Teacher training is not always faced with the right spirit by teachers, especially if it concerns technological issues they are not informed about. And this is just what happened to Coaches Valentina Gelsomini and Lara Forgione at the Coding with Visual Languages Lab designed with the Istituto comprensivo Primo. The coaches were faced with a class of over 30 diffident and sceptical teachers, who were also tired after a day spent with children.
The challenge was to help all the participants, who were starting from scratch, to develop a storytelling project as a teaching and transversal learning tool. Thanks to its visual component, Scratch allows users to create algorithms, animate stories, choosing characters and landscapes, and share projects.
“It was very satisfying. We overcame difficulties and scepticism due to lack of attention and fatigue,” explains Valentina Gelsomini. "Many teachers felt obliged to take the course, so they started out with diffidence. We had many issues, but luckily Lara and I work well as a team and managed to overcome their resistance and interest them!”
“The last three meetings have been dedicated to the development of projects on topics chosen by the groups and based on classroom activities with children.”
“Seeing the teachers smile and exude satisfaction for their accomplishments made us very happy!” said Valentina.
