In the project “La Scuola Diffusa” we worked with a primary and middle public school situated in a vulnerable neighborhood of Milan to transform traditional learning spaces into more open, flexible and inclusive places for the entire school community, to be used during and after school hours. These schools faced additional challenges during the lockdown, forcing to turn teaching activities in to distance learning, enhancing existing inequalities.
The project builds upon the groundwork laid by the previous project P.A.R.I., focused on opening schools to the city, turning them into reference point not just for students, but also for families and inhabitants, by promoting educational, cultural, and social activities in collaboration with local stakeholders. The idea is that schools can be the centre of a larger Educating Community, open, shared and spread in the territory.
Starting from this background, the focus of this project was the rethinking of learning environments and methodologies, with the main goal of facilitating inclusive learning, helping to reduce inequalities due to specific backgrounds and means of each family.
We focused on identifying underused spaces within the school and redesigning them with the involvement of teachers and experts in innovative teaching methods, to transform them into innovative, flexible learning environments, designed not only for students but also for the local community. ASF oversaw the redesign of the spaces and its execution, with the consultancy of the social enterprise Altisensi, experts in innovative, active, and workshop-based teaching that promotes cross-curricular cognitive skills, with particular attention to divergent thinking and socio-emotional, communication, and relational skills.
The redesigned involved two adjacent spaces: an atrium, converted into a workshop space with a small auditorium and flexible teaching areas; and an adjacent corridor, transformed into an immersive and interactive exhibition space.
