Course Topics
See the individual course modules

Teaching format
Topics will be presented through short lectures, group discussions, small-group work, and classroom reflections.

Educational objectives
Students should be able to - Deepen the theoretical-methodological foundations of pedagogy and didactics in relation to pre-school and primary school. - Consolidate their mastery of the basic terminology of pedagogy and didactics. - To get to know the main theoretical references and the most highly credited research contributions regarding the characteristics and development of stimulating and inclusive learning environments, projects and educational processes. - Describing, analysing, interpreting and evaluating pedagogical choices and con-crete didactic intervention strategies, quality criteria in the development of contexts and didactic actions. - Being able to see and foresee the relational dynamics and emotional and cognitive processes of individual children and groups in both free and organised play and teaching-learning situations. - Knowing how to translate some innovative and inclusive organisational and didactic choices into educational and didactic situations (also through simulations and exercises). - To be able to integrate the potential of the media into teaching activities and to reflect on this potential in a critical and productive manner. - To know how to plan and programme teaching paths and to know how to design learning contexts and/or situations. - Acquire awareness of pedagogical and didactic choices in relation to educational projects and current societal challenges with reference to the 2030 goals and the proposals linked to the green deal. - Acquire oral exposition and writing skills on pedagogical-educational topics. Knowledge and comprehension skills Of the key concepts and terminology of general and social pedagogy and didactics with a focus on - human and social value and responsibility of those working in the educational field (teacher, educator and other 'social professions') for the development of everyone and as a resource for the community; - different theories and practices with direct reference to experience; - topicality and potential of sensory didactic materials and creativity also in connection with technology; - reasons for pedagogical choices and teaching methodologies oriented towards the development of children's autonomy and the ability to collaborate among peers. - 2030 goals, green comp and climate change challenges from a pedagogical-didactic perspective - school pedagogy and didactics Ability to apply knowledge and understanding - To be able to carry out analyses of concrete situations using known pedagogical and didactic theoretical-methodological references. - To use and co-construct digital media autonomously and responsibly. - To transfer pedagogical and didactic principles into context by devising formative activities and affective-emotional and cognitive processes of play, playful activities and stimulating teaching-learning for the development of each and all. - Design and implement autonomous, responsible, collaborative play and learning situations. - Thinking and planning the development of environments inside and outside the section/classroom that are stimulating for emotional and cognitive development and the adoption of autonomous behaviour. - Knowing how to make use of technological tools in the design and implementation of teaching activities. - Knowing how to include nature as an educating subject in the pedagogical-didactic project Autonomy of judgement expressed through the ability to - reflection, discussion, in-depth study and personal reworking of the emerging themes of the module; - criticism, coherence, methodological rigour, precision and accuracy in oral and written expression; - active listening, decentralisation and understanding of different points of view; - critical analysis of one's own modes of media use. Communication skills expressed through the ability to: - communicate effectively in oral and written expression; - communicating in groups by knowing how to support one's own ideas; - active listening by knowing how to carry out task development and relational dynamics; - continuous reflection/research in relation to the theory-practice dialectic, praxis-theory dialectic; - communicating and analysing issues in multi-professional teams. Learning ability expressed through: - appropriate use of pedagogical terminology in the discussion of cases relating to the 5-12 age group; - ability to describe, analyse, interpret didactic situations and play-material relating to the 5-12 age group by referring to the different pedagogical and didactic theories; - ability to reflect on one's own training and related self-assessment (portfolio); - ability to analyse and identify the development needs of one's own knowledge and expertise (portfolio). The skills and abilities described will be assessed both in itinere (formative assessment: through individual and group activities) and in the final examination.

Assessment
The overall course exam consists of written interim assessment tasks, assignments completed during the workshops, and a final interdisciplinary oral examination. More specifically, the interim assessment includes: 1) General Pedagogy module: a multiple-choice test, an academic paper on one of the topics covered during the course (chosen by the student), and a concept map summarising the main topics addressed in the module. 2) General Pedagogy workshop: the conception, design, and critical reflection on an educational project or programme (group work). 3) General Didactics module: for attending students only, an end-of-course interim assessment task consisting of the design of an authentic learning task, together with a cognitive map summarising the main topics addressed in the module. 4) General Didactics workshop: the design of a learning unit developed during the workshop sessions. Students who do not complete the interim assessment tasks for the modules and workshops will be required to take a comprehensive oral examination covering all parts of the course. Each interim assessment task and each assignment will be graded on a 30-point scale. The final grade will be calculated as the weighted average of the individual assessment results. For students who have completed the interim assessment, the final oral examination will consist of a discussion of selected critical issues emerging from the various assessment tasks. It will also provide an opportunity for feedback from the instructors. If the overall course assessment is failed, the entire examination must be retaken. However, any interim assessment tasks that have been successfully completed will remain valid and will be recognised in subsequent attempts to pass the overall course examination. Please note that, even in this case, a failed overall course assessment counts as one examination attempt. According to the University Examination Regulations, students who fail the same examination three consecutive times may not register for that examination during the following three examination sessions (Art. 6, para. 4 of the current Examination Regulations).

Evaluation criteria
The examination provides a single final mark. For the written tests, the following are considered and assessed: relevance, logical structure, clarity of argument, lexical appropriateness and completeness. In relation to the oral examination (as well as performances and simulations), the following are considered and assessed: relevance, clarity of argument, capacity for critical analysis, ability to rework and reflect on the experience gained within the module, demonstrating basic ability to transpose theory into practice and to read theory into practice.