Learning Disabilities and Inclusiveness

Abstract

This paper aims to look for “good practices” in the field of teaching, especially in relation to learners with various types of disabilities. Most of all the focus will be on the Italian situation and on what has been done for more than 10 years now, from the moment in which the legislation focused attention on learners with disabilities. We will try to understand which educational strategies allow to develop soft skills and to achieve a satisfactory personal development. The emphasis will be placed on the need for an inclusive school, which pays attention to every pupil, which seeks to value differences as bearers of collective wealth.

1. Introduction

In Italy, the educational needs of students with specific learning disabilities have been recognized by law 170 of 2010 [1]. The specific learning disabilities (SLD) are dyslexia, dysgraphia, dysorthography, and dyscalculia. In addition, the Ministerial Decree of 27 December 2012 [2] extended the consideration of students with special educational needs (SEN) to all those who may find themselves in disadvantaged situations (economic, social, linguistic).

More than a decade has passed since then in which the awareness of teachers regarding this issue has grown a lot. In fact, the vast majority of teachers try nowadays to improve every day own teaching activities, in order to respond to the needs of all pupils, in an increasingly inclusive perspective.

Weaker students with cognitive disabilities generally have a low social status within the school group. This elicits lower performance expectations than others from classmates. Most of the time these expectations are confirmed. Therefore, it is necessary to let lower level students experience situations in which they do not feel inferior, identifying their areas of strength. In fact, students in difficulty, as well as having a low social status within the class group, generally have low self-esteem and tend to underestimate themselves. Changing these beliefs and building a sense of competence are the primary objective of the teacher.

Inclusion does not exclusively concern the relationship between the student with cognitive disabilities and the school, but it also informs the entire school community and is fully realized by applying a process of continuous self-improvement of teaching practices.

To achieve such an objective, it is also necessary to focus on teacher training; in particular, it is necessary to encourage teachers to increasingly use emerging technologies and to often change the type of teaching activity conducted with the class. Laboratory activities and group work encourage student participation, promote collaboration and the establishment of friendly relationships, and improve self-esteem.

The purpose of this article is to reflect on some “good practices” [3], implemented on various occasions, trying to highlight those methodological choices that have proved to be most fruitful in terms of positive results.

2. Students with learning disabilities

Weak students, who fail to emerge in almost any teaching activity, have always been there. In the past, many of them were labeled listless or incompetent, resulting in a significant loss of self-esteem. In fact, students who see that they are unable to obtain satisfactory results, despite an initial commitment, soon fall out of love with the study and risk losing, sometimes forever, the chances of learning in a way that gives good results.

Already in the 60s, Don Lorenzo Milani had theorized that the task of an inclusive school is not to leave anyone behind. In Lettera a una professoressa, Don Lorenzo forcefully underlined the fundamental role that education has for humanization and for emancipation from poverty and exploitation. For him, a school that deals only with good students and limits itself to rejecting students with intellectual disabilities or those from an economically and culturally poor environment is like “a hospital that treats the healthy and rejects the sick” (see Don Lorenzo Milani’s thought in [4]). The prior of Barbiana also insisted on the need to learn as many words as possible, in order to be fully integrated and active citizens.

Several decades have passed since then, yet the school still needs to be improved. In fact, some teachers, often the older or less prepared, still look at students with SEN with suspicion, often simply relegating them to those who cannot reach too much. Instead, sometimes, all you need to do is change the educational strategy.

In fact, if a student is seen in this way, he will never be able to develop those qualities of self-esteem and self-confidence that are needed for the world of today. And allowing self-confidence to develop is an indispensable task for school, especially nowadays. Today, albeit with difficulty, the purpose of an effective teaching activity is no longer just that of transmitting knowledge, but also and above all that of forming the citizens of the future, aware of their own strengths. Today, in fact, the soft skills of active citizenship are fundamental.

Fortunately, legislation has come to help, and today more and more teachers are prepared and attentive and try not to leave anyone behind, especially as regards the use of a language that makes the contents accessible to all students [5]. Indeed, language education must be inclusive.

