Progettazione di un kit di supporto ai corsi Project Based Learning: il ruolo del tutor nel modello Tech to Market.

L’istruzione superiore in Europa è stata oggetto di un significativo processo di riforma: è aumentato l’interesse per un modello di apprendimento intorno ai progetti, centrato sullo studente, che favorisse lo sviluppo di competenze trasversali – il project-based learning (PBL). Inserire il PBL nelle Università richiede un processo di innovazione didattica: il curriculum di un corso PBL e le competenze richieste all’insegnante si differenziano dall’apprendimento tradizionale. Senza un'adeguata attenzione ai metodi di supporto per insegnanti e studenti, questi approcci innovativi non saranno ampiamente adottati. L’obiettivo di questo studio è determinare in che modo sia possibile implementare un corso PBL non presenziato da figure esperte di PBL. Le domande della ricerca sono: è possibile implementare efficacemente un approccio PBL senza il coinvolgimento di esperti dei metodi di progettazione? come si declinano i ruoli della facilitazione secondo questa configurazione: come si definisce il ruolo di tutor d’aula? come rafforzare il supporto per l’implementazione del corso? Per rispondere alle domande di ricerca è stata utilizzata la metodologia AIM-R. Viene presentata la prima iterazione dell’implementazione di un corso di questo tipo, durante la quale sono state svolte attività di ricerca e raccolta dati. L’attività di facilitazione è affidata a tre figure diverse: docente, tutor d’aula e coach professionisti. Su questa base, sono stati definiti gli elementi costituenti un kit di materiale a supporto per l’implementazione di corsi PBL. Oltre a un set di documenti e strumenti condivisi, sono stati elaborati i vademecum per guidare studenti, tutor e docenti all’implementazione di questo tipo di corsi. Ricerche future dovranno essere volte a identificare fattori aggiuntivi che rendano applicabile il kit di supporto per corsi basati su un modello diverso dal Tech to Market o che utilizzino strumenti di progettazione diversi da quelli proposti durante la prima iterazione.

Investigating strategies and indicators for sustainable campus: Comparison and synergies between University of Bologna and Delft University of Technology

Sustainable development is one of the biggest challenges of the twenty fist-century. Various university has begun the debate about the content of this concept and the ways in which to integrate it into their policy, organization and activities. Universities have a special responsibility to take over a leading position by demonstrating best practices that sustain and educate a sustainable society. For that reason universities have the opportunity to create the culture of sustainability for today’s student, and to set their expectations for how the world should be. This thesis aim at analyzing how Delft University of Technology and University of Bologna face the challenge of becoming a sustainable campus. In this context, both universities have been studied and analyzed following the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) methodology that provides a common framework to formalize commitments and goals at campus level. In particular this work has been aimed to highlight which key performance indicators are essential to reach sustainability as a consequence the following aspects has been taken into consideration: energy use, water use, solid waste and recycling, carbon emission. Subsequently, in order to provide a better understanding of the current state of sustainability on University of Bologna and Delft University of Technology, and potential strategies to achieve the stated objective, a SWOT Analysis has been undertaken. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats have been shown to understand how the two universities can implement a synergy to improve each other. In the direction of framing a “Sustainable SWOT” has been considered the model proposed by People and Planet, so it has been necessary to evaluate important matters as for instance policy, investment, management, education and engagement. Regarding this, it has been fundamental to involve the main sustainability coordinators of the two universities, this has been achieved through a brainstorming session. Partnerships are key to the achievement of sustainability. The creation of a bridge between two universities aims to join forces and to create a new generation of talent. As a result, people can become able to support universities in the exchange of information, ideas, and best practices for achieving sustainable campus operations and integrating sustainability in research and teaching. For this purpose the project "SUCCESS" has been presented, the project aims to create an interactive European campus network that can be considered a strategic key player for sustainable campus innovation in Europe. Specifically, the main key performance indicators have been analyzed and the importance they have for the two universities and their strategic impact have been highlighted. For this reason, a survey was conducted with people who play crucial roles for sustainability within the two universities and they were asked to evaluate the KPIs of the project. This assessment has been relevant because has represented the foundation to develop a strategy to create a true collaboration.

A biophysical model for valence-based navigational learning: the role of D-Serine

Recent experiments have revealed the fundamental importance of neuromodulatory action on activity-dependent synaptic plasticity underlying behavioral learning and spatial memory formation. Neuromodulators affect synaptic plasticity through the modification of the dynamics of receptors on the synaptic membrane. However, chemical substances other than neuromodulators, such as receptors co-agonists, can influence the receptors' dynamics and thus participate in determining plasticity. Here we focus on D-serine, which has been observed to affect the activity thresholds of synaptic plasticity by co-activating NMDA receptors. We use a computational model for spatial value learning with plasticity between two place cell layers. The D-serine release is CB1R mediated and the model reproduces the impairment of spatial memory due to the astrocytic CB1R knockout for a mouse navigating in the Morris water maze. The addition of path-constraining obstacles shows how performance impairment depends on the environment's topology. The model can explain the experimental evidence and produce useful testable predictions to increase our understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying learning.