferentes y de varios estratos socioeconómicos, hace que la relación entre el personal de salud y el paciente se efectúe en un marco multicultural. Los resultados muestran que la reputación de los servicios aquí estudiados está afectada por algunos elementos, tales como las actitudes discriminatorias hacia la gente que pertenece a un nivel socioeconómico bajo, problemas de comunicación entre el trabajador de salud y el paciente, la percepción de insuficiente capacidad diagnóstica y terapéutica. La baja capacidad de los servicios públicos de salud para aceptar y reconocer las características interculturales de la región, hace que el desafío a ser asumido por el personal de salud del distrito es el establecimiento de puentes interculturales entre los proveedores de los servicios públicos de salud y los pacientes potenciales, así como entre los diferentes sistemas médicos coexistentes.The currrent study identifies the people perception on the quality of public health services in Norte and Ichilo health districts (Bolivia), with a particular emphasis on the relationshisp between heath workers and patients. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilised such as: survey, focus groups, participatory observation, unstructured interviews to Key informants and open discussions with the community. Results show that the public health services reputation is affected by elements as discriminatory attitude towards people belonging to a low socio-economic strata, lack of communication between health workers and patients, perceived insufficient technical skills and recognition of a low therapeutic efficacy. The people who are coming from highlands (collas) appear as the most disappointed by the health service provision structured on the western predominant pattern with a top-bottom approach ignoring its potential users' expectations and needs. A low capability of the public health services to accept and recognise the inter-cultural features of the region, makes that the challenge to be undertaken by the district health personnel should focus on the establishment of intercultural bridges betwen the public health service providers and the potential patients, as well as among the different co-existing medical systems

Didattica e inclusione scolastica - Inklusion im Bildungsbereich

The inequalities in education, which have also been exposed by the pandemic, highlight the need for alternatives and new horizons. The seventh edition of the conference series "Didattica e Inclusione Scolastica – Inclusion in Education", which was organized for the first time under the direction of the Competence Center for Inclusion in Education of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, offered a space to deal with the priorities of a just and inclusive education during this time. This volume opens up a dialogue on inclusive didactics, which builds a bridge between german- and Italian-speaking traditions through its multilingual and intercultural orientation. The twelve contributions open up from different perspectives theoretical references, methods and instruments for the development of an inclusive school with a special focus on didactics.Die Ungleichheiten im Bildungsbereich, die auch durch die Pandemie zutage getreten sind, verdeutlichen die Notwendigkeit von Alternativen und neuen Horizonten. Die siebte Ausgabe der Tagungsreihe „Didattica e Inclusione Scolastica – Inklusion im Bildungsbereich“, welche erstmals unter der Leitung des Kompetenzzentrums für Inklusion im Bildungsbereich der Freien Universität Bozen veranstaltet wurde, bot einen Raum zur Auseinandersetzung mit den Prioritäten einer gerechten und inklusiven Bildung in dieser Zeit. Dieser Band eröffnet einen Dialog über inklusive Didaktik, der durch seine mehrsprachige und interkulturelle Ausrichtung eine Brücke zwischen deutsch- und italienischsprachigen Traditionen schlägt. Die zwölf Beiträge erschließen aus unterschiedlichen Blickwinkeln theoretische Bezüge, Methoden und Instrumente für die Entwicklung einer inklusiven Schule mit besonderem Augenmerk auf die Didaktik.Le disuguaglianze in ambito educativo, emerse anche a causa della pandemia, indicano la necessità di alternative e nuovi orizzonti. La settima edizione del Convegno “Didattica e Inclusione Scolastica – Inklusion im Bildungsbereich”, organizzato per la prima volta dal Centro di Competenza per l’Inclusione Scolastica della Libera Università di Bolzano, ha voluto creare uno spazio per mettere a fuoco le priorità per un’educazione equa ed inclusiva in questo tempo. Con questo volume si dà avvio ad un dialogo sulla didattica inclusiva che si fa plurilingue ed interculturale, creando un ponte fra le tradizioni di lingua italiana e tedesca. I dodici contributi presenti delineano, da prospettive diverse, riferimenti teorici, metodologie e strumenti per lo sviluppo della scuola inclusiva, con un’attenzione particolare alla dimensione didattica

