Teaching practices and use of digital in the DADA model (Didactics for Learning Environments)

The paper presents the results of the monitoring of digitalaugmented teaching, in a lower secondary school in Rome, which adopts theDADA model (Didattiche per Ambienti Di Apprendimento – Didactics forLearning Environments). Based on a radical pedagogical-didactic andorganizational innovation, the DADA model is characterized by the presence of‘classrooms – learning environments’: each space is assigned to one or twoteachers of the same subject and the students move from one classroom toanother, during school hours. The monitoring study included one hundred andtwenty hours (one week in December 2019) of systematic non-participantobservation of the four ‘experimental’ classrooms. During the observation,designed according to the principles of ‘Research-Training’ (Asquini, 2018),particular attention was paid to the use of digital devices (iPads) by teachers andstudents. A grid was used to collect the data, designed to identify the timededicated to three moments of teaching: the activities carried out (e.g.,construction or transmission of meanings, consolidation, planning), thefunctions of these activities (e.g., introducing new knowledge, monitoring, andverify learning or manage the organization) and actions (e.g., frontal lesson ordiscussion). The research questions investigate the use of the digital, and whatare the educational activities, which involve greater use of the digital device forthe functions more closely related to teaching. Differences between theclassrooms in the use of time were found, based on the different actions carriedout with digital devices. The 2018 European Parliament Recommendationestablishes the role of digital skills as key competences for lifelong learning:they have an impact on education, training and learning and lead to thedevelopment of more flexible environments. The potential of digital becomespropulsive for a democratic attitude, oriented towards the construction of activecitizenship and social justice. Bringing a non-linear logic into the school oforganized knowledge could lead to dedicating more time to learning.