Officina Degli Errori: An Extended Experiment to Bring Constructionist Approaches to Public Schools in Bologna

Sara Ricciardi,Stefano Rini,Fabrizio Villa

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-77040-2_22

Abstract

AbstractIn this contribution we describe an extended experiment to bring constructionist approaches to public schools in Bologna. Specifically, we focus on our latest project called Officina degli Errori, which is an extended teacher training program for primary school teachers based on tinkering. We highlight our motivation, the structure of Officina degli Errori and the lessons learned co-designing the activities and implementing them in the reality of public schools in Bologna. We also interviewed teachers to understand the critical issues affecting implementation of constructionist approaches in public primary schools.

Highlights

The basic goal of Officina degli Errori is to provide teacher training and strong support to constructionist practices in the classroom through tinkering
In the 2018/2019 school year, we offered a training course at the museum for primary school teachers in Emilia Romagna, to help them to become more autonomous tinkerers in their classrooms, and to develop new insights into how these practices can work in the ecosystem of Italian public schools
Officina degli Errori was an extended teacher training program lasting from September 2018 to June 2019

Summary

Introduction

The basic goal of Officina degli Errori is to provide teacher training and strong support to constructionist practices in the classroom through tinkering. We believe self-stereotypes (socio-economic conditions, gender issues, family culture) are already strong in elementary schoolchildren [2], and, that some children might not feel they are smart enough to be involved in STEM This reflection made us rethink our work in the classroom and inspired us to find a better way to express our values, including the basic concepts of trial and error in science research, and the sharing of knowledge and skills. In the 2018/2019 school year, we offered a training course at the museum for primary school teachers in Emilia Romagna, to help them to become more autonomous tinkerers in their classrooms, and to develop new insights into how these practices can work in the ecosystem of Italian public schools These activities were attended by around 16 teachers and around 400 students. We hosted a shorter version of this training course at Istituto Comprensivo 12 in Bologna, involving 20 teachers and their students (about 500)

Officina Degli Errori

Conclusions and Future Prospects

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