Conference Program

Educating for choice represents a central pillar of digital citizenship, defined by the Guidelines for the Teaching of Civic Education as an individual's capacity to interact consciously and responsibly with technological developments (Ministero dell’Istruzione e del Merito [MIM], 2024). In a context marked by the "fragmented society" and infobesity, the mere availability of a vast amount of data does not guarantee more rational decisions; on the contrary, it often induces users to passively follow the initial options proposed by algorithms without undertaking a deeper critical analysis (Ariemma & Sarracino, 2025).

In terms of "decision science", educating for choice means stimulating the activation of System 2 -slow, deliberate, and analytical thinking - in order to oversee the rapid and often biased intuitions of System 1, which operates automatically and with minimal effort (Kahneman, 2011).

Decisions are, in fact, often profoundly influenced by emotions and non-objective parameters such as stereotypes and preconceptions, which act as powerful cognitive "shortcuts" (Berthoz, 2004). The uncontrolled expansion of the web and the proliferation of digital services have generated an information overload that, paradoxically, hinders decision-making processes: an excess of options causes bewilderment, unease, and dissatisfaction (Ricci et al., 2011). Consequently, we are inclined to delegate our choices to recommender algorithms, "black boxes" that, by limiting exposure to divergent perspectives and reinforcing pre-existing biases, allow us to reach a choice quickly and with satisfaction (Ariemma & Sarracino, 2025; MIM, 2024).

Was it, however, a true choice? To respond to these challenges, schools must adopt a transversal perspective and laboratory-based methodologies that promote experiential learning and the ability to integrate and re-elaborate digital content in a personal way (MIM, 2024). The teaching of civic education must therefore evolve towards an "Algorithmic Pedagogy" (or AI Literacy), which equips students with the critical tools to evaluate the reliability of sources and understand the principles regulating data flow (Pasta & Rivoltella, 2022). Educating for choice means transforming students from passive consumers into responsible protagonists, capable of exercising their decisional autonomy through the critical recomposition of knowledge and the activation of deliberate thought.

This contribution illustrates the evolution and pedagogical aims of an educational path focused on the "choice" enacted with students of the Degree Course in Educational Sciences. This path starts from the construct of "designing" understood as a pedagogical device to transform interaction with technology from passive consumption into an act of intentional and critical construction. Teaching how to design thus becomes an exercise in active digital citizenship, as it requires students to evaluate the reliability of sources, manage their own identity, and understand the ethical implications of their own productions. Through design, choice is no longer an option endured among alternatives suggested by an algorithm; instead, it becomes the critical synthesis of a process of knowledge recomposition, in which the student learns to govern information flows rather than being passively contaminated by them.