Progetto MESA

ITIS “Cardano” - Pavia

Local level educational testing

As you known, evaluation is notonlyuseful for assessingthe level ofstudent learning, but alsoto judge the effectivenessof amethod of teaching andworkingandalso the process ofteaching-learningandtherelationships between participantsin the educational process.The questionnairesadministeredto students and teacherswithin the MESAProjecthave precisely thisintention.In fact, thequestionnaires werestructuredin such a wayas to obtaindataon thesefundamental pointson which you canrelyfora comprehensive andtargetedassessment on the developmentof the project:

  • General termsof thelearning context,
  • Participants(needs,prior knowledge,individual contributions...)
  • Students(the learning pace, level of attention,skills...)
  • Teachers(professional skills, knowledge transfermode...)
  • Evaluationof learningboth theoreticallyand practically.

By comparingandtriangulatingthe data extractedfrom the questionnairesof studentswe can conclude that:

Generallythe students involvedin the projectworkcollaborativelyin small groups,helping each otherand poolingtheir skills,

They are attentiveto the process.In the sense thatfirst they seek to understand theproceduresin theoryand thenapply themin practice

They workin close contactwith teachers

By comparingandtriangulatingthe data extractedfrom the questionnairesof teacherswe can conclude that:

Teachersare also providingthe skills acquiredoutsidetheschool context,

They putin placesignificant potential forscaffoldingwhile aiming to meetthe level of autonomyon the partof students,

They createan environmentandlearning conditionsother than thoseput in placeinthe traditional class. Students feelat easeand workwith more confidence.

Conclusions

The articulation of the MESA project has produced a new methodological approach based on the finalization of the study subjects no longer an end in itself for pure theoretical abstraction but oriented to the study of factual phenomena. The realization of the MESA project involved the teachers in an experimental teaching both theoretical and practical, leading to new methods and criteria for evaluation, not just theoretical as it was in the normal school practices, but also by observing and evaluating the design and technical-operative skills of students.