at the IIS Einstein De Lorenzo a new way of teaching thanks to this project which involved small groups of elderly people. The details

Tomorrow, Saturday 20 April at 10.30 am in the Aula Magna of the IIS Einstein De Lorenzo will be held in via Sicilia, 4 the final event for the presentation of the work carried out as part of the “Service Learning” project activities created by our institute in collaboration with Il Sorriso III-Protected facility for the elderly located in the municipality of Potenza.

The project, developed in the second part of the school year, has strong social and cultural relevance important impact for students and elderly guests of the residenceunfolded through several active workshops which involved groups of students and small groups of elderly people with the aim of going beyond the classroom and putting what they learned at school at the service of others.

Called “The service of education is educating to the service – Let’s support the smile with mind, hand and heart”, the project is part of the pedagogical approach of Service Learning promoted by MIM, Avanguardie Educative and INDIRE (important institutes of educational and didactic research), as well as embraced since 2019 by our Institute as the lead school of the Mediterranean Service-Learning Network for Basilicata.

“Einstein De Lorenzo”, aware of how important the effective usability of the knowledge and skills acquired by students is for the development of motivation, but also favorable to the construction of the common good, to the development of civil and moral values, to the exercise of active citizenship, has intercepted the need for pay more attention to the older and/or weaker component of the populationimplementing initiatives open to the territory in an intergenerational and supportive way to accustom the new generations to implement behaviors that can bring about an improvement in their living context.

The following will take part in the presentation:

• the headmaster of the “Einstein-De Lorenzo”, Domenico Gravante,

• the Service Learning representative of the USR Basilicata Barbara Coviello,

• the representatives of Sorriso III-Protected facility for the elderly.

Given the social relevance that the initiative has for the city community, the invitation was also extended to the Councilors for Public Education and Social Policies of the Municipality of Potenza.

Great space will be reserved for the reports of the students of the Chemistry, Materials and Biotechnology-Mechanics, Mechatronics and Energy courses, true protagonists of the activities who have put their technical-scientific, chemical, and 3D design and printingavailable to Sorriso III.

Assisted by teachers Irene Donnoli, Anna Maria Giugliano, Maria Teresa Lopardo, Dina Smaldone, Marco Cuccarese (Chemistry address) Vincenzo Carlucci, Patrizia D’Andria, Gerardo Polosa, Giuseppe Tortorelli (Mechanics address) and supported by professors Maria Emilia Cavaliere (Referent of the Project) and Maria Ripullone (DS Collaborator) organized and conducted, with some elderly people selected by the structurelaboratory actions during which the techniques for creating new products were demonstrated starting from the extraction of essential oils from natural sources and waste materials.

After an initial phase carried out in the school chemical analysis laboratories, the students had a meeting with both the managers of the facility and the selected guests and a first sensorial laboratory to stimulate the memory of ancient customs in participants.

They were then produced potpourri, creams, candles and soaps using special equipment and containers designed and printed in 3D at the school’s mechanical laboratories.

A valuable contribution to the project was therefore provided by the students of the Mechanics major who, implementing their drawing skills with specific software, created shapes, moulds, lies and jars with lids bearing the school logo which, obtained in 3D, proved to be functional for carrying out the activities at the structure.

The inspiring principle of the project, divided into various phases, consists in applying knowledge and skills acquired at school in one’s own life context to respond to a need while simultaneously rediscovering, through direct observation of the effects of one’s learning, the motivation towards studying. .

No less important is the circularity of experience which, born from knowledge, produces new skills of an emotional-relational nature and aims to train people who are attentive to others, capable of taking care of society, of building a culture based on encounters and on free.

The actions implemented and undertaken thanks also to the collaboration of the social-welfare staff of the structure are evidence of a new way of teaching based on the combination of disciplinary skills, sustainability and citizenship.

Here are the pictures.