Uncertainty has always represented a crucial and pervasive theme in educational processes, as demonstrated by numerous studies exploring the topic (Dewey, 1938; Perrenoud, 1999; Altet, 2003; Laurillard, 2012). These studies have predominantly focused on how uncertainty influences the interaction between teachers and students, highlighting its ecosystemic nature, wherein social, human, and artificial agents interact and transform each other (Pentucci & Laici, 2020; Jeladze et al., 2017). However, compared to the past, even the recent past, contemporary society has seen additional elements of complexity—such as the postdigital (Jandrić et al., 2018) and polycrisis (Morin & Kern, 1999; Tooze, 2022)—that profoundly alter the very nature of the unforeseen: today, we speak of ontological unexpected events. In this context, teachers' actions face new challenges, including designing educational pathways capable of embracing and engaging with uncertainty and the unforeseen while ensuring coherence and meaningfulness (Capolla et al., 2024). The thesis seeks to address these new needs by rethinking educational design through a set of principles derived from Berthoz's theory of simplexity (2011). These principles focus on a new concept of educational flexibility, resulting in a more complex yet better-adapted design capable of responding to contextual emergencies, supporting teachers and future educators in managing ontological unforeseen events, and transforming their professional practices. The text presents research conducted during the doctoral program from 2021 to 2024, structured into three main phases. In the first year, two parallel analyses were carried out. On one hand, teaching designs developed by students enrolled in the course Theories and Methods of Educational Designing and Assessment within the Primary Education Sciences degree program at the University of Macerata were examined. On the other hand, a literature review on uncertainty and unforeseen events was conducted (Capolla, 2024). This dual analysis identified significant challenges within the contemporary educational ecosystem and the analyzed designs, including difficulties related to managing time and complex educational situations, as well as controlling anxiety states. In the second year, the design model at the heart of this research, named Design for the Unexpected in Education (DUE), was developed. The principles underlying this model were conceived to support a new idea of educational flexibility, resulting in a more complex yet more adaptable design. This approach seeks to leverage the unexpected as a resource and transform teachers' professional practices. Additionally, the model was structured to provide theoretical and practical tools to reduce teachers' and future educators' anxiety and enhance their professional development. The model, designed to encourage recursiveness between design and implementation, overcomes the traditional separation between initial planning and in-action regulation. It promotes a continuous dialogue among initial predictions, teachers' experiences, and the specificities of the context, enabling a genuine process of in-action redesign based on the hybridization of diverse fragments. The DUE model was tested over two academic years, involving a total sample of 498 students (229 in the first year and 199 in the second). The experimentation included training activities, workshops, and feedback collection, following an iterative and collaborative approach based on Design-Based Implementation Research (DBIR) (Fishman et al., 2013). In the third year, the analysis of the collected data highlighted the strengths and critical aspects of the DUE model. The results suggest that introducing the model improved future teachers' ability to manage unexpected events and critically reflect on their teaching actions. Notably, among the categorized types of unexpected events, there was a reduction in those related to interactions and the teaching process—events largely attributable to the teacher's actions. This reduction indicates an increase in the students' design awareness and their competence in the educational field. Another notable finding concerns the frequency with which future teachers explicitly referenced in-action adjustments in their post-action reflection sheets following the occurrence of unforeseen events. Comparing the documents produced by students across the two academic years, the frequency of such references significantly increased (from an average of 1.2 to 2.7 references per student), while the percentage of designs lacking such references dropped from 48% to 22%. Finally, an additional indicator used to evaluate the model's effectiveness was the implementation of debriefing sessions. The effective completion of lessons, including conducting debriefings, improved from 58% in 2021/22 to 72% in 2022/23. This outcome can be attributed to greater reflectiveness and awareness among future teachers in managing time, space, and classroom dynamics, but especially to their improved ability to handle unexpected events. From a systemic perspective, the adoption of the DUE model influenced the entire training program designed for the master’s degree course. Following the research presented here, both the TEM course and its related laboratory, as well as the third, fourth, and fifth-year internship programs, were restructured to propose a training approach where awareness of uncertainty and the presence of ontological unforeseen events became central components. Thanks to the DBIR approach, the research prompted a reevaluation of traditional hierarchies between design and action, engaging researchers, future teachers, internship tutors, and university professors in a co-design process that improved alignment between training tools and the needs of trainees. The thesis is divided into nine chapters. The initial chapters outline the theoretical and methodological framework, focusing on the concepts of postdigital, polycrisis, and educational design. The central chapters describe the research phases, the challenges identified in the initial analyses, the development and testing of the DUE model, and the results obtained. The concluding chapter reflects on the goals achieved, the critical issues identified, and future prospects for educational design and teacher training. Regarding future scenarios, the thesis revisits the issue of anxiety among future teachers, reflecting on the model’s impact on this aspect. Although numerous comments from the students involved in the experimentation suggest that training on uncertainty helped clarify expectations and fostered greater calmness and confidence, these data alone are not sufficient. For this reason, the thesis concludes by describing the initiation of a research collaboration with Middlesex University to analyze future teachers’ stress levels in response to unexpected events. This initiative integrates biometric data and systematic observations of classroom lessons conducted during internships. The DUE model, while representing a contribution to contemporary educational design theory and demonstrating a positive and sustainable impact on the professional development of future teachers, does not provide all the answers. Therefore, the research will continue to explore the identified critical issues, deepen the understanding of teachers' emotional dynamics, and offer innovative tools to address the current complexity of education.
