OVERVIEW

Starting from the study of the central issues related to the theme of integration and social inclusion and education of disabled people, the course will analyze the epistemological core of the discipline, integration constructs and inclusion, the concept of need and special need, the function of the educational relationship and pedagogical design tools typical of the inclusive school.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to illustrate the epistemological and methodological-didactic aspects of special pedagogy. In particular, the course will deepen the concept of disability in its historical-cultural evolution, the national, European and international reference standards, the concept of special educational need and the didactic problems that characterize inclusive education in its design, methodological, communicative and evaluative declinations: cooperative learning, peer tutoring, metacognition and adaptations. This is with a view to ensuring a teaching approach capable of educating differences in equality in the ICF perspective, bearing in mind the peculiarities that characterize the competence of the teacher in the two school orders and the relationships between curricular teachers and specialists.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The learning outcomes are consistent with the learning objectives, de relate to the following:

KINDERGARTEN AND PRIMARY SCHOOL

1. Develop pedagogical sensitivity inherent in the recognition of the value of individual students, of all and of each,

2. Develop knowledge and pedagogical skills necessary to identify, analyze and manage situations of disability/diversity in the school environment,

3. Develop knowledge and pedagogical skills necessary to collaborate, as a class teacher, with other curricular colleagues or specialists, to make the value of integration and inclusion, as a circularity of relationships, among all students of the class and / or section

4. Develop pedagogical knowledge and skills necessary to collaborate with other professionals to plan personalized educational interventions,

5. Develop knowledge and pedagogical skills necessary to develop a genuinely inclusive teaching approach, through the use of appropriate methodologies.

6. Develop the ability to co-design an ICF-based IEP

During the course will be held in due attention to the problems of children in kindergarten and elementary school and then always explicitly will be made appropriate references and insights.

TEACHING METHODS

Dialogue lessons are foreseen (supported by slides) in which the problems connected to special education and the educational relationship in situations of special educational need will be discussed. The course will also provide practical (group) exercises, case study analysis, structured "debate" activities, world cafes, simulations and video analysis.

The exercises will have the aim of helping the student to apply in practice what has been learned on a theoretical level. These activities will allow attending students to acquire an OPEN BADGE which will certify participation in a course aimed at acquiring soft skills relating to the following key competencies: functional literacy (advanced level); personal (advanced level); social (advanced level); learning to learn (basic level); project creation (basic level).

Aulaweb is the course workspace where the slides used by the teacher will be inserted (at the end of each lesson), in-depth materials, applications to encourage interaction and active participation by students. Students will also have the opportunity to upload materials they deem relevant to the topics of the course.

Experts and representatives of services for people with disabilities may be invited to the lessons

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

1) THEORETICAL PART: KINDERGARTEN AND PRIMARY SCHOOL

Special education: general framework of the discipline

Historical-Hermeneutic Excursus of Special Education

National and international legislation

Special educational needs

The concept of inclusion

2) PROJECT PART: KINDERGARTEN AND PRIMARY SCHOOL

The ICF International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

The Quality of Life model

The design of the IEP based on ICF (KINDERGARTEN AND PRIMARY SCHOOL)

The Life project

3) METHODOLOGICAL PART: KINDERGARTEN AND PRIMARY SCHOOL

Relationship management

Creating an inclusive environment

Methodological approaches and tools for inclusive teaching: play, metacognition, adaptations, peer tutoring, cooperative learning

The use of inclusive technologies in teaching

Inclusive evaluation

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Attending students

2. Cottini L. (2024), Didattica speciale e inclusione scolastica, Carocci, Roma
3. Cottini L., Munaro C., Costa F. (2021), Il Nuovo PEI su base ICF: guida alla compilazione, Giunti EDU, Firenze
4. Material uploaded to aulaweb

5. Non Attending students

6. Cottini L. (2024), Didattica speciale e inclusione scolastica, Carocci, Roma
7. Cottini L., Munaro C., Costa F. (2021), Il Nuovo PEI su base ICF: guida alla compilazione, Giunti EDU, Firenze
8. Material uploaded to aulaweb

To choose between:

1. 4. Morganti A., Bocci F. Ddidattica inclusiva nella scuola primaria, Giunti, Milano 2017

   5. Antonietti M. L'inclusione nella scuola dell'infanzia. Metodi e prospettive,  Carocci, Roma, 2020

   Students are considered attending if they attend 65% of the lessons

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The lessons will start in the first semester. Students are invited to consult aulaweb of the course to view the calendar of meetings and respective contents

Class schedule

SPECIAL EDUCATION SCIENCES

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Attending students

At the end of each module, an activity is expected to investigate the skills acquired on the topics covered, evaluated out of thirty.

During the lessons, the realization of a group project will be foreseen and aimed at investigating the ability to work in a team and to design a path for people with disabilities. The project will be evaluated out of thirty.

The exam will be aimed at evaluating the knowledge acquired. It will take place in written form (multiple choice test, 31 questions assessed, each 1 point) with the possibility of oral integration. It will focus on the contents of the program and on the material uploaded to the "aula-web".

The average of the marks achieved (in the end-of-module activities, in the project, and in the exam) determines the final grade.

Non Attending students

The exam will be aimed at assessing knowledge and will take place in written form (multiple choice test, 32 questions evaluated, every question 0.5 points + three open questions of a theoretical-application nature, each considered 5 points). It is possible to integrate the written test with the oral one. The exam will focus on the 3 texts indicated in the program and on the material uploaded to the "aula-web"

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The successful learning of the discipline is certified by the competence demonstrated by the student to have acquired a knowledge of the subjects consistent with the expected results and in accordance with the training objectives declined according to the Dublin descriptors. 

The tests completed at the end of the module are aimed at detecting the acquisition by the students of the ability to apply in practice, on an individual level, what they learned during the lessons

The realization of the project is aimed at evaluating in the student not only the planning ability but also the ability to work in a team, discuss, debate, and compare in choosing the best intervention strategies

The final exam is aimed at evaluating the knowledge acquired during the course.

In each test, the quality of the presentation, the correct use of the specialized vocabulary, and the capacity for critical reasoning in the study carried out will be taken into account.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students with disabilities, Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), or Special Educational Needs (SEN) are reminded that, in order to request examination accommodations, they must first submit the relevant certification to the Settore servizi per l’inclusione degli studenti con disabilità e con DSA.

Subsequently, students with disabilities or SLD who wish to request accommodations for examinations are required to complete the form available on the following webpage: “Servizi per studentesse e studenti con disabilità o con DSA | UniGe | Università di Genova.”

Students with SEN, on the other hand, are required to send an email to the course lecturer, copying the School Representative for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and SLD (laura.traverso@unige.it) and the “Student Inclusion” Office (inclusione.studenti@info.unige.it).

The email must specify:

• the title of the course; 
• the date of the examination session; 
• the student’s surname, first name, and student ID number; 
• the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures considered necessary and requested. 

For all students, requests for accommodations must be submitted well in advance (at least 7 working days before the examination date). Requests submitted after this deadline may not be accepted.