For students with learning disabilities sometimes targeted and individualized actions are needed. Many of the activities implemented with these students could derive from common sense, but, since not all teachers could show the same sensitivity, the schools, based on the certification from a specialist, prepare a PDP, (Personalized Didactic Plan). This document contains the instructions to follow and lists the compensatory tools to be used. It is a fundamental document, which is not only useful for pupils, but also for teachers to structure their work [6].

3. The importance of inclusiveness

Inclusiveness in school is maybe the most important mission today. Only a school that is dedicated to everyone can in fact say that it has not failed in its purpose. This is because learning, education, and the possibility of forming the skills necessary for life are not the prerogative of a small portion of society but must increasingly be “for everyone” [7].

In theory, in this historical period school is already, in itself, inclusive. In fact, since the time of the youth protests of 1968, we have gone from an élite school to a school “for all”, with educational paths which allow, starting from any type of high school, to reach the highest levels of study and working career. Thus, today, in Italy, both those who come from a professional institute and those who come from a high school have in theory the same chances of profitably undertaking studies of medicine, law, and architecture at the university. Any type of high school is, in theory, good and well organized, and professional institutes are no longer the second-choice school for those who have to start working early because they are unable to study, but offer, in addition to the acquisition of practical skills that can be immediately used in the world of work, a respectable theoretical training. However, this is not entirely true in practice. In fact, vocational schools are still the ones frequented most by those with cognitive disabilities or social disadvantages, while high schools are attended by young people from good families, who have a social and cultural environment behind them capable of supporting them.

There are still many students that the school gets lost along the way. This is no longer due to rejections (which have become increasingly rare), but to the fact that some students drop out of school early, without even completing compulsory schooling. This phenomenon is already evident starting from middle school (ages 11–14 years), where, despite all the growing attention provided by the legislation, it still happens that someone lets go and stops attending school. Often they are those who belong to an extremely poor and unstimulating family and social environment and who, despite certifications and PDP for SEN students, however fail to be truly integrated.

In high school, the gap widens. In fact, in high schools the number of students with certifications for cognitive disabilities is really low, while it increases exponentially in technical institutes and above all in professional ones, where it happens to find classes made up almost entirely of students with some certificate for cognitive disabilities (SLD or generically SEN). What is said here is based on the personal experience of the author of the article, who taught in professional institutes where the cognitive level of the students was really low. Although the school worked out individual plans for each pupil, some would simply disappear and never come to school again. This above all is because the families perceived school as “wasted time” and pushed their children to undertake career paths, even at a very early age. The students, for their part, often thought like their parents, perhaps because they did not really manage to feel integrated in school and they did not perceive the activities that the school offered as important. They stood aside.

For true inclusion, on the contrary, the school should be interesting, show the importance of a course for pupils, and involve them in the educational process. This is very difficult because it involves a shift of attention from the transmission of knowledge to the development of soft skills. Only in this way can inclusion be achieved [8, 9, 10]. The main objective is to create optimal learning conditions for all students, to smooth out difficulties and differences, in order to enable each student to discover, enhance, and express his own potential to the fullest.

Among the teaching strategies that can be used at school to increase inclusivity, metacognitive teaching must also be kept in mind. This term is used to indicate an educational approach that is based not only on learning notions but also on self-reflection and on the development of cognitive processes. All this is to improve problem-solving skills and increase attention during the lesson. The teacher has to continuously stimulate the student by providing him with the necessary resources to achieve this goal. In addition to the classical subjects that are studied at school, it is also important to integrate Art and Music, as they allow the activation of multifunctional learning and the development of fundamental cognitive processes.

To achieve an inclusive school, it is first necessary to create a positive school environment, in which children feel comfortable and free to express themselves. It is necessary to make students understand that they should not be afraid of mistakes, but that they can be exploited to improve. In the same way, it is necessary to enhance strengths and minimize weaknesses [11].

Furthermore, inclusive teaching is highly participatory, that is, it foresees total transparency and sharing of objectives, contents, methods, and verification of the teaching process. It recognizes the importance of developing a community capable of progressively developing its own operating methods. Also, aware students of the training offer are more likely to achieve the expected learning goals [12].

