Ascoltare le voci degli studenti universitari Il Learning Contract: uno strumento per la personalizzazione degli apprendimenti in ambito universitario

The study elaborates how the original Learning Contract (LC) of Malcolm Knowles may be used in an Italian University setting. We introduced it in a master’s degree course at the University of Padua. The study was a real attempt to improve the tool, and to adapt it to an Italian course that, in this case, was an integrated course conducted by three professors.The LC methodology allows negotiation between the roles of teacher and student, encourages partnership between these two roles, and give students the opportunities to make their voices heard. Researchers found from a qualitative analysis that LC helps to activate processes like reflection, monitoring and organization to better plan learning. The use of LC gives them the possibility to experience personal growth, to become aware of what they have learned, and to clarify and better focus the academic contents. From a quantitative analysis the use of a Learning Content Management System (LCMS) allowed researchers to analyze the levels of students’ participation in the wiki, used to create the contracts, and in the forum discussions. The results helped us to reflect on how to improve the contract and how to better involve the students. Finally, the technology used has to be improved to become more user-friendly for use in the blended courses.