L’incertezza ha da sempre rappresentato un tema cruciale e pervasivo nei processi educativi, come dimostrato dalla presenza di numerosi studi che hanno esplorato il tema (Dewey, 1938; Perrenoud, 1999; Altet, 2003; Laurillard, 2012). Tali studi si sono concentrati prevalentemente su come l'incertezza influenzi l'interazione tra insegnanti e alunni e ne hanno evidenziato il carattere ecosistemico, secondo cui agenti sociali, umani e artificiali, interagiscono e si trasformano reciprocamente (Pentucci & Laici, 2020; Jeladze et al., 2017). Tuttavia, rispetto al passato, anche recente, nella società contemporanea si sono aggiunti elementi di ulteriore complessità - come il postdigitale (Jandrić et al., 2018) e la policrisi (Morin & Kern, 1999; Tooze, 2022) – che modificano profondamente lo statuto stesso di imprevisto: oggi parliamo infatti di imprevisto ontologico. In questo contesto, l'agire del docente si trova ad affrontare sfide nuove, tra cui la necessità di progettare percorsi didattici capaci di accogliere e dialogare con l'incertezza e l'imprevisto, garantendo al contempo coerenza e significatività (Capolla et al., 2024). La tesi cerca di rispondere a queste nuove necessità, ripensando la progettazione didattica attraverso una serie di logiche tratte dalla teoria della semplessità di Berthoz (2011). Tali logiche pongono al centro una nuova idea di flessibilità didattica che si traduce in una progettazione più complessa ma più capace di adattarsi alle emergenze contestuali, supportando i docenti e i futuri docenti nella gestione dell'imprevisto ontologico e nella trasformazione delle proprie pratiche professionali. Nel testo viene presentata la ricerca condotta nell'ambito del dottorato dal 2021 al 2024 e articolata in tre fasi principali. Nel primo anno sono state sviluppate in parallelo due analisi. Da un lato, sono state analizzate le progettazioni didattiche elaborate dagli studenti del corso di Teorie e Metodi di Programmazione e Valutazione Scolastica del corso di laurea in Scienze della Formazione Primaria presso l'Università degli Studi di Macerata, e, dall’altro, è stata condotta un’analisi della letteratura sull'incertezza e sull’imprevisto (Capolla, 2024). Questa doppia analisi ha permesso di individuare alcune criticità significative nell’ecosistema educativo contemporaneo e nelle progettazioni analizzate, tra cui difficoltà legate alla gestione dei tempi e delle situazioni didattiche complesse e al controllo degli stati d’ansia. Nel secondo anno è stato sviluppato il modello progettuale al cuore della ricerca presentata, denominato Design for the Unexpected in Education (DUE). Le logiche su cui si fonda questo modello sono state pensate per sostenere una nuova idea di flessibilità didattica, che si traduce, come accennato, in una progettazione più complessa ma maggiormente adattabile, capace di valorizzare l’imprevisto come risorsa e di trasformare le pratiche professionali degli insegnanti. Inoltre, il modello è stato strutturato anche con l’obiettivo di offrire strumenti teorici e pratici per ridurre l’ansia dei docenti e futuri docenti e potenziarne la formazione professionale. Il modello, concepito per favorire una ricorsività tra progettazione e implementazione, supera la tradizionale separazione tra progettazione iniziale e regolazione in azione, promuovendo un dialogo continuo tra previsioni iniziali, esperienza del docente e specificità del contesto e sostenendo una vera e propria operazione di riprogettazione in azione basata sull’ibridazione di diversi frammenti. La sperimentazione del modello DUE ha coinvolto, nel corso di due annualità accademiche, un campione complessivo di 498 studenti (229 nel primo anno e 199 nel secondo) e ha incluso attività di formazione, laboratori e raccolta di feedback, secondo un approccio iterativo e collaborativo basato sulla Design-Based Implementation Research (DBIR) (Fishman et al., 2013). Nel terzo anno, l’analisi dei dati raccolti ha permesso di evidenziare e riflettere sui punti di forza e sulle criticità del modello DUE. I risultati ottenuti suggeriscono che l’introduzione del