Tag: Experiential learning

Real Project Work 

Posted on by Federica Facco

1.1. Synthetic description of the practice 

Real project work consists of an order, requested by a real client, given by principal to an entire class, to be developed within the school year and inherent in the specific direction of the education / training course. All the students are involved, with a view of inclusion that includes common steps but also a differentiation and division of work; it is divided into phases which are divided into specific activities. The purpose of the Real project work is twofold: on the one hand it is an opportunity for learning and expression of specific sector and direction skills in a real context, on the other hand it constitutes motivation and a synthetic point of conceptual link between the apprenticeships and the real world. 

The Pedagogic Function of Reality in Progressive Vocational Education: the Case of Cometa Formazione

Posted on by Martin Mulder

In May 2017 I had the privilege to be a guest of Cometa Formazione in Como, Italy. I learned that this organization employs a set of philosophical, pedagogical and educational design principles which makes it quite unique in the world of vocational education within the European Union and beyond. Started as a fostering association of a group of families, it evolved in an organization for vocational education for both foster and regular students. Beauty is seen as an essential driver of respect and attraction, which influences behaviour and learning. The set of principles on which the practices of Cometa Formazione are based will be shortly described below. The principles go very well together with notions of progressive education, which is an educational philosophy developed by Dewey. He stated that discovery learning and applying acquired knowledge to the world around children was the right pedagogical approach for all education. Experiential learning thus became an essential ingredient of progressive education.

The School-Enterprise for the Reality-based learning approach

Posted on by Marianna Nicotra

Conventional education is based on competences that are no longer useful for the expectations of today’s labor market. In fact, methodologies such as learning by doing and experiential learning are better “targeted” and more instrumental to the working environment not only due to the quality of professional skills they convey, but first and foremost of the soft skills. The School-Enterprise tool thus becomes a core building block for establishing a connection between subject-matters in school and the real world in an educational and training setting. This case study focuses on the Cometa Formazione new learning approach for 14-18 years old VET students.
(Article by Francesco Campiotti, Mariachiara Gomaraschi and Marianna Nicotra, based on the Erasmus+ project Trio2Success outputs)

Team building in teaching. From the teachers’ team to the class team.

Posted on by Francesco Campiotti

Copertina-Campiotti

This document intends to explore any possible connection between Team Building efforts, training of teachers along an educational pathway and experiential learning. Team Building is increasingly valued in the business community as an activity which turns a group of people working together into a team. Through the analysis of some theoretical concepts behind such practice, the intent of this paper is to identify and lay the foundations for the development of the same process in a school setting, from the viewpoint of training the teachers.
Afterwards, through the proposition of a fractal model, the author will analyze how this can deliver a positive impact on the learning level, both from a standpoint of strategy as well as outcomes.