Papers by Paola Aiello
Although inclusive education has now been endorsed as the model for current and future schools in... more Although inclusive education has now been endorsed as the model for current and future schools in many countries in Europe, there is still heated debate on the usefulness of a co-presence of support teachers and mainstream teachers to facilitate the teaching-learning process and to sustain inclusive practices. Indeed, in this complex scenario of reflections the pedagogical community in Italy is faced with a dilemma on the role of the support teacher within a full-inclusion model. Notwithstanding the differences between the educational systems, the reflections presented in this article start from the English experience on this issue, it being the birthplace of the concept of special educational needs and is currently reviewing the training and roles of support teachers. The proposed scenario of a double mission for support teachers presented in this paper stems from the consideration that currently the only training model rich in methodological and didactic content in Italy is the on...
The principal goal of Home Economics has always been that of empowering people to increase contro... more The principal goal of Home Economics has always been that of empowering people to increase control over their lives. Home Economics education has effectively kept up with emerging needs, prioritising the competencies necessary for family and community wellbeing. Within the complex contemporary society, there is no doubt that the main concern should be to equip individuals with the tools necessary to deal with the rapid cultural and technological evolution they will face throughout life. The theory of simplexity offers a new way of perceiving and dealing with this complexity. It suggests that, based on simplifying principles, the brain finds solutions “to process complex situations very rapidly, elegantly, and efficiently, taking past experience into account and anticipating the future” (Berthoz, 2012, p.3). Thanks to its adaptive interdisciplinary nature, both as a subject and a profession, Home Economics provides the ideal setting for reflection on the simplex properties and principles identified as the tools for life. Home Economists and students alike may well find that gaining awareness of these properties and acquiring the meta-cognitive ability to apply simplifying principles such as detours, inhibition, redundance, vicariance and selective attention, can help to face the complexity in their work, studies and daily lives with a new mindset. This proposed approach suggests a consideration of curriculum reform in Home Economics education and teacher training.
In a time where inclusive education has become the underpinning framework of reference for educat... more In a time where inclusive education has become the underpinning framework of reference for educational policies globally, effective strategies for a smooth and sustainable transformation of educational systems need to be identified. Recent literature on teachers’ attitudes has suggested that the adoption of inclusive policies, although necessary, is not sufficient for its implementation. Particularly, it has highlighted that the successful creation of inclusive environments requires critical reflection on the beliefs and values underpinning the attitudes towards the practical implementation and long-term sustainability of inclusive education.
The research presented in this article outlines the historic evolution of the principles characterising inclusive education in Italy and Europe. It then delineates the competencies required for teacher capacity building in
inclusive contexts and provides an overview of the founding principles supporting critical reflective practice. In conclusion, it proposes a guided strengths-oriented process aimed at enhancing critical reflection during initial and in-service teacher education courses in order to give teachers the opportunity to reflect on the beliefs and values shaping their practice, as well as explore new routes to bring about improvement and build strategic alliances to be able to handle the complex nature characterising current school contexts.
Conference Presentations by Paola Aiello
Digital storytelling has emerged in recent years as a powerful tool for teaching and learning tha... more Digital storytelling has emerged in recent years as a powerful tool for teaching and learning that involves both teachers and students (Robin, 2008). The construction of interactive narratives represents an educational challenge gaining in a considerable importance when they take into account the emotions felt by the users and exploit them to improve themselves (Mangione, Pierri & Iovane, 2012). In this sense, new paradigms of Human Machine Interaction can be a tool for
reclaiming body in digital storytelling, unraveling the complexity of the narration and, as such, a simplex way (Berthoz, 2011) to learning with the awareness that “the degree of physical involvement is the measure of immersion“ in a digital context (Krueger, 1991).
The objective of the research is the reinstatement of the body to digital storytelling, knowing that the gestures made by the weather person are embedded in a narration (Poddar, Sethi, Ozyildiz & Sharma, 1998).Based on a theoretical framework that integrates the concepts of embodied cognition developed in the context of cognitive science, the contribution of phenomenology (Dourish, 2004) and the new forms of HMI developed in the User Interface Design, this project aims the development of a gesture recognition software to allow authors to create effective, interactive gesture-driven stories, using Natural User Interfaces.
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Papers by Paola Aiello
The research presented in this article outlines the historic evolution of the principles characterising inclusive education in Italy and Europe. It then delineates the competencies required for teacher capacity building in
inclusive contexts and provides an overview of the founding principles supporting critical reflective practice. In conclusion, it proposes a guided strengths-oriented process aimed at enhancing critical reflection during initial and in-service teacher education courses in order to give teachers the opportunity to reflect on the beliefs and values shaping their practice, as well as explore new routes to bring about improvement and build strategic alliances to be able to handle the complex nature characterising current school contexts.
Conference Presentations by Paola Aiello
reclaiming body in digital storytelling, unraveling the complexity of the narration and, as such, a simplex way (Berthoz, 2011) to learning with the awareness that “the degree of physical involvement is the measure of immersion“ in a digital context (Krueger, 1991).
The objective of the research is the reinstatement of the body to digital storytelling, knowing that the gestures made by the weather person are embedded in a narration (Poddar, Sethi, Ozyildiz & Sharma, 1998).Based on a theoretical framework that integrates the concepts of embodied cognition developed in the context of cognitive science, the contribution of phenomenology (Dourish, 2004) and the new forms of HMI developed in the User Interface Design, this project aims the development of a gesture recognition software to allow authors to create effective, interactive gesture-driven stories, using Natural User Interfaces.
The research presented in this article outlines the historic evolution of the principles characterising inclusive education in Italy and Europe. It then delineates the competencies required for teacher capacity building in
inclusive contexts and provides an overview of the founding principles supporting critical reflective practice. In conclusion, it proposes a guided strengths-oriented process aimed at enhancing critical reflection during initial and in-service teacher education courses in order to give teachers the opportunity to reflect on the beliefs and values shaping their practice, as well as explore new routes to bring about improvement and build strategic alliances to be able to handle the complex nature characterising current school contexts.
reclaiming body in digital storytelling, unraveling the complexity of the narration and, as such, a simplex way (Berthoz, 2011) to learning with the awareness that “the degree of physical involvement is the measure of immersion“ in a digital context (Krueger, 1991).
The objective of the research is the reinstatement of the body to digital storytelling, knowing that the gestures made by the weather person are embedded in a narration (Poddar, Sethi, Ozyildiz & Sharma, 1998).Based on a theoretical framework that integrates the concepts of embodied cognition developed in the context of cognitive science, the contribution of phenomenology (Dourish, 2004) and the new forms of HMI developed in the User Interface Design, this project aims the development of a gesture recognition software to allow authors to create effective, interactive gesture-driven stories, using Natural User Interfaces.