4. The role of soft skills in school

Therefore, soft skills are increasingly central in school, also because they allow the students to be trained, and they will be useful to students not only in the world of work but also in any situation of daily life [13]. For years the European Commission has been insisting that schools take charge of enhancing the characteristics of each student, so that students can develop abilities, such as resilience, adaptation to change, problem solving, leadership, and decision making. In particular, the European Commission [14] has emphasized the need to develop the so-called “European competences”, which appear to be eight, to be considered all of equal importance:

• functional literacy competence;

• multilingual competence;

• mathematical competence and basic competence in science and technology;

• digital competence;

• personal, social competence and the ability to learn;

• social and civic competence in citizenship;

• entrepreneurial competence;

• competence in cultural awareness and expression.

To adequately develop these skills, however, it takes a learning environment that is marked by real exchange and real sharing [15].

The development of soft skills is in fact directly related to the environment in which one finds himself studying: since they are skills that concern the development of the person in general, they cannot be separated from social interactions. And an environment in which relationships are good allows for great developments; on the contrary, an environment, which judges only negatively or even simply not very stimulating, can be ineffective.

For the environment to be a suitable place for real learning, everyone needs to feel comfortable. Students with learning disabilities do not always feel comfortable. Sometimes it is enough for them to see that what their classmates do well for them constitutes an obstacle to blocking them. And this emotional blockage can invalidate not only the acquisition of knowledge but also the global development of the person, the development of active citizenship skills [16]. Therefore, we must do so as to allow as much as possible a healthy, peaceful learning environment, without stress [17, 18]. In fact, a student is able to give the best of himself only when he feels he is understood and appreciated by his teachers [19].

Below are described some exercises, which have been conducted in a primary school in Sondrio [20], in the North of Italy, to ensure that children learned to recognize and manage emotions.

The activities concerned the following life skills:

1. Management of emotions: for the management of emotions, the following game was proposed to the children, which makes them to learn that emotions can vary in intensity, “The thermometer of emotions”, on the basis of which students are presented with situations that would arouse different emotions in them. The pupils must then mark on the drawing of a thermometer as far as the fever line would rise to show them the intensity of each emotion. Finally, after 3 days, they are asked to think back to the same situations with a cool head to see if the level of emotions could change;

2. Self-awareness: to promote self-awareness, the following game has been proposed, among the others. This exercise aims to bring children, through the mechanism of identification, to understand and then to be able to communicate to others their characteristics, qualities, limits, ideas, and emotions. The game is “Three characters in search of an author”. Children are invited to write on a piece of paper the name of the character they would like to resemble (fairy tale character, invented or existing) and they will have to explain the reasons for their choice. On another sheet, the children will have to write the name of a character to whom they would not like to resemble at all (always a fairy tale character, invented or existing) and will also have to explain the reasons for the choice. Finally, on another sheet, they will have to write the name of the character they feel they resemble the most (always a fairy tale character, invented or existing) and write what characteristics they feel they have in common;

3. Ability to interpersonal relationships: for the ability to interpersonal relationship the following game has been proposed, “I talk by listening”. The purpose is to communicate and interact with others. Children are placed opposite to each other. They are asked to speak one at a time, starting the speech with the phrase “I think that… ”. They are then invited to reflect on what they have said to themselves, what feelings they have felt in relation to themselves and their companions. The elements to bring out are the following: avoid telling another person that what he thinks does not make sense, explain the point of view well, do not be offensive nor aggressive, listen to the others, try to understand what the others think, and compare thoughts with those of the others;

4. Effective communication: for the effective communication, the game of the riddle has been proposed. The purpose was that of expressing through non-verbal communication. A child has to represent an emotion, without speaking, only with the expression of the face and the other children must understand what emotion it is. At the end of the game, the child must explain what he felt in performing the task;

