Conference Program

We are living in a historical period of profound transformations, and educational institutions cannot ignore this scenario, given their responsibility to educate and train competent students capable of facing the emerging challenges that demand problem-solving and critical analysis skills. There is an urgent need to innovate teaching practices rather than focusing exclusively on the acquisition of content that is “already established and provides the basis for understanding a certain sector or subject” (Gazzetta Ufficiale dell’Unione Europea, 2018, p. 7). Instead, it is essential to design learning pathways that foster the development of competences “to act or react to ideas, people or situations” (Ibidem). According to Fiorella & Mayer (2015), generative learning is an activity in which students actively seek to make sense of the material presented by engaging in cognitive processes such as selecting, organizing, and integrating, along with the following strategies: summarizing, mapping, drawing, imagining, self-testing, self-explaining, enacting, and teaching. Studies that examined students who prepared to explain material to others highlighted that those who prepared for teaching (without actually teaching) achieved better results than those who prepared for an immediate comprehension test, regardless of the lesson format (Fiorella & Mayer, 2014, 2013). This underscores the necessity of rethinking the teaching-learning process (Lave & Wenger, 1991), giving rise to new perspectives, particularly that of situated learning, which allows the learning experience to intertwine with the construction of plural forms of thought (Cappuccio & Maniscalco, 2020). Improving teaching practice will enhance the students' learning process and, consequently, the expected outcomes (Hunde & Tacconi, 2018). Participatory and workshop-based methodologies allow for the reproduction of “experiences similar to those of the real world in a protected and controlled environment, offering students the opportunity to act and learn from the consequences of their actions” (Bonaiuti, 2014, p. 72).Generative methodologies transform the learning environment into a true laboratory of democracy, promoting the development of critical and collaborative thinking “to support students in constructing their own professional identity through the development of soft skills” (Tore, 2024, p. 133). These methodologies activate processes of thought and action, giving rise to dynamic and contextualized knowledge where theoretical and operational dimensions intersect, dimensions that are necessary to promote change through innovative approaches (Castoldi, 2024). Knowledge is not encapsulated within disciplines but “moves from real contexts and returns to them, in a recursive relationship between experience and knowledge, theory and practice” (Castoldi, 2020, p. 42); this can only be achieved through constructive, socio-cultural, and situated learning (Ivi, p. 32). In this perspective, through cognitive elaboration, individuals engage in thinking processes that enable them to become active and aware of their role in daily life, and to experiment with and embrace innovation. Generative methodologies are capable of making people aware and capable of participating in democratic and social life “in order to promote social cohesion, inclusion, and active citizenship” (Tore, 2024, pp. 131-132), rendering education a social and civic experience.