What’s it about?

The project aims to evaluate the impact of two teacher training interventions implemented in schools in the Piedmont and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions. The two courses, “Teacher Training in Mathematics Education” and “Teacher Training on Implicit Biases”, share the common objective of promoting educational equity while addressing different perspectives and aspects of teaching:                

• The Teacher Training in Mathematics Education course is designed for mathematics teachers of third-grade classes and focuses on the principles of laboratory-based mathematics instruction. The course adopts an inquiry-based and cooperative learning approach, emphasizing peer interaction, idea sharing, and the development of problem-solving skills. The training is structured around three practical workshops on the concept of Numbers:

1. 1. Numbers for counting, calculating, estimating
   2. Numbers for comparing and measuring
   3. Numbers for modelling and hypothesizing

• The Teacher Training on Implicit Biases course targets Italian and mathematics teachers of fourth- and fifth-grade classes and focuses on countering stereotypes in educational settings. The course is designed to develop teachers’ understanding of unconscious biases and their manifestations in the classroom, teaching materials, and instructional practices. Participants are guided to recognize the effects of biases on students and teachers and to implement strategies to mitigate their impact in specific teaching activities. The training is organized into three types of workshops:

1. 1. A generative workshop
   2. A replicative workshop

   3. A replicative workshop

Why?

We aim to promote a school that is both equitable and inclusive. The consequences of educational inequity include, on one hand, social and economic exclusion, and on the other, a waste of human potential, as those who do not acquire the necessary skills are unable to contribute actively to society. It is therefore essential that teaching practices foster the engagement of all students and enable them to develop key citizenship competences. TheTraining in Mathematics Education provides teachers with the tools to design instructional practices focused on the construction of mathematical meaning. Furthermore, we aim for a school free from bias. Unconscious biases are a natural feature of human thinking and can affect self-confidence, mental health, and academic achievement. The Training on Implicit Biases provides both theoretical and practical tools to mitigate the effects and impact of stereotypes in the educational environment, in teaching activities, and in interactions between teachers and students.

How is it implemented?

REGISTRATION

The first step requires schools to register for the program (through their school principal), indicating their preference for one of the two workshops or both, based on the declarations of the teachers who will be teaching third, fourth, or fifth grade classes in the 2024/25 school year. Principals can register by completing the registration form provided by the Regional Education Office (available on the registration page) and by specifying which course the teachers at their school are interested in: Teacher Training in Mathematics Education, Teacher Training on Implicit Biases, or both. Participating schools must also be available to provide data on teachers and students at different stages of the project, in compliance with current privacy regulations.

SCHOOL SELECTION AND TRAINING

Subsequently, among the schools registered for the program, some will be randomly assigned to the training course of their choice (Teacher Training in Mathematics Education or Teacher Training on Implicit Biases), while others will not be selected (control group). Teachers from selected schools will have access to workshop materials and participate in sessions with expert trainers. Teachers from non-selected schools, the control group, although they will not participate in any workshop, will still receive all relevant information about the workshop of interest, which can be integrated into their own teaching at the conclusion of the project. It should be emphasized that random assignment is a necessary condition to evaluate the impact of teacher training and is a prerequisite for participation in the project.

EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION

Finally, the effectiveness of the two training courses will be assessed. At the end of the project, the study results will be presented in a meeting involving all participants (institutions involved in the project, school principals, teachers, and researchers).