Conference Program

For Service Learning to be introduced into schools and established as a pedagogical approach capable of supporting and enhancing the development of students’ knowledge and skills through their involvement in active citizenship and social participation, it is necessary to train teachers in Service Learning (L. Cadei, D. Simeone, 2022). In particular, an analysis of the literature on the in-service training of teachers in the pedagogical approach of Service Learning reveals numerous practices and experiences linked to pre-service teacher training; initiatives aimed at in-service training, whilst present, are less established in systematic terms (Bornatici & Zini, 2025). It is from this challenge – to train teachers in Service Learning – that the project ‘Service Learning: together by a MOOC’ was born. To make the training ‘sustainable’ in terms of time (reducing travel) and costs whilst ensuring the quality of the processes, CREMIT devised the BLEC Model (Rivoltella & Modenini, 2012), an intervention model whose structural features are Blended learning (Graham et al., 2013; Kaleta et al., 2007), E-tivity (Salmon, 2002) and Coaching (Rivoltella, 2006; Ferrari & Triacca, 2020). The use of a blended solution involves designing courses delivered partly in person and partly remotely, employing different teaching methods; e-tivities are small activities that punctuate the course’s progression; the key element of the model is the coaching mechanism, namely the presence throughout the course of an expert whose role lies halfway between that of a tutor and that of a consultant, from whom an external perspective and guidance are sought. Four pillars guided the design of the programme: designing SL according to M.N. Tapia’s model (M.N. Tapia, 2006); enabling teachers to foster the learning of both subject-specific and cross-curricular skills, with a view to developing citizenship; revitalising communities of teaching practice; and raising the profile of implemented projects so that they become examples of good practice. The programme is structured around six thematic modules, which cover all the stages that characterise the service learning process: analysis of the context, the local area and its needs; programme design; implementation and execution; documentation and evaluation. In addition, the modules explore how teaching methods evolve within service learning pathways, offering pedagogical approaches to support projects and examining the contribution that digital technology can make. Based on data collected from the monitoring system (initial questionnaire N=147, final questionnaire N=64, analysis of projects and documentation), this paper aims to discuss the training model developed across two different cohorts. In particular, it will focus on teachers’ representations of SL and on the training outcomes of the support provided for the design, implementation and documentation of the programme. In addition, the paper aims to describe how the project led to the development of a self-paced MOOC (Ferrari & Triacca, 2023; Ferrari & Merigo, 2026) as a tool for fostering a culture of SL within a Community of Practice framework (Wenger, 1999), which currently involves 136 participants.