School innovation in Europe: making students more engaged into learning processes through reorganised learning spaces, timetables and educational activities in the Comprehensive School Giovanni XXIII of Acireale

Since 2011, when a new school leader was appointed, the school has focused on the following goals: to promote active participation of students; foster inclusion; nurture autonomy and a sense of responsibility. To reach these goals, the school adopted interactive approaches reorganising learning spaces and educational activities.
Key interventions encompass:
• Outdoor schooling (nursery school). The aim is to stimulate sensory experiences by encouraging direct contact with nature.
• Bag-less learning (primary school). Students only wear a light purse to hold their personal belongings and a notebook for homework tasks while school is furnished functionally with advanced learning tools.
• Workshop rooms and flipped classrooms (secondary school). Teachers personalise their working space based on their functional teaching needs in terms of furniture arrangement, tools, books etc. In flipped classroom, time and self-study activities are reversed where students prepare for a class by watching a pre-recorded lecture or then lead the discussion.