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In questo contributo si analizza il modello “Piccola Scuola come Comunità Educante” sviluppato da INDIRE, focalizzando l’attenzione sul ruolo che le tecnologie possono rivestire nelle piccole scuole montane. Il modello si fonda sui risultati di alcune ricerche intervento condotte negli ultimi due anni scolastici con un campione di pluriclassi di due istituti comprensivi del Piemonte. Applicando l’approccio della design-based research, dopo aver individuato le problematiche delle scuole coinvolte, sono state condotte una serie di sperimentazioni atte non solo a risolvere le problematiche riscontrate, ma anche a migliorare le pratiche didattiche, mettendo in comunicazione le scuole coinvolte e incrementando l’uso delle tecnologie. Dalla ricerca empirica condotta nel primo anno è sfociato il modello teorico della “Piccola Scuola come Comunità Educante” che è in corso di perfezionamento e di validazione sulla base dei risultati raggiunti nell’ambito della sperimentazione condotta nell’anno corrente. Nel contributo si presentano esempi concreti tratti dalle attività sperimentate con le scuole partecipanti alla ricerca, a partire dai quali si estrapolano le principali funzioni organizzative e didattiche che le tecnologie possono assolvere in questi contesti, evidenziando le problematiche legate al loro impiego e le possibili soluzioni alla luce dell’esperienza realizzata.

The exploratory study here described focuses on a training course for first grade secondary school teachers. During this course, 17 in-service teachers experienced methodologies and tools for innovative and technology-mediated teaching, fostering awareness and understanding of how to support meaningful learning based on collaborative work practices. The course is based on a blended approach: Six face-to-face meetings alternated with online activities on a Moodle platform for a total amount of 50 hours-training. In between the first phase - connotated by a "theoretical" nature - and the second phase - more "practical"- teachers were asked to design a teaching unit for students to work in groups using collaborative writing tools. The objective of the study was to investigate how the course impacted teachers' ability to put into practice what they have experienced during the training as well as their perception about the real value that technology can bring in their daily teaching. To this end, the responses to a semi-structured questionnaire administered at the beginning and at the end of the course were analyzed (N=15), as well as the pedagogical scenarios built by the teachers during the course (N=12). Results show a correct practical application of what has been learned, an increased good perception of educational technologies, combined with a general consistent appreciation of the training carried out.

The health emergency caused by Covid-19 offers new opportunities to implement possible changes in schools to improve learning-teaching processes beyond the current situation. One of the most significant space concerns the possibility to rethink teacher training by integrating organically methodological and technological dimensions. Traditionally these dimensions have been treated as separated. In this paper the authors intend to bridge this gap by making use of the recent acquisitions of educational research, confirmed in the Evidence Based Education perspective. This research allows identifying fundamental principles of effective teaching working in the physical classroom as well as in the virtual one. In this context, the theory of cognitive load provides a useful connection for a valid didactic approach. The question the authors want to answer is the following: to integrate methodological and technological knowledge and skills adequately, how can a training course for teachers be organized and implemented? If on the one hand, the fundamental principles of effective teaching are the same, on the other the different implications in terms of risks and opportunities offered by the different communicative settings must be considered. Therefore it is necessary to look for a solution that highlights the common fundamental principles as well as the the specific criticalities and the potentialities that arise in the transition from teaching in the physical classroom to teaching in the virtual one.