5. Ability to solve problems: the game “Turn on the light bulb” has been proposed. The purpose was to know a problem in all its aspects and to think about possible solutions. There are two ways of carrying out. First mode “I produce ideas”. Starting from a fairy tale or from a real tale, which proposes a problem, the students, individually, will write as many ideas as possible about the solution. Each idea will be displayed on a sheet in order to collect all the ideas and group them according to similar solutions. The aim is to obtain a combination of proposals that highlights the possibility of multiple solutions. Second mode “I design the solution”. Starting from a fairy tale or from a real tale, the students will try, individually, to draw the solution to the problem. The problematic scene could also be “acted” through roleplaying. All solutions can be staged. Only then will a reflection be made to identify the most satisfactory and functional one;

6. Critical thinking: on critical thinking, the game “TV says it… and then?” has been proposed. The purpose is to know some mechanisms of advertising to stimulate critical consumption. Children are asked to write down: two advertisements made on TV—two cartoons and two brands (case, backpack, shoes or clothes…), then they are asked to reflect to help them develop “interpretations” of the persuasive processes underlying advertising. We have to “deconstruct” advertising, trying to answer questions such as “What is advertising?”, “What goals does it intend to achieve?”, and “How does it try to achieve them?”;

7. Ability to make decisions: in order to develop the ability to make decisions, the following game has been proposed: “Let’s find a solution together!”. The purpose was to deepen positive and negative aspects of each individual decision in order to clarify the different points of view and to be able to make a decision as a group. Children are told about a problem close to their hearts. Then you make a chart on the blackboard in which everyone marks a possible solution. Solutions are discussed and evaluated, and in the end the group takes the one that seems the best.

5. Most common strategies

What is presented here is a list and an analysis of the most commonly and usually adopted strategies with students with SEN, which however constitute only the starting point for other and better forms of adaptation. These tools are not exactly technological, but rather they are strategies that allow to partially overcome those problems that do not allow the student to learn with serenity [14].

There are many strategies that can encourage the development of soft skills in school. These are learning tools, therefore for the acquisition of knowledge rather than relational skills, but they are essential because they can allow you to overcome, at least in part, some blocking mechanisms that do not allow you to learn with serenity.

These tools can simply range from using a more legible font to reformulating a text in more accessible language to segmenting the text into small subtexts so that students can grasp the key points of the articulation of the speech. Usually they are still simple tools, possible with only the use of a simple word processing program [21, 22, 23].

A larger and more legible font can improve the visual aspect of an entire text and in itself is a small help, but very important for those with dyslexia problems, because it helps to better orient on the written page [24].

Segmenting a text into multiple subtexts helps students to better understand the structure of a text [25].

Translating a text into a simpler and more immediate language allows everyone to become familiar with the text itself and to appreciate its content. While the style of a story may go unnoticed, what is important is that the content is accessible to everyone.

Other useful methodologies for inclusive teaching should be the following:

• cooperative learning [26]. In this way the pupils are allowed to help each other, having a common goal as a point of arrival. Cooperative learning can be a valid aid in the development of self-esteem and for inclusiveness because it shifts the focus from the individual student to the group, given that the goal of the individual within the group also becomes the goal of the whole group. This type of activity can be well done with the help of technologies because there are programs which, in the form of a game, offer exercises for which cooperation is foreseen [27]. The same game to review topics, Kahoot, involves forming various teams in which pupils pool their knowledge to win the competition;

• group projects [28], which usually include the chance to develop the ability of discussing, problem solving, and goal setting. All members have different points of view, and this will help them to develop skills of understanding and analyzing a situation in order to achieve better results. For group work to be effective and all students participate feeling comfortable, it is necessary to involve them, one by one. It is likely that a more shy and insecure student tends to be silent and participate little in discussions. Then the teacher must be so good as to allow him to integrate into the group, to be listened to. Teachers have to be very good at giving each student a suitable task for him and always monitor the progress of the work, to prevent classmates from putting the student aside with SEN;

• another useful tool is peer tutoring [29]. Peer tutoring can be very effective for struggling students [30]. In Liceo Scientifico “A. Vallisneri of Lucca there is a project called “One to one”, which connects two students: a younger and often weaker student who is supported in his studies by an older colleague [31]. In this way, the best students have the opportunity to learn to paraphrase, to make simple topics more complex, while the weaker ones can benefit from a language much closer to their experience. This activity has also allowed the creation of friendship bonds, which have gone beyond the simple educational path, with the development of self-esteem and self-confidence [32];

