 <7td> | A.S. 2017-2018 |
Il MIT -Massachussetts Institute of Technology di Boston- sbarca all’Istituto Einaudi Pareto di Palermo. Una studentessa della prestigiosa università americana sarà prof per un mese all’Istituto Einaudi Pareto secondo il metodo «hands on»: imparare facendo. A salire in cattedra, dal 9 al 31 gennaio, insieme ai docenti della scuola, sarà la futura laureanda AMBER VAN HEMEL del Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Mit) di Boston. Le lezioni saranno tutte in inglese e la didattica sperimentata nelle classi coinvolte , del tipo «hands on» (una sorta di imparare facendo), sarà proprio quella utilizzata a Boston. È il progetto «Global teaching labs», cicli di lezioni di materie scientifiche, matematica e soprattutto di Debate . Questo approccio, si basa sull’esercizio al dibattito e sviluppa competenze linguistiche, logiche e relazionali. L’oggetto di studio è il pubblico dibattito, svolto con tempi e regole precise, in cui due squadre di studenti difendono opinioni contrapposte. Gli studenti imparano così a ricercare e selezionare le fonti, ascoltare attivamente, argomentare, fondare e motivare le proprie tesi, lavorare in gruppo, parlare in pubblico (anche in lingua inglese). Le lezioni saranno uno stimolo, un modo per mettersi in discussione per apprendere strategie e metodi che rendano l’insegnamento più accattivante e, forse, più efficace. L’attività rientra nel piano di innovazione e internazionalizzazione che l’Istituto porta avanti da quando il professionale Einaudi e il tecnico/tecnologico Pareto si sono uniti per dare vita ad una realtà educativa che, con i propri percorsi di studio, si propone di consegnare agli studenti un passaporto per il loro futuro.
| <7td> | A.S. 2018-2019 |
Il racconto di Stephanie Hu ospite del nostro Istituto
Oggi abbiamo deciso di raccontarvi il resoconto dell’esperienza che alcune classi del nostro Istituto hanno vissuto grazie al programma di collaborazione Global Teaching Labs (GTL) che consente di ospitare un laureando/a del MIT -Massachusetts Institute of Technology – per l’insegnamento di discipline scientifiche in lingua inglese.
Sinteticamente, gli obiettivi di questa collaborazione sono: per MIT, l’opportunità di testare materiali open source preparati per le scuole superiori e offrire ai propri studenti un’intensa esperienza formativa; per i docenti delle scuole italiane, l’opportunità di entrare in contatto con una metodologia didattica meno tradizionale, basata sull’approccio hands on, e cogliere stimoli ed idee per l’insegnamento; l’iniziativa permette anche di raccogliere materiale didattico in lingua inglese, utile per la preparazione di lezioni CLIL, ma soprattutto per i nostri studenti, essa rappresenta l’opportunità di vivere un’esperienza didattica qualitativamente significativa e potenziare l’uso della lingua inglese.
Quello che è realmente accaduto lo affidiamo alle parole della stessa Stephanie.
This past January, I have been teaching mathematics and informatics at the Einaudi Pareto high school as a part of the Global Teaching Labs (GTL) program offered by MIT, in collaboration with high schools around the world. This experience has been unique in many ways, giving me the opportunity to immerse myself in Sicilian life, develop my communicating skills, and learn more about the education system in southern Italy.
I started teaching on January 7, 2019, not knowing what to expect. Even though I had made some lesson plans, I still felt underprepared and was worried that my students wouldn’t like me. However, my concerns were quickly dissipated, as Maria Puccia and Salvo Gallo welcomed me warmly into their classrooms on that first day. The professors were very kind, and the students were friendly and fun to work with.
For the informatics courses, I taught Python, C++, and introduction to HTML/CSS. I also worked with Giovanni Ustica and Giovanni Alessi, teaching on topics like linear functions and derivatives. On Friday mornings, I spent two hours in Lucia Provenzale’s classroom in the Einaudi Pareto sister school, working with her students on rational functions, limits, and applications of mathematics to economic problems.
One thing that I wish I knew, coming in as a teacher for Einaudi Pareto, was how to speak Italian. The language barrier was somewhat of a challenge, since I had to practice speaking slower than usual and to find more creative ways to communicate my presentations to the students. I think it helped me be more conscious about the way I communicate with other people and made me more aware of the limits of the English language.
Even so, I was lucky to be teaching informatics and math, because they are both universal (or almost universal) languages. For example, Python in the USA looks the same as Python in Italy, as does C++, HTML, and CSS. To the dismay of my students, these programming languages involve some degree of English. One time someone asked me if it was possible to program in Italian, but unfortunately, the answer is no (for now). I hope this will motivate them to continue learning both English and informatics simultaneously.
I was impressed by the students who tried their best to follow along as I delivered my lessons in English. Some of them picked up on new concepts more quickly than I expected, but I was pleased to see their progress in just a few short weeks. I only wish that we could have had a few more days, as there were many things that I had hoped to teach but did not have the time.
Overall, though, my experience with Einaudi Pareto has been an amazing one. I am grateful to my students for adjusting to my English, to my teachers for trusting me to teach their students, to Ida Mariolo and Rosalia Urso for helping to coordinate the program, and to Rita DiMaggio for graciously hosting me in her home for my three weeks in Palermo. Outside of teaching, I had the opportunity to tour the city in the afternoons and to travel the rest of Sicily on the weekends. In the future, alongside my studies in computer science, I hope to continue staying involved in educational initiatives and cross-cultural experiences.
| <7td> | A.S. 2019-2020 |
This January, I had the fantastic opportunity to teach at the Enaudi Pareto high school through
MIT’s Global Teaching Lab (GTL) program, which sends undergrads all around the world to teach a variety of subjects in English. MIT students like me get to learn about new education systems and culturally immerse themselves while practicing their communication skills and sharing some of their own passions with high school students.
Teaching was an exciting challenge. I was teaching a variety of topics in math and computer science to students in their third, fourth, and fifth years of high school. I had to not just present material, but learn how to give students examples and problems to try out the techniques. I also learned to adjust my lessons to the speed of the class, as sometimes they understood things super quickly and other times I went too fast and had to repeat a concept. The language barrier for teaching was more difficult than I expected, but by the end the students were even teaching me Italian !
For math, I went to the sister school and taught min/max applications of derivatives and limits to the fifth year students. At Einaudi Pareto, I was teaching the third year students about equations of lines. I tried to make my lessons more interesting by incorporating real life examples of the material. For the min/max I used business applications like trying to maximize profit. For the lessons on lines, I used examples of art work and had students create patterns using parallel and perpendicular lines.
For computer science, I was working with the third years to learn C++ and teaching the fourth years about web security. Here, I also tried to work in real examples. The third years spent several lessons working on a number guessing game to help learn loops, control flow, random numbers, and user input. For the fourth year students, I taught offensive security, so they could understand the ways that websites can get hacked to defend against them.
Overall I had a truly incredible experience in Palermo. I was especially excited to come to Sicily as my family is originally from here, but I had never visited before. Everyone made me feel so welcome and introduced me to the food and culture of Sicily, and I fell in love with it in just three short weeks. Leaving was very difficult, and I miss it already. I am so grateful to all the teachers
who welcomed me into their classrooms, the students who gave me their time and their effort,
and especially to Rita DiMaggio and her family for welcoming me into their home.
Loren Maggiore