COPING WITH EDUCATIONAL EMERGENCIES. A RESEARCH-EDUCATION PROJECT WITH TEACHERS IN ITALY

The Bologna Process (1999) should be considered a turning point for higher education. From then on, skill-based and student-centred learning activities are expected to be implemented by all the members of EHEA (European Higher Education Area) institutions. It’s not just about fulfilling European obligations, but planning effective learning experiences which look toward the ultimate goal of university teaching: young people's integration into the labour market. This key element, together with other higher education specific features – to consider students as adult learners and the spread of educational technologies – stress the need for a development of teaching practices. Flipped learning could be considered a pedagogical approach which meets these needs. Fairly widespread in Italian K-12 education, flipped classroom experiences seem to be rare in higher education contexts. This paper focuses on the explanation of a flipped classroom experience in the “Methodology of pedagogical research” course, Bachelor's degree in Organizational Training, University of Verona (Italy). Professionalization has to be considered one of the essential characteristic of this Bachelor's degree, therefore academics are asked to plan courses aimed at gaining not only knowledge, but especially skills. This specific course has a double goal: firstly, providing students with the knowledge necessary to understand the places of training and education and how they can play a transformative role, when introducing opportunities for research and reflection, aimed at professional development. Secondly, to acquire skills concerning those methods and instruments that should be considered essential for experts in educational processes who intend to do research and inquire-based learning activities. The full paper presents the development process of the flipped classroom activities. Particular emphasis is given to instructional strategies, methodologies and resources that have been planned and developed for in-class and home activities