• flipped classroom [33]. This can be a valid resource because the students get involved learning by themselves, trying to develop the best strategies for solving problems. Also in this case, the weakest can be supported by the best students, given the common goal toward which the class tends. The flipped classroom makes it possible to apply what has been learned, often individually, to problems to be solved. Therefore, what has been learned on a theoretical level does not remain so, but becomes the tool for solving often practical problems and in this allows the theory to become truly significant [34]. The flipped classroom is an excellent methodology aimed at inclusive teaching, as it allows each student to mark their own learning rhythms and to establish a personalized path, which, although common to the whole class, takes into account the educational needs of everyone. If the learning objectives set are not achieved by all students in the same time, it is necessary to dwell further on what is studied. Only when the goals are achieved by the whole class, it will be possible to move on to a higher level of knowledge to build the acquisition of effective skills, which can be effectively spent in all environments of social life;

• role playing [35] consists of simulating attitudes generally adopted in real life. Students must assume the roles assigned by the teacher. This technique has the objective of acquiring the ability to impersonate a role and to understand in depth what the role requires. Role playing is a real subject play. It concerns the behaviors of individuals in interpersonal relationships in precise situations to find out how people can react in such circumstances. The teacher is required to respect students in their choices and reactions without judging;

• circle time [36] is considered one of the most effective methodologies in socio-affective education. The participants are arranged in a circle, with a conductor who has the role of coordinating the debate within a fixed time frame. The sequence of interventions according to the order of the circle must be respected. The conductor assumes the role of privileged interlocutor in asking questions or providing answers. The circle time facilitates circular communication, promotes self-knowledge, promotes the active expression of ideas, opinions, feelings, and personal experiences, and, finally, creates a climate of serenity and sharing, facilitating the establishment of a new working group.

Below an example of “good practices” follows, with references to the school where they have developed and the results obtained.

In the comprehensive institute “De Gasperi Stefano” (Putignano, Bari) [37] in a primary school class, the following reading workshop was carried out.

A primary school class read Sepulveda’s novel The Story of The Cat Who Taught Seagulls To Fly. The reading was carried out aloud. The teacher used all the available spaces, even the garden, for recording voices through the interactive monitor. The readings were carried out in a reading circle, combined with moments of dramatization and cooperative-learning activities. Then the children were guided to create and describe the various sequences in which the story can be divided, presenting everything in a lapbook. The students created the most important scenes on cardboard sheets, using recycled material and various graphic-painting techniques. They interpreted the various characters, lending their voices. The children worked on emotions and, in particular, on the value of friendship and solidarity. They even rhymed the story, creating an opening nursery rhyme to the lapbook. A multiple-choice test has been proposed, developed for the comprehension of the text. Descriptive texts, summaries, and text analysis were also added.

This kind of exercise allowed the students to highlight and use different expressive skills, making them work together to compose a unique product, and refined their ability of comparison with different points of view and negotiation.

6. The role of the emerging technologies

In recent times more and more use has been made of emerging technologies [38], which make it possible to fill the gap that separates students with learning difficulties from others, in favor of greater equality.

Technological tools and their increasingly advanced functions are allowing for a growing participation of people with disabilities in various social and professional contexts, opening up spaces for the realization of personal and professional inclusion.

This concerns not only people with sensory disabilities, through the use of aids useful for overcoming the concrete situation of disadvantage, but, more generally, also all situations in which heterogeneous difficulties of a relational, intellectual, and cognitive nature are present. In fact, technology can show “old” topics in a new light, it can make the educational process captivating, and it can attract the attention of those who normally exclude themselves from interaction because they find studying boring and meaningless [39].

Now many dedicated software are available, with facilitating purposes, structured in a multiple and functional way with respect to the specificities. They are particularly useful in training contexts, as they allow for new approaches and possibilities to teaching, offering multiple opportunities that respond to different needs. Above all, what is important is the fact that technological tools allow a great personalization of learning; therefore, they are a useful tool for inclusiveness.

