The Lincei for a new kind of teaching in schools: a national network

The project “I Lincei per una nuova didattica nella scuola: una rete nazionale” (“The Lincei for a new kind of teaching in schools: a national network”) was promoted in 2010 by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei and by the Ministry of Education, University and Research with the aim of proposing and organising training activities for teachers in order to improve the teaching system through refresher courses in the three disciplines considered by the project: Italian, Mathematics and Sciences, in the form of workshops. The training courses are free of charge.

The “I Lincei per la Scuola” Foundation, started in June 2015 and sited at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, has the purpose of promoting a new kind of teaching in schools through the national project “I Lincei per una nuova didattica nella scuola: una rete nazionale” (“The Lincei for a new kind of teaching in schools: a national network”).

To this aim it proposes teaching activities designed to improve the teaching system in Italy through refresher courses in the three disciplines considered by the project: Italian, Mathematics and Sciences.

The refresher courses are available all over Italy thanks to the network of local centres for  didactic research, and for refresher and training courses for teachers in Italy. These  centres, the “Poli”, co-operate with other organisations in the area to promote the cultural and scientific development of the project at local and hence also national level.

The centres are generally housed at the most prestigious scientific and cultural academies on Italian soil. The “Poli” as a group interact to form the project network. The Accademia dei Lincei, the creator of this network, guarantees the quality of the project and, through the “I Lincei per la Scuola” Foundation, takes care of its general organisation and the contacts with the MIUR and with the cultural and international institutions.

There are currently 19 “Poli” in operation, distributed over 16 Italian regions.

On 17th December, 2012, the “Polo” of Pisa was inaugurated, with its site at the Normale; it also includes the University of Pisa and the ANISN (Associazione Nazionale Insegnanti di Scienze Naturali) (National Association of Teachers of Natural Sciences). The contacts for the “Polo” of Pisa are Concetta Morrone (Accademia dei Lincei and University of Pisa), co-ordinator; Antonino Cattaneo (Accademia dei Lincei and Scuola Normale Superiore), in charge of Sciences; Fulvio Ricci (Accademia dei Lincei and Scuola Normale Superiore), in charge of Mathematics; Mirko Tavoni (University of Pisa), in charge of Italian.