modello abbia migliorato la capacità dei futuri docenti di gestire l’imprevisto e di riflettere criticamente sulle proprie azioni didattiche. In particolare, tra le tipologie di imprevisti categorizzate, si è registrata una diminuzione di quelli legati alle interazioni e al processo di insegnamento, ovvero di quegli imprevisti dovuti in larga misura all’operato del docente. Questa riduzione indica un aumento della consapevolezza progettuale degli studenti e della loro competenza in ambito didattico. Un altro dato interessante riguarda la frequenza con cui i futuri docenti hanno inserito, nella propria scheda di riflessione post-azione, espliciti riferimenti a regolazioni effettuate in azione, a seguito dell’accadere di un evento imprevisto. Confrontando i documenti prodotti dagli studenti delle due differenti annualità, la frequenza di questi riferimenti è aumentata notevolmente (da una media di 1,2 a 2,7 riferimenti per studente), mentre la percentuale di progettazioni prive di tali riferimenti è scesa dal 48% al 22%. Infine, un ultimo indicatore preso in esame per analizzare l’efficacia del modello è rappresentato dallo svolgimento del debriefing. Il completamento efficace della lezione, quindi lo svolgimento del debriefing, è migliorato, passando dal 58% nel 2021/22 al 72% nel 2022/23. Questo esito può essere ricondotto ad una maggiore riflessività e consapevolezza da parte dei futuri docenti nella gestione dei tempi, degli spazi e delle dinamiche di classe, ma soprattutto a una migliore gestione degli imprevisti. Da un punto di vista sistemico, l’adozione del modello DUE ha influenzato l’intero percorso di formazione pensato per il corso di laurea magistrale. A seguito della ricerca qui narrata, difatti, sia l’insegnamento di TEM e il relativo laboratorio, sia il tirocinio del terzo, quarto e quinto anno, sono stati modificati proponendo una formazione in cui la consapevolezza dell’incertezza e della presenza dell’imprevisto ontologico sono divenute componenti centrali. Grazie all’approccio DBIR, la ricerca ha favorito un ripensamento delle tradizionali gerarchie tra progettazione e azione, coinvolgendo ricercatori, futuri docenti, tutor di tirocinio e docenti universitari in un processo di co-design che ha migliorato la coerenza tra strumenti formativi e bisogni dei tirocinanti. La tesi si articola in nove capitoli. Nei primi capitoli viene delineato il quadro teorico e metodologico, con un focus sui concetti di postdigitale, policrisi e progettazione didattica. I capitoli centrali descrivono le fasi della ricerca, le difficoltà emerse dalle analisi iniziali, lo sviluppo e la sperimentazione del modello DUE e i risultati ottenuti. Il capitolo conclusivo riflette sugli obiettivi raggiunti, sulle criticità emerse e sulle prospettive future per la progettazione didattica e la formazione degli insegnanti. In particolare, in merito agli scenari futuri, si riprende la questione relativa all’ansia nei futuri docenti, partendo da una riflessione sull’impatto del modello su questo aspetto. Sebbene numerosi commenti condivisi dagli studenti coinvolti nella sperimentazione suggeriscano che la formazione all’incertezza abbia contribuito a definire aspettative più chiare e a generare maggiore serenità e sicurezza, questi dati da soli non sono sufficienti. È per questa ragione che, in calce alla, tesi si racconta l’avvio della sperimentazione in collaborazione con l’Università di Middlesex per analizzare i livelli di stress dei futuri docenti in caso di eventi imprevisti, attraverso l’integrazione di dati biometrici e osservazioni sistematiche delle lezioni svolte in classe durante il tirocinio diretto. Il modello DUE, pur rappresentando un contributo alla teoria sulla progettazione didattica contemporanea e pur avendo dimostrato di avere un impatto positivo e sostenibile sulla professionalizzazione dei futuri docenti, non esaurisce tutte le risposte. La ricerca pertanto proseguirà per approfondire le criticità emerse, la comprensione delle dinamiche emotive degli insegnanti e per offrire strumenti innovativi per affrontare la complessità educativa attuale.