These are instruments on which the work of the National Association of Families of People with Intellectual and/or Relational Disabilities (ANFFAS) has focused heavily in recent years, starting from the consideration of the fact that the intellectual and/or relational disability is present preponderantly, representing the most widespread form of disability. For the purposes of learning opportunities, we recall that the ANFFAS made a project, which involved the creation of an interactive and implementable tool to provide concrete technological support to the learning of people with intellectual and/or relational disabilities. The platform was created with the aim of allowing operators, teachers, and families to develop, use, and share interactive exercises to be used in various learning contexts, concerning autonomy, school education, vocational training, and recreational act [40].

More generally, the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) [41] in learning contexts promotes the motivation, participation, and interaction of students with intellectual disabilities; it also helps to maintain attention and promotes the development of self-esteem. In fact, they are easier to use than traditional tools, also because of the possibility of repetition. In schools, around 80% of the disabilities present are of an intellectual and/or relational type: if we consider the delays in the social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities, these support tools for training activities appear particularly welcome and useful. In fact, it is necessary to realize the objective of the general improvement of the quality of their life project and guarantee their right to participate, enhancing and implementing the learning, enabling the inclusive opportunities that can be achieved at school.

7. Examples of “good practices”

For more than 25 years, the AID (Italian Dyslexia Association) has been offering tools and suggestions for elementary school children. There are compensatory tools that can be good for bringing children closer to reading. There are also specialist laboratories that can help them with this problem [42].

Fundamental for reading is the AID book, which provides textbooks in a digital format. Students can interact through compensatory software, for example, to read it through vocal synthesis, or highlight and copy parts of the book in pdf to create concept maps. In this sense, this book contributes to the educational success, scholastic inclusion, and greater autonomy of the student with DSA [43].

For reading fiction books especially, there are the following tools:

• talking digital books: e-books in open pdf format, which incorporate within them the recording of the expressive reading of the text aloud [44]. The digital talking book is therefore a tool that combines the written text with a highly expressive voice reading, synchronized with the text, activating a pleasant multisensory experience that enhances understanding of meaning. These are audio recordings, in mp3 format, of the reading aloud of a book that can be listened to on computers, tablets, smartphones, and mp3 players. Listening is complementary to reading, and therefore, listening to an audiobook can be considered an extension of the reading experience. The long-term positive effects of reading audiobooks involve motivation, the acquisition of new language skills, the consolidation of narrative intelligence, the development of listening skills, and the ability to create mental images based on verbal code. The digital talking book also allows the user to jump through text looking for specific topics or word searches. The books are operated with the use of a digital reader of talking books, with a series of control keys that allow the reader to juggle the text at will. This distinguishes the digital talking book from simple audio books that only allow the reader to stop, start, and rewind the book looking for a certain point in the presentation;

• concept maps, with various software dedicated to their construction, which are very useful because they allow to put order in the confusion of information, to identify the fundamental junctions, to understand which information is more important than others, etc. There are many softwares. Some simply contain ready-made concept maps on any subject. Others, however, are interactive and allow students to adapt them according to their needs. Again, concept maps are essential above all because they allow students to work independently and to develop their own study method. These concept maps are especially useful for the study of theoretical topics, such as literature, history etc. They allow, in fact, to identify the fundamental points, and they are useful to develop the logical reasoning [45];

• technologies for Math. There are various tools in this category [46]. An example are spreadsheets, which allow to perform mathematical operations on a blank spreadsheet with the advantage of keeping the page more orderly and readable than would be possible on a written sheet. Another aid consists of talking calculators, which through vocal synthesis read aloud the various steps of the operations that take place.

8. Personalization in teaching

The use of digital tools is also important because it allows greater attention to the students.

Each student, in fact, is the bearer of unique characteristics. Therefore, teaching should be personalized, so as to get the best out of each of them. For students with learning disabilities, this type of attention care is even more important. Forcing them to face the same tasks as other classmates can in fact be a source of stress for them and become counterproductive.

Similarly, acting toward them in a standardized way, adapting solutions chosen for other students, can prove equally counterproductive.

