Methodologies in the Educational Research (with practices and case-studies)

The course aims to provide students with theoretical knowledge and methodological skills aimed at designing and organizing educational research activities in educational contexts (DD2). Students and students at the end of the course should be familiar with the main approaches and models of design and organization of educational activities and research (DD1), should be able to conduct paths of application of techniques and tools suitable for their evaluation (DD2).

In addition, the course aims to increase the critical and judgmental skills of students through laboratory activities (DD3), which connote in a peculiar form the conduct of educational activities in the classroom, and to enhance communication skills (DD4) thanks to the configuration of paths of co-construction of educational design activities carried out in cooperative form.

Objectives also include: 

• Know and appropriately use the basic vocabulary of the discipline (DD1);
• To perform operations to synthesize and link theoretical content, methods and strategies to configure hypotheses for solving educational problems (DD3);
• Conduct forms of self-assessment of one's learning oriented to the development of professional action (DD5);
• Argue, justifying their reasons, around choices of objectives, procedures and methodologies (DD4).

Teaching activities will be carried out following constructivist-inspired models, methods and techniques, so there will be interactive lectures accompanied by practical classroom activities (case history, simulation, group work/discussion), with laboratory exercises, which will have an exclusively formative function (they will affect teaching, not the final grade).

The topics will be discussed and explored: approaches and models of educational design and research; the peculiarities of design skills in education; the design and evaluation of research phases in educational and training contexts; the design of flipped classroom paths in university contexts; design of communities of practice in training contexts; the concept of education as a practice of freedom. Examples of research, experiences and tools applied in different educational contexts will also be presented.

- A. Traverso, Metodologia della progettazione educativa. Competenza, strumenti e contesti. Roma: Carocci. Edizione: Gennaio 2016. Ultima ristampa:   9a 2022, pp. 200.

-  E. Wenger. Comunità di pratica. Apprendimento, significato e identità. Milano: Raffaello Cortina, 2006, p.324.

-  bell kooks. Insegnare a trasgredire. L'educazione come pratica della libertà. Meltemi editore, 2020, pp. 254. 

- Pillera G., Strongoli R.C. Comunità di ricerca e metafore dell’apprendimento. Sperimentare la flipped classroom nella didattica universitaria. Milano: FrancoAngeli, 2025, pp. 132.

The examination will be conducted orally. The evaluation criteria for the oral examination are as follows:

• Use and adequacy of pedagogical-didactic vocabulary in the field of educational research and design
• Ability to correlate the tools of educational research and educational design activity
• Ability to select inquiry tools and instructional design strategies appropriate to operational contexts
• Ability to organize knowledge according to specific objectives
• Systematicity of treatment

Should conditions require it, the verification of learning may be conducted electronically.

What is meant by instructional design

Classification of educational and training contexts

Peculiarities of the flipped classroom approach

Characteristics of the community of practice

Education as a practice of freedom according to hooks.