A Change Laboratory in an Italian High School
A Change Laboratory research intervention was carried out in an Italian high school in 2005. The principal of the school and the representative of the teachers contacted me because they wanted a training course on formative and summative evaluation and management of the classroom. A deep-seated tradition in Italy, from elementary school to university, consists in evaluating students one by one orally asking questions. These evaluations take place during the class hours, while the classmates follow and wait for their turn. Usually students are expected to sit silently while the evaluation takes place. Up to the high school, students are not allowed to leave the room during the class hours. Instead of a training course I suggested to conduct a Change Laboratory with the teachers on these same themes.
The Change Laboratory is a method of research intervention for developing educational and work practices (Engeström, 2007). The suggestion was enthusiastically received by the principal of the school and the representative of the teachers. A Change Laboratory was conducted by my research team with 12 teachers in the school for a period of three months. Also the school's technical assistant participated in the Change Laboratory sessions. During the intervention discussions led to the identification of the following problem that teachers were facing: the classes of about 30 students were difficult to manage while individual evaluations were performed. Other students did not show interest in the evaluation, got distracted and started doing other things. The intervention led to experimentation by the teachers with new ways of evaluating the students which broke out of the traditional mold of individual evaluation.
Recent related references
Sannino, A. (2010). Teachers’ talk of experiencing: Conflict, resistance and agency. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26, 838-844.
Sannino, A. (2010). The predictable failure of sustainable innovations in school? From warrants to actions and back to the future. In K. Yamazumi (Ed.), Activity theory and fostering learning: Developmental interventions in education and work (pp. 61-85). Osaka: Kansai University Press.