Dal racconto all’animazione didattica: studenti universitari alle prese con una classe elementare. Sperimentazione di alcune strategie didattiche durante il laboratorio di didattica generale

This paper will consider some alternative teaching methods and summarizes the most significant elements of progressive education. It also describes educational activities for a group of primary school pupils implemented by pre-service teachers during a seminar about teaching methods organized at the Free University of Bolzano (Faculty of Education).L’articolo documenta un’esperienza di animazione didattica realizzata con un gruppo di studenti (futuri insegnanti) frequentanti il laboratorio di didattica generale presso la Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione della Libera Università di Bolzano. Gli studenti, cercando di sperimentare alcune metodologie alternative alla lezione frontale, hanno coinvolto una classe di scuola primaria in lingua tedesca di Bressanone (BZ) proponendo una coinvolgente lettura per ragazzi ed alcune attività didattiche ad essa collegate

Sperimentare le idee di Maria Montessori: percorso di ricerca nella scuola primaria trentina.

In questo lavoro di tesi sono stati delineati i tratti salienti dell’approccio educativo montessoriano, evidenziandone da una parte la profonda complessità nonché attualità che lo caratterizzata e dall’altra le numerose conferme sia dalla didattica considerata innovativa, sia dalle scienze psicologiche. È stato inoltre presentato un percorso di ricerca volto a monitorare la recente sperimentazione dell'approccio pedagogico montessoriano in alcune scuole primarie della provincia di Trento. La ricerca é stata condotta utilizzando sia strumenti di natura qualitativa (come una check list osservativa prodotta ad hoc per la ricerca), sia questionari standardizzati, con l'intento di confrontare i dati raccolti con un campione rappresentativo di una più vasta realtà scolastica

Between art and science: the computer microscope.

In this article I tried to give teachers some suggestions on how to use in didactical activities a very interesting support: the Intel QX3 Computer Microscope. The In-tel QX3 Computer Microscope contains no eyepieces, and images must be viewed through the accompanying software on the host computer that controls the mi-croscope. Construction materials used in the assembly of the microscope are typi-cal of those found in many modern toys. The ease of use in lighting and recording images is its main strengths and the time lapse photography is an especially desir-able feature. The microscope has excellent potential as an educational toy.In this article I tried to give teachers some suggestions on how to use in didactical activities a very interesting support: the Intel QX3 Computer Microscope. The In-tel QX3 Computer Microscope contains no eyepieces, and images must be viewed through the accompanying software on the host computer that controls the mi-croscope. Construction materials used in the assembly of the microscope are typi-cal of those found in many modern toys. The ease of use in lighting and recording images is its main strengths and the time lapse photography is an especially desir-able feature. The microscope has excellent potential as an educational toy

Telematics: New Means of Communication and Meeting Distant Worlds

Ipotizziamo di costruire un sito Web per facilitare la comunicazione interscolastica:a quali argomenti dare spazio nella home-page e quali introdurre successivamente? Che relazione instaurare tra la didattica tradizionale e le novità telematiche? Come trasmettere agli alunni la continuità tra gli argomenti trattati a lezione e le chat “improvvisate” in laboratorio? Di seguito viene presentata una serie di riflessioni a conclusione di due lavori di ricerca-azione che hanno inteso proporre il Web come estensione degli strumenti tradizionalmente utilizzati dagli insegnanti:dalla sperimentazione in una realtà locale, a un gemellaggio tra scuole di due continenti.We propose the creation of a site for facilitating communication between schools. What subjects should be given space in the home page and what should be introduced subsequently? What should be the relationship between traditional teaching methods and the latest technological novelties? How can we transmit to the students the continuity between the subjects treated in the lessons and the “improvised” chats in the laboratory? This paper presents a series of conclusions on two research studies which proposed the use of the Web as an extension to the tools traditionally used by teachers: from experiments in a local situation to twinning schools on two continents