In this situation the use of new technologies can help a lot. This is because the use of certain tools allows the teacher to focus attention precisely on the individual student, to prepare lessons designed specifically for him. In fact, technology offers the possibility of continuously adapting supports (such as the content of digital books), so that they can be adapted from time to time to whoever is in front of them. In addition, it allows to use multiple sensory channels and switch from one language to another, looking for the best way to present a topic, adapting it to the characteristics of the students.

Obviously caring for students with learning disabilities requires great care on the part of teachers. Technology alone is not enough. It requires teachers to use the tools to respond to the needs of individual students, in the name of that personalization of teaching that the school increasingly requires [47].

Some technological tools, however, may be fine for lessons aimed at the whole class. For example, there are softwares for presentations, which offer various possibilities for less boring, stimulating, even funny lessons. In fact, they allow to associate multiple sensory channels, therefore different ways to convey a concept, combining drawings, music, etc. Therefore, they are suitable for different students because they can stimulate different cognitive styles.

For example, augmented reality [48] can be useful both for the whole class and for SEN, to help them in the learning process. In fact, it is used to show in 3D everything that in the mind, or even just on the book, can be visualized with difficulty. It has several advantages:

• real-world annotation (whereby the speed values and the corresponding graph are noted on a moving real ball);

• contextual visualization (through the visualization of the virtual content in a specific real-world context, which helps students build a more elaborate knowledge network);

• haptic visualization (so two sensory modalities are combined, such as the sense of sight and touch).

Other positive aspects are the fact that the learning medium is linked to the real world, that students have an active role in the learning process, that this type of activity helps memorization, that students can access resources independently, and the fact that this activity stimulates cooperative learning.

9. Learning for all: the example of the UDL (Universal Design for Learning)

The purpose of education is not just to master content or technology. This is why the UDL [49] is needed.

The expression Universal Design for Learning (UDL) indicates a method of planning and managing educational practice aimed at meeting the different learning methods and the different conditions that may arise in different contexts [50]. The term Universal Design for Learning was coined by the architect Ronald Mace to define an innovative design method intended to create inclusive contexts for the various human activities (from the home, to objects of use, to study contexts, leisure, urban planning and urban furniture and the structuring of places of culture, etc.).

The criteria of Universal Design Learning foresee seven general principles:

• Principle 1—Fairness—it must be usable by everyone.

• Principle 2—Flexibility—everything designed should be flexible in use to suit different abilities.

• Principle 3—Simplicity—everything that is designed must have an intuitive use; therefore, it must be easy to understand.

• Principle 4—Perceivability—everything that is designed must be presented in such a way that the essential information is clearly perceivable in relation to the various modalities or disabilities of the users.

• Principle 5—Tolerance for error—everything that is designed must include a use that minimizes unintended actions.

• Principle 6—Containment of physical effort—everything that is designed must be usable with minimal physical effort.

• Principle 7—Sufficient size and space—everything designed must provide adequate space for access and use.

The most important principles of the UDL are summarized as follows:

• use multiple ways of presenting information (different communication methods);

• use simple language and promote cross-understanding across different languages;

• promote in each student the ability to transform accessible information into usable knowledge, the ability to process information, integrate new information, restructure the field of knowledge. The key word of the UDL is flexibility, a word dear to school autonomy, understood as a tool for adapting, supporting, and modifying the information presented to students, in order to guarantee everyone the same opportunities for educational success.

The principles of the UDL are therefore all comparable to an inclusive itinerary and it would be a good activity to experiment the principles of the UDL within curricular planning [51].

Every student in fact learns differently based on multiple factors. The purpose of the UDL is to improve the learning experience of students, introducing more flexible teaching methods and having students learn in ways they are most comfortable with. This is important because the learning process happens differently from one person to another. In fact, each student has specific ways of being involved, specific methods of acquiring information, different methods of expression.

The UDL allows to reduce learning barriers, present information in ways that suit the students, increase involvement of all students, and make students more aware and confident.

Various studies highlight the close connection between motivation and learning. Motivated students should know what they are learning and recognize its importance. However, one method of engagement is not suitable for everyone. Therefore, students should be given the opportunity to make choices, create a climate of acceptance and support among students, allow for active participation and experimentation, and give continuous feedback.

