When school meets the real world. The educational proposals of the Ital.IA Lab for School project
Would you accept a job paying €60,000 a year knowing that you might put the savings of people like your parents at risk? Would you use technology capable of eliminating genetic diseases, even without truly knowing the consequences? How do you build your identity when you grow up between two opposing worldviews?
These are not theoretical exercises. They are some of the questions that pupils are tackling in the classroom, starting from realistic scenarios that intertwine literature, current affairs and artificial intelligence.
From literature to life
In the programme developed by Annamaria Bove, ambassador teacher at Ital.IA Lab for School, literature becomes a tool for interpreting the present.
Canto VII of Inferno helps us reflect on our relationship with money and the meaning of success.
Ulysses’s journey highlights the limits of knowledge and the risks of boundless progress.
The encounter with Farinata prompts reflection on identity and ideological divisions.
Dante is no longer just an author to be studied. He becomes a guide to navigating complexity.
Three scenarios, three dilemmas
Students work on situations that could be real. There is Lorenzo, a young financial advisor torn between his career and his responsibility towards vulnerable clients. There is a team of scientists called upon to decide whether to use CRISPR technology to modify human DNA, caught between hope and the risk of overstepping ethical boundaries. There is Sofia, a teenager who must choose between two educational paths whilst her family is divided by opposing worldviews.
In all cases, there is no single correct answer. What exists is the ability to reason.
Artificial intelligence as a tool for thinking
In these activities, artificial intelligence does not replace study, but enhances it. It is a critical and informed use: AI does not provide solutions, but helps to ask better questions. Students use it to:
- simulate different points of view
- test their own decisions
- explore unexpected consequences
Learning to choose
At the heart of the programme is learning to:
- recognise the values at stake
- defend a position
- engage with different perspectives
Essential skills for living and working in a complex world.
From experimentation to sharing
The programmes stem from the work of teachers who experiment with innovative methodologies and share effective practices. Take Annamaria Bove, a teacher and trainer, who has designed comprehensive modules based on scenarios, guided activities and ready-to-use classroom tools. To make these experiences accessible to all, the Fondazione Mondo Digitale has compiled materials, worksheets and assessment tools into a comprehensive toolkit for teachers. An invitation to bring into the classroom not just content, but experiences that help students understand and make choices.
Not a single activity, but a complete classroom system
What the ambassador teachers have developed is not a single activity, but a genuine structured learning environment, ready to be used and adapted. Within the programme, teachers will find:
the complete methodology for working through scenarios, step by stepready-made teaching units, with ready-to-use scenariosworksheets for students, to guide group worktutorials on using artificial intelligence critically, avoiding simple copy-and-pasteanalytical assessment rubrics, to assess skills such as argumentation,
use of AI and critical thinkingself-assessment and peer review tools, to make students active participants in the processpre- and post-questionnaires, to measure the real impact on skillsconcrete examples of student work, to see what actually happens in the classroom
A comprehensive ecosystem that allows teachers not only to experiment, but to observe, assess and improve learning in a structured way: in the toolkit, teachers will find ready-to-use materials, scenarios, worksheets and assessment tools to bring the teaching model straight into the classroom.
Download the complete toolkit from FMD Academy
What the students say
The model’s effectiveness is measured by a dramatic increase in engagement: students’ interest in Dante’s work rose from an average of 4.2 to 8.1 on a scale of 10. Furthermore, the activities do not just change the way students study, but the way they view themselves and the world.
- “At first I thought: ‘Dante? How boring!’. Then, with the scenarios, I realised he was talking about me too, about my choices. It was like a mirror.”
- “AI didn’t give us the answers. It made us ask better questions.”
- “The group was essential. On my own, I would never have seen all those perspectives. Even discussing things with people I disagreed with was useful.”
- “The scenario about Ulysses and CRISPR really got me thinking. I’m undecided whether to study biology or philosophy. Maybe I can do both.”
- “I thought the teacher would want the ‘right’ answer. Instead, he told us: ‘Convince me’. That made me feel responsible.”
- “Francesca made me reflect on my relationships. Seriously. I didn’t expect that from a book from the 1300s.”
