Every two weeks students participated in Dialogical Literally Gatherings (DLGs) in Italian. One class conducted Interactive Groups (IGs) in maths.
A. Volta School
Acate (RG), ItalyImpact and successes
There has been increased participation as a class group. Students spontaneously cooperated with each other to set up DLG in the classroom. The practice of IGs allowed foreign students to experience receiving positive stimulation from peers rather than the teacher. The practice of DLGs improved the social aspect in the classroom.
Lessons, learning and recommendations
The perception toward classmates and teachers has changed. Students were more respectful towards one another; they started sharing and talking with more respect. Meanwhile, teachers gained more knowledge about their students which helped them to better manage the class and the SEA interaction.
For IGs, it would have been helpful to devote more training time to parent volunteers to prepare them to ‘move’ well within the classroom. For more vulnerable students, it would be useful to have an additional supportive teacher/educator.