Objectives
This Focus Area pursues the objective to be a hub of experts in “innovative” teaching methods who can support colleagues. The Area also designs and delivers professional development opportunities for the teaching staff.
Activities
The two main activity streams currently underway reflect these objectives:
- Developing a platform that brings together student engagement techniques and active, participatory teaching practices, showcasing experiences from Politecnico di Torino lecturers. The platform serves as a central resource for colleagues who wish to introduce innovation into their classrooms.
- Delivering professional development courses aimed at strengthening lecturers’ teaching skills (such as Learning to Teach), as well as offering training sessions on specific topics, developed in collaboration with other TLlab Focus Areas and internal PoliTO communities.
Focus Area Lead: Elisa Guelpa – elisa.guelpa@polito.it
Activity Streams Leads and specialised staff:
Valentina Agostini, Michela Barosio, Daniele Botto, Carlos Castro, Enrico Cestino, Miriam Fiorenza, Lorenzo Galante, Maria Los Angeles Castro, Luciana Restuccia, Marta Anna Rizzo, Antonio Servetti, Giovanni Squillero, Marco Torchiano.
Objectives
This Focus Area primarily aims to identify effective strategies to recognise and enhance the work of lecturers involved in teaching, to promote and strengthen the role of the TLlab, and to assess its impact at multiple levels.
By its very nature, this Focus Area is closely interconnected with the other Focus Areas, as well as with several University bodies, working in close synergy with them.
Activities
- Defining tools to monitor the activities of the teaching staff, including teaching initiatives and support services provided to them;
- Developing strategies and tools to recognise and enhance the activities mapped through the above-mentioned monitoring process;
- Reviewing leading journals and publications in the field of teaching and learning in order to identify appropriate strategies to disseminate the outcomes of the initiatives promoted by the TLlab.
Focus Area Lead: Luca Giaccone, luca.giaccone@polito.it
Activity Streams Leads and specialised staff: Giovanni Bracco, Valter Ferrero, Daniela Maffiodo, Immacolata Mammoliti, Andrea Mazza, Silvia Maria Ronchetti, Alessandro Scattina, Ilaria Tobaldo, Riccardo Vesipa, Elena Vigliocco.
Objectives
The main objective of this Focus Area is to boost the competencies of lecturers who are involved in teaching in an international classroom, with particular attention to its intercultural dimensions. The Focus Area also seeks to foster and enhance teaching experiences in international contexts.
Activities
In close alignment with these objectives, the main activity streams include:
- Conducting a review of the current state of teaching in the international classroom at Politecnico di Torino, comparing the perceptions of international students, Italian students, and lecturers;
- Developing, in close collaboration with the Teaching Methods Focus Area, a specific training course on the international classroom, addressing both language and intercultural issues;
- Surveying and analysing teaching methodologies adopted in international classrooms abroad
Focus Area Lead: Andrea Ajmar, andrea.ajmar@polito.it
Activity Streams Leads and specialised staff: Fabrizio Barpi, Carlos Castro, Fabio Freschi, Maria Teresa Jack, Ian Charles Lister, Mary Ann Mcintosh, Margaret Pate, Elena Camilla Pede, Marta Serrano Van Der Laan, Riccardo Vesipa.
Objectives
This Focus Area aims to support teaching practices at both individual and structural levels. It is organized into three activity streams: Mentoring Project, Dialogue with the Collegi, and Attitude Improvement.
Additionally, this Focus Area is linked to the EduCare group, which works to raise awareness and provides training for lecturers on the needs of students with specific educational needs.
Activities
- Mentoring Project: Through peer observation and dialogue, lecturers have the opportunity to reflect on their teaching practices and plan improvements within their own courses.
- Dialogue with the Collegi: Dedicated meetings collect the training needs of the Collegi and highlight significant teaching experiences, allowing the TLLab to offer professional development activities that meet the needs of lecturers and Departments and to promote best teaching practices across the University.
- Attitude Improvement: This activity stream develops and offers training opportunities to support lecturers in the classroom and in their interactions with students.
Focus Area Lead: Francesca Ceragioli, francesca.ceragioli@polito.it
Activity Streams Leads and specialised staff: Alberto Botter, Giovanni Bracco, Manuela De Maddis, Laura Gastaldi, Beatrice Lerma, Immacolata Mammoliti, Diana Massai, Louena Shtrepi.
Objectives
The main objective of this Focus Area is to support the University and the teaching staff in implementing projects for the improvement of teaching quality, and to promote teaching models that foster active and high-quality learning within the University’s actual course catalogue.
Activities
Proposing actions to reorganize spaces, furnishings, equipment, and tools that facilitate active, experiential, and innovative teaching;
Defining strategies to integrate and support methodologies that enhance teaching quality;
Designing the TLlab visual identity, including updating the website, posters, and presentation templates
Focus Area Lead: Silvia Gron, silvia.gron@polito.it
Activity Streams Leads and specialised staff: Carlos Castro, Pietro Colella, Federico Colombo, Valerio Lo Verso, Immacolata Mammoliti, Manuela Mattone.
Objectives
The main objectives of this Focus Area are to promote research in teaching and learning within the University, support the creation of international networks for research in education, and encourage opportunities for internationally funded research projects.
Activities
The main activities, closely aligned with these objectives, include:
- Creating, disseminating, and supporting calls for projects in the field of innovative teaching proposed by Polito lecturers and funded by the University;
- Supporting teaching experimentation within the Learning to Teach courses, in close collaboration with the Teaching Methods Focus Area;
- Assisting the teaching staff in the preparation of project proposals in response to international calls for projects on education-related topics;
- Establishing international networks, in close collaboration with the Valorisation Focus Area, to foster research, innovation, and dissemination in teaching and learning.
Focus Area Lead: Laura Farinetti, laura.farinetti@polito.it
Activity Streams Leads and specialised staff: Carlos Castro, Enrico Cestino, Lorenzo Galante, Andrea Mazza, Alessandro Scattina.
Objectives
The main objectives of this Focus Area are to explore and promote emerging technologies and digital tools that support teaching and learning, with particular attention to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and to active and inclusive pedagogical approaches.
The Focus Area works in close collaboration with the Teaching Methods Focus Area to provide ongoing support and to offer regular professional development opportunities on the effective use of these technologies.
Activities
The activities of this Focus Area include:
- Analysing, promoting, and supporting the use of digital tools for teaching, such as Moodle, Padlet, instant polling applications, and similar platforms;
- Examining the impact of AI on teaching and learning, including the adoption of AI-based tools and large language models (LLMs);
- Supporting the use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in teaching contexts;
- Providing guidance on the design and development of video lectures and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs);
- Organising training sessions on the use of digital tools for teaching, both within the "Learning to Teach" course and through specific initiatives, in close collaboration with the Teaching Methods Focus Area;
- Collaborating with the ISIAD Department (IT Services and Digital Administration) on the development, design, integration, and/or acquisition of new digital tools for teaching;
- Assessing the impact of new educational technologies including in relation to scientific publications in the field of higher education pedagogy, in close collaboration with the Enhancement and Impact Focus Area.
Focus Area Lead: Paolo Manfredi, paolo.manfredi@polito.it
Activity Streams Leads and specialised staff: Carlos Castro, Giulia Bruno, Riccardo Coppola, Renato Ferrero, Fabio Freschi, Fabrizio Lamberti, Maria Los Angeles Castro, Massimo Messori, Marta Rizzo, Fabio Giulio Tonolo.