The training course for developing and implementing unstructured learning pathways

 Nikola Benin, Ph.D

The training course aims to apply the theoretical model of embodied knowledge in the school context (primary P1-P7 and lower secondary school), by transferring the principles and best practices to an "unstructured" didactic model aimed at creating stimulating and inclusive learning environments. and to improve the development of cognitive skills in children.

The two-step training course provides an online training program in which teachers will gain a theoretical and experimental basis for developing and implementing unstructured learning pathways (Step 1) and sharing best practices to facilitate cultural and contextual exchange through digital platform (Step 2).

The methodology will focus on embodied knowledge and enactivism, based on the assumption that the body influences knowledge, as the body itself is an active part of the cognitive process. In enactivism, thinking and cognition are based on bodily actions: "it is not knowledge as an object, but knowledge as an action" (Begg, 2000). Through a 'body in action', learning exists beyond verbal and linguistic codes, stimulating new and creative ways of learning. The unstructured approach allows children to improve their creative, communication and motor skills.

In order to develop an unstructured way of teaching, it is necessary to combine knowledge of the principles of embodied knowledge, the practice of stimulating activities such as imagination, creativity and motor skills and the skills of flexibility and context analysis. By sharing best practices across Europe, it will be possible to try different ways of creating new learning environments and to recognize the different impacts on children according to cultural, social and personal background, by improving the learner-centered approach. (Impact on Erasmus priority school education: Overcoming learning disabilities, early school leaving and poor basic skills; Development of key competences; Development of high quality early childhood education and care systems) (Impact on inclusion and diversity of Erasmus through priorities).