Progetti di tutoring per contrastare l’insuccesso scolastico e favorire la motivazione ad apprendere nella scuola secondaria
Paola Ricchiardi, Emanuela Torre
International literature has for some time highlighted the secondary school period as a particularly risky one as regards scholastic success for more vulnerable pupils, which is also due to a generalised drop in intrinsic motivation (Harter, 1981; Horyna and Bonds-Raacke, 2012). In order to tackle these difficulties a tutoring programme, targeted at small groups of lower and upper secondary school students risking scholastic failure, has been designed and tested. The didactic model adopted envisages the use of specific motivational strategies and the structuring of activities aimed at encouraging significative learning, using technological supports as well. The programme, which aims to encourage strengthening of motivation and of competences in specific subjects (such as maths, physics and foreign languages), involved 500 students, attending 9 different schools. Evaluation of the programme’s efficacy was made using several tools. Some of the most important results are that students and teachers state that they saw significant improvements and that over 75% of students attending the workshop noticed an immediate effect on their school marks.
