Abstract:

The introduction of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the educational world is changing the teaching and learning processes, the educational interactions, the perspectives and the tasks of each of the parties involved: students, school, family.

ICTs oblige us to move from the centrality of the teacher who transmits knowledge to the centrality of the student who learns. It is therefore necessary to start up innovative training courses that go beyond the inevitable digital literacy, pushing teachers and families to become aware of the fact that the entrance of the world of education in the digital age changes the times and spaces of the didactic action and obliges them to deal with innovative models and learning environments that are profoundly different from traditional ones. These transformations require to the research constant attention and reinterpretation of the paradigms to take into account the evolution of the technologies and the different awareness of all the actors. Therefore the function of the research in education should not be restricted to the analysis of the existing situations, but should also address the design and experimentation of new models and teaching strategies supported by digital mediation, activating collaborative research with the schools, and studying their educational value and their role in inclusive education. This kind of research requires a synergistic and interdisciplinary work between researchers in the computer and engineering fields and those in the field of neuroscience and teaching.

This paper sets out a multidisciplinary research project on the impact of digital mediation on education and learning in primary school students, with specific reference to the development and consolidation of foundational skills such as calculation, problem solving and computational thinking.

Several evidence-based studies have highlighted how the impact of digital technologies on learning is influenced by factors such as the presence of adequate structures and supports, the temporal and spatial organization of the school, the classroom context, the technological competence of the teacher, the extension and quality of dialogue. Therefore, it becomes crucial to also explore the impact of ICT on teacher professionalism and on the teacher training programmes. For this reason, the project provides that the teachers involved are included in an in-service training course, based on the analysis of innovative teaching practices and on reflection on their actions, through the support of the research group. The purpose is to reconsider and eventually modify teaching concepts and practices, as well as an accurate reconstruction of the knowledge underlying the digital tools used in the classroom and the planning and experimentation of innovative teaching strategies, based on digital mediation, that leave space for students’ actions.

Within this project, an innovative environment named Digital Class was set up, where ICTs are used for training, research, teaching and communication activities. The Digital Class is therefore configured as a place in which the teachers can actively experience educational innovation.

The proposed investigation, starting from the screening of calculation and problem solving skills, aims to evaluate to what extent a didactic mediation conducted with digital tools, can favor the consolidation and development of certain abilities.

Keywords:

E-education, computational thinking, digital and inclusive education, executive functions, metacognition.