Conference Program

The legitimization of regional language varieties, advocated today by numerous speakers and specialists (Francart, 2010; Klinkenberg, 2015), is part of an ambitious societal project: to assign linguistic diversity a role as a guarantor of democracy.

It posits that, alongside national languages, representative of "nation-states," regional varieties, as well as dialects, deserve recognition because, in this era of globalization, the democratic challenge demands respect for cultural diversity.

"We should," says Francart, "perpetuate the use of a language that derives its legitimacy from its capacity to express the plural identity of the societies and individuals that compose it." “Belgian French, Quebec French, Louisiana French, Romansh, Sardinian, Neapolitan, Catalan, and other living variants of national languages ​​embody a civic and political issue: indeed, language mobilizes identity, social, cultural, and educational concerns. Allowing everyone to express themselves fosters pluralistic dialogue and debate. In schools, this issue allows for work on representations and examination of diaphasic varieties and appropriate, deliberate language choices.

In French-speaking Belgium, this evolution of attitudes necessitated a guilt-inducing questioning of the hegemony of the French of the Île-de-France region and its essentialist and unitarist definition (Klinkenberg, 2015), constructed by several centuries of idealizing and authoritarian discourse.” This process allowed for a disinhibition of "decentralized" Francophone communities with regard to the norm of standard French, and, freed from feelings of linguistic insecurity, they are now claiming liberated, authentic practices in addition to the official national language.

Methodologically, the exercise of linguistic awareness as a driving force for the identification and inclusion of regional varieties is essential because it consists, in particular, of "identifying the attitudes and representations that speakers have of their own speech and that of others" and, consequently, of "analyzing all the formal and semantic facets of verbal messages" (Alvarez-Peyrère, 1998). This vigilant reading is attentive to the moral, cultural, ideological, and emotional implications of the utterances.

We propose a review of these teaching practices conducted with future teachers.

The aim of the communication proposal is to contribute empirical and didactic research to reflection on discussion as a teaching tool for developing critical thinking.

Classroom discussion, understood as a strategy capable of generating a space for comparison and negotiation of meanings, plays a fundamental role in processes of shared construction of knowledge (Pontecorvo et al., 2004; Lumbelli, 1982; Czerwinsky Domenis, 2000; Brookfield & Preskill, 2009; Carugati, 1988; Doise & Mugny, 1982).

Although several studies have highlighted the value of discussion as a collective knowledge processing device (Pontecorvo et al., 2004; Alexander, 2018; Mercer, 2000), within school contexts, there persists a limited diffusion of teaching activities based on this strategy and aimed at the development of critical thinking (Dewey, 1933/2019; Lipman, 1988). This could be due to a lack of training for teachers in dialogic approaches.

Because it is rooted in school contexts, discussion requires teachers to manage communication and dialogue skills (Hennessy et al., 2021; Parmigiani & Gozzi, 2017).

In light of these reflections, as part of a PhD in Educational Research at Sapienza University of Rome, a field research project was developed and is currently being implemented in the third-grade classes of a primary school in Rome. The study adopts a multilevel strategy, structured around exploratory investigation processes and divided into sequential phases of observation, design, experimentation, and reflection, a typical approach in research training (Asquini, 2018).

This approach is a way to investigate and modify discussion-centered teaching practices and involves integrating, modifying, and testing a conversation analysis device, ODIS, developed and tested in previous research (Zecca, Perucchini & Bertolini, 2025). ODIS was developed to support teachers in conducting and analyzing classroom discussions, in close connection with the educational experience (Bertolini et al., 2022).

The research-training program, aimed at promoting an intentional and reflective use of discussion, aims to achieve a shared design, with the primary focus on reworking the tool and experimenting directly with teachers. This device, based on a cyclical process of participatory use and review, allows not only the observation of communication dynamics but also the stimulation of self-assessment and professional awareness in teachers.

To this end, the study is divided into phases that include: administering pre- and post-test questionnaires (Fredella et al., 2022); implementing mixed-methods training activities; analyzing transcripts of class discussions; and moments of discussions between teachers and researchers.

The ongoing analyses aim to explore how this path can impact the intentional use of classroom discussion as a cognitive and relational mediation practice, as well as the organization of inclusive and participatory learning contexts. Therefore, the research is expected to lead to the development of a framework that supports teachers in reflecting on and improving their teaching practice and fosters a culture of participatory learning in schools.

The initial results of the research and training, which will be shared at the conference and subsequently explored through the extended contribution, will concern the observed changes in teachers' communication and reflective skills, as well as the development of an initial version of the new tool.

Cooperative/collaborative methodologies inspired by active teaching methods, the potential of dialogic learning, media communication and high-quality children's literature offer multiple opportunities to work on conceptual mediation with even the youngest children: a powerful tool for understanding, learning, problem solving and the ability to connect ideas and concepts. Stimulating an approach of discovery and cooperative reflection in spaces for dialogue and co-construction of meaning allows for a profound approach to today's textuality. The potential of communication makes it possible to develop creative and multimodal activities capable of responding to the needs of individual pupils, promoting a real pedagogy of emancipation and the conditions for democratic learning.

The presentation will showcase experiences conducted in kindergarden and primary schools that can be transferred to other school contexts to document these possibilities.

This panel contribution addresses the intersection of dialogic teaching and democratic education within the specific context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction in Italian secondary and higher education. While the Italian "Indicazioni Nazionali" increasingly emphasize transversal competences and active citizenship, the reality of the EFL classroom often remains anchored in transmissive models and "IRF" (Initiation-Response-Feedback) patterns that limit student agency.

