Ttons of useless pages that a professor is unable to explain, so much so that he ends up delegating the students: «You do it». What purpose does it serve? Better to rationalize, focus on essential content that remains fixed in the minds of young people. Years and years of experience in schools have pushed Maurizio Parodi, former manager and author of books such as No more homework! That’s not how you learn (Probe) e The school is over (the sundial) to develop a new educational project: Students in the chair.
Last school year, the project was pre-tested in a third class of the Isaac Newton institute, and the actual experimentation will start in September, with the future aim of making it the school’s own method. “The starting point is that so far, the principle that you teach at school and learn at home has been valid, so students are forced to develop their own study method. Instead, with my system, you learn to learn at school, as it should be».
The name of the project, Studenti in cattedra, suggests the method of the flipped classroom, but Parodi immediately clarifies: «Mine is more intelligent, because with the flipped classroom the students receive the materials which they are forced to elaborate on their own at home, while here the big work is done in the classroom».
A student at the desk. The teaching method Students in the chair makes the kids protagonists of learning. Getty Images
With Students in the chair, knowledge is optimized
The first step is a “drastic selection of the contents of the disciplines”Parodi says. «Teachers must identify the essential contents and at the end of each work unit, or a topic, the students should know some things and be able to do others. This pushes teachers to organize time and work in class well». Each work unit takes two hours, separate. In the first session, the teacher offers an initial stimulus, lasting about 10 minutes, “in a stimulating and engaging way”, also with slides, comics. At the end, the students express their doubts, ask for clarifications, among themselves and with the teacher. Then small groups are formed and the essential points of the lesson are selected, and in the end there is an initial elaboration and a shared synthesis.
Subsequently, at home, a couple of pupils will have the task of studying the topic in depth and drafting a document. In the second session he will then present it to the class from the chair. The document will become part of the teaching materials of the class, and will be the instrument of the final review.
Students in class was born for the humanities but was also successfully tested in science, “the mathematics teacher was enthusiastic,” says Parodi. As for the method, in general, Parodi maintains that «simplification is an optimization with respect to the cosmic vacuum and disposable knowledge». In short, less content, but which remain in the minds of the boys. Not as happens with the traditional frontal lesson where a teacher speaks and few listen. But there are also other advantages for young people: «They said that thanks to this teaching method they are more relaxed, happier to come to school, and feel more collaborative. It’s not little.”
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