To personalize it would be necessary to offer alternatives of audio materials, of visual materials, to divide the information into smaller ones, and to provide supports for memorization [52].

The UDL allows the implementation of the principle of personalization in curriculum planning and tends to respect the different individualities and to eliminate the labeling of students (H, DSA, ADHD, BES, etc.), still strongly rooted in the current school and university language which, in fact, mortifies the very concept of inclusion and of every person’s educational right.

According to this approach, which envisages an inclusive structuring of the educational contents from the outset, the need to resort to subsequent compensatory measures is greatly reduced – almost to the point of eliminating it.

In distance teaching in web-based learning mode, it is very important that the different individual modulations of intelligence and cognitive styles are respected and that the structuring of online materials is respectful of these needs.

It would also be good to provide different ways of verifying (written test, oral presentation, group work, etc.), so that students can express what they have learned in the most congenial ways.

UDL does not conflict with other methods and practices, since it incorporates and supports many modern teaching approaches, such as cooperative learning, project-based learning, multi-sensory learning, performance-based assessment, theory-based teaching of multiple intelligences, etc.

Surely teachers could use the principles in various contents of their program: doing it with the UDL would often mean using universal languages and as widely understood as possible (e.g. case studies, music, role playing). It is also desirable, when using the UDL, to use a variety of materials (online resources, videos, podcasts, PowerPoint, e-books) and provide cognitive supports (e.g. final synthesis of the lesson, tutoring via scaffolding, etc.).

10. Case analysis

The following case relates to a second-year class of an agricultural technical institute for the teaching of Italian Literature, History, and Geography. It was a class of thirty pupils, nine of whom had a DSA certificate. They were almost all male tending toward distraction.

For the first time of the year, the teacher tried to teach them in the traditional way. However, they continued to be distracted and their assessments were not satisfactory. This despite the fact that the teacher customized the written texts for them. In fact, they had no confidence in their own possibilities and, if on the one hand they required more and more attention and increasingly simplified tasks, on the other they placed a barrier to any type of interaction.

At one point the teacher decided to contact the referent for inclusion of the school. She suggested to use cooperative learning to make collaboration between students more active. So the teacher divided the main topic she intended to cover at the time into six different subtopics, then she also divided the whole class into six subgroups of five people, and she assigned each group a different topic to develop and to present to the rest of the class with a PowerPoint presentation.

The teacher assigned to each group very detailed information, very specific tasks to carry out, and notes to take. Thus, one student had to deal with the biography of the author, two with presenting the work and analyzing it, according to the guidelines provided by the teacher, another had to deal with the graphic aspect of the presentation, and another, weaker, had to supervise the entire process and make sure that the tasks were carried out within the foreseen limits.

The rest of the class, during the presentation, had to take notes by filling in a question form that the teacher set up. Students engaged in the presentation, on the other hand, had to write questions based on their presentation, which were then submitted to the rest of the class as a verification of the acquisition of the contents. At the end of the entire learning process the teacher submitted the students to a written test. The test consisted of various types of questions: semi-structured open questions, multiple-choice questions, etc.

This type of lesson was very successful because all students felt to be part of the educational process for the first time, and even those who were in the most difficulty gained confidence and self-esteem, because they no longer felt left out, but for the first time they felt put on the same level as the others and they felt they were an integral part of a team. The students were so satisfied that asked to approach all the other topics in the same way.

11. Conclusions

The task of the school nowadays is no longer just that of transmitting knowledge, but also and above all that of forming aware citizens. As for students with intellectual disabilities are concerned, school has an even greater task, that of not losing anyone, but of including them, allowing them to overcome, at least in part, those intellectual disabilities that do not allow them to reach good levels. School must therefore become more and more inclusive and focus on the acquisition of soft skills as those that will help the citizens of the future to be successful not only in their studies but also in their working life. Since more than 10 years ago in Italy laws were promulgated in favor of inclusive teaching for SLD or generically for SEN, many improvements have been made. But much still remains to be done. Emerging technologies, with that character of novelty and personalized teaching that they allow, can be very useful in being able to involve students with intellectual disabilities more and more profitably.