Drawing on the panel’s core themes, this session explores how Freire’s "problem-posing" education can be operationalized in a foreign language context. We argue that the EFL classroom is uniquely positioned to be a "laboratory of democracy" because it requires students to negotiate meaning across linguistic and cultural boundaries. However, this potential is often stifled by the tension between the unpredictable nature of dialogic inquiry and the rigid constraints of the Italian curricolo chiuso.

The discussion will be structured around three interconnected dimensions:

1. Practices: How specific discussion formats (e.g., Exploratory Talk, Socratic Circles) can be adapted to the Italian EFL classroom to shift power dynamics from teacher-led to student-owned inquiry.

2. Languages: An analysis of how the English language acts as both a tool for emancipation and a potential barrier. We examine how "translanguaging" and the use of everyday repertoires can support inclusion in multilingual Italian school settings.

3. Conditions: A reflection on the professional competences and organizational "spaces" required for Italian teachers to sustain dialogic practices without abandoning institutional assessment requirements.

By presenting a mix of theoretical reflections and practice-based innovations—such as the transition from "correctness-focused" to "meaning-focused" assessment—this panel aims to demonstrate how dialogic teaching can transform the EFL classroom from a site of passive consumption into a space of shared responsibility and collective critical consciousness.

Contemporary approaches to civic education increasingly emphasise learning democracy as a lived and collaborative experience rather than as a purely conceptual domain of knowledge. Within this perspective, educational practices that foster dialogue, shared inquiry, and the interpretation of multiple perspectives play a crucial role in developing democratic competences.
This paper presents the results of the School Innovation Lab “Educational Integration and Civic Education”, developed within the national project “Innovation in Action” initiated by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education. The lab focused on designing and testing an innovative cooperative learning model based on the collaborative exploration of visual images in educational contexts.
The proposed model uses images as a starting point for collective observation, interpretation, and dialogue. Through structured collaborative activities, students are encouraged to see together, share experiences and perspectives, and gradually construct meaning through discussion and reflection. In this way, working with images becomes not only an aesthetic or interpretative exercise, but also a pedagogical pathway for developing key democratic competences such as perspective-taking, argumentation, empathy, and participation in shared inquiry.
The paper outlines the theoretical foundations of the model, describes the stages of its development within the innovation lab, and presents a set of ready-to-use instructional activities applicable across subjects and educational levels. It thus contributes a transferable pedagogical model demonstrating how the collaborative exploration of images can support interdisciplinary approaches to civic education and foster democratic learning practices in diverse educational contexts.
Through the collaborative exploration of images, students do not simply analyse visual material; they engage in a shared process of inquiry in which democratic learning unfolds as seeing together, experiencing together, and thinking together.

This paper highlights the crucial importance of cooperative dialogic teaching as both a method and a philosophy of life for fostering scientific understanding among all students and for supporting the development of communities grounded in mutual respect and democratic citizenship. Through conceptual progression and research-validated strategies, dialogic teaching enables inclusive access to scientific reasoning. Since language is one of the primary vehicles for learning, we propose an educational pathway in which dialogue (primarily oral but sometimes mediated through writing) is not merely “communication”, but a pedagogical tool that fulfills a fundamental mission of schooling: promoting the recognition and acceptance of others through the practice of “thinking together”. The pedagogical and didactic approach guiding the action-research of the Le Parole della Scienza group in Turin is grounded in meta-research and evidence-based studies (the BEST project coordinated by Judith Bennett, which translates STEM education research into classroom practice; the Dialogic Teaching framework developed by Neil Mercer and Robin Alexander; the Diagnostic Formative Assessment approach proposed by Dylan Wiliam and Paul Black; Cooperative Learning and structures developed by Spencer Kagan, INDIRE). A distinctive feature of the group is its nature as a vertical community of practice, bringing together teachers from all school levels, from early childhood to secondary education. This vertical collaboration is the group’s main strength, allowing teachers to jointly design learning experiences and reflect on conceptual progression across the educational pathway. The experiences presented here are not isolated classroom activities, but the result of collective cooperative and dialogic work validated through collegial reflection and international research evidence.
As an example of this hybrid approach, we present a vertical case study with students aged 5 to 16. The case illustrates didactic transposition and conceptual progression through experimental activities on candle combustion. In early childhood and the first years of primary school, the investigation focuses on qualitative aspects in open and closed systems . Students formulate predictions, observe, engage in explanatory dialogue, and develop initial explanations. In lower and upper secondary education, the pathway develops toward formal understanding of mass conservation (Lavoisier’s law). Using digital balances, students test hypotheses and explore the phenomenon quantitatively, revealing misconceptions and naïve ideas that become starting points for deeper investigation, cognitive conflict, and conceptual restructuring. Dialogic teaching, based on reciprocal feedback between teachers and students, supports the remediation of learning gaps, the correction of misconceptions, and the consolidation of conceptual understanding. The approach integrates structured exploratory talk (Mercer), collaborative strategies such as Think–Pair–Share and Think–Pair–Square, systematic wait time, and response systems suitable for younger children. Techniques including Predict–Observe–Explain (POE), Confidence Grids, and Talking Heads make thinking visible and socially shared.
Overall, this work illustrates how dialogic teaching can support conceptual progression in STEM across school levels while simultaneously fostering social and communicative competences. Beyond its cognitive benefits, it promotes inclusive, reflective, and democratic classroom communities, responding to contemporary challenges of indifference and social isolation.