Vocational training didactics (2008/2009)

Learning outcomes

A teaching approach does not only belong to the field of education. Indeed it is possible to think of a form of teaching which is specific to a learning context within vocational training, aiming to derive knowledge from practical activities. The course aims at:
-Providing students with a general overview on current vocational education and training;
-Helping students to analyse and understand the specificity of knowledge deriving from practical activities;
-Introducing an epistemology of practice based on a reflective rationality;
-Helping students to devise concrete didactic tools able to enhance a style of learning which values experience, context and the relational dimension.

The course will deal with the following topics:
-Vocational education and training as a specific context for reflecting upon teaching approach;
-Understanding the relevance of work practice for the improvement of educational practices;
-Epistemology of practice based upon reflection in/on action;
-Work practice and personal experience as sources of knowledge
-Teaching approach in vocational training as didactics of reflected experience;
-Relational dimension of teaching approach in vocational training.

Bibliography:
BRUNI Attila, GHERARDI Silvia, Studiare le pratiche lavorative, Il Mulino, Bologna 2007.
SCHÖN Donald Alan, Formare il professionista riflessivo. Per una nuova prospettiva della formazione e dell’apprendimento nelle professioni, Franco Angeli, Milano 2006
TACCONI Giuseppe, Il sistema di Istruzione e formazione professionale e le diverse concezioni di formazione in campo. Una riflessione didattica, in AGOSTI Alberto, La formazione. Interpretazioni pedagogiche e indicazioni operative, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2006, pp. 133-150.

Oral exam. Further details will be provided at the beginning of the course.
The assessment will also include an evaluation of the student’s personal course notes (diary) or another written work to be approved by the teacher. The works can be published on the course website.

Notes
Course activities:
-teacher’s lectures. Students active participation will be fostered.
-Group activities on case studies and other practical tasks.
Students will be allowed to access the course website after registering with the teacher.