DUE. Design for the Unexpected in Education
CAPOLLA, LORENZA MARIA
2025
Abstract
Uncertainty has always represented a crucial and pervasive theme in educational processes, as demonstrated by numerous studies exploring the topic (Dewey, 1938; Perrenoud, 1999; Altet, 2003; Laurillard, 2012). These studies have predominantly focused on how uncertainty influences the interaction between teachers and students, highlighting its ecosystemic nature, wherein social, human, and artificial agents interact and transform each other (Pentucci & Laici, 2020; Jeladze et al., 2017). However, compared to the past, even the recent past, contemporary society has seen additional elements of complexity—such as the postdigital (Jandrić et al., 2018) and polycrisis (Morin & Kern, 1999; Tooze, 2022)—that profoundly alter the very nature of the unforeseen: today, we speak of ontological unexpected events. In this context, teachers' actions face new challenges, including designing educational pathways capable of embracing and engaging with uncertainty and the unforeseen while ensuring coherence and meaningfulness (Capolla et al., 2024). The thesis seeks to address these new needs by rethinking educational design through a set of principles derived from Berthoz's theory of simplexity (2011). These principles focus on a new concept of educational flexibility, resulting in a more complex yet better-adapted design capable of responding to contextual emergencies, supporting teachers and future educators in managing ontological unforeseen events, and transforming their professional practices. The text presents research conducted during the doctoral program from 2021 to 2024, structured into three main phases. In the first year, two parallel analyses were carried out. On one hand, teaching designs developed by students enrolled in the course Theories and Methods of Educational Designing and Assessment within the Primary Education Sciences degree program at the University of Macerata were examined. On the other hand, a literature review on uncertainty and unforeseen events was conducted (Capolla, 2024). This dual analysis identified significant challenges within the contemporary educational ecosystem and the analyzed designs, including difficulties related to managing time and complex educational situations, as well as controlling anxiety states. In the second year, the design model at the heart of this research, named Design for the Unexpected in Education (DUE), was developed. The principles underlying this model were conceived to support a new idea of educational flexibility, resulting in a more complex yet more adaptable design. This approach seeks to leverage the unexpected as a resource and transform teachers' professional practices. Additionally, the model was structured to provide theoretical and practical tools to reduce teachers' and future educators' anxiety and enhance their professional development. The model, designed to encourage recursiveness between design and implementation, overcomes the traditional separation between initial planning and in-action regulation. It promotes a continuous dialogue among initial predictions, teachers' experiences, and the specificities of the context, enabling a genuine process of in-action redesign based on the hybridization of diverse fragments. The DUE model was tested over two academic years, involving a total sample of 498 students (229 in the first year and 199 in the second). The experimentation included training activities, workshops, and feedback collection, following an iterative and collaborative approach based on Design-Based Implementation Research (DBIR) (Fishman et al., 2013). In the third year, the analysis of the collected data highlighted the strengths and critical aspects of the DUE model. The results suggest that introducing the model improved future teachers' ability to manage unexpected events and critically reflect on their teaching actions. Notably, among the categorized types of unexpected events, there was a reduction in those related to interactions and the teaching process—events largely attributable to the teacher's actions. This reduction indicates an increase in the students' design awareness and their competence in the educational field. Another notable finding concerns the frequency with which future teachers explicitly referenced in-action adjustments in their post-action reflection sheets following the occurrence of unforeseen events. Comparing the documents produced by students across the two academic years, the frequency of such references significantly increased (from an average of 1.2 to 2.7 references per student), while the percentage of designs lacking such references dropped from 48% to 22%. Finally, an additional indicator used to evaluate the model's effectiveness was the implementation of debriefing sessions. The effective completion of lessons, including conducting debriefings, improved from 58% in 2021/22 to 72% in 2022/23. This outcome can be attributed to greater reflectiveness and awareness among future teachers in managing time, space, and classroom dynamics, but especially to their improved ability to handle unexpected events. From a systemic perspective, the adoption of the DUE model influenced the entire training program designed for the master’s degree course. Following the research presented here, both the TEM course and its related laboratory, as well as the third, fourth, and fifth-year internship programs, were restructured to propose a training approach where awareness of uncertainty and the presence of ontological unforeseen events became central components. Thanks to the DBIR approach, the research prompted a reevaluation of traditional hierarchies between design and action, engaging researchers, future teachers, internship tutors, and university professors in a co-design process that improved alignment between training tools and the needs of trainees. The thesis is divided into nine chapters. The initial chapters outline the theoretical and methodological framework, focusing on the concepts of postdigital, polycrisis, and educational design. The central chapters describe the research phases, the challenges identified in the initial analyses, the development and testing of the DUE model, and the results obtained. The concluding chapter reflects on the goals achieved, the critical issues identified, and future prospects for educational design and teacher training. Regarding future scenarios, the thesis revisits the issue of anxiety among future teachers, reflecting on the model’s impact on this aspect. Although numerous comments from the students involved in the experimentation suggest that training on uncertainty helped clarify expectations and fostered greater calmness and confidence, these data alone are not sufficient. For this reason, the thesis concludes by describing the initiation of a research collaboration with Middlesex University to analyze future teachers’ stress levels in response to unexpected events. This initiative integrates biometric data and systematic observations of classroom lessons conducted during internships. The DUE model, while representing a contribution to contemporary educational design theory and demonstrating a positive and sustainable impact on the professional development of future teachers, does not provide all the answers. Therefore, the research will continue to explore the identified critical issues, deepen the understanding of teachers' emotional dynamics, and offer innovative tools to address the current complexity of education.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14242/199627
URN:NBN:IT:UNIMC-199627