Universal design for learning e riprogettazione accessibile di artefatti didattici per l'apprendimento delle discipline scientifiche nella scuola dell'infanzia e primaria

Abstract

While the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework promotes the design of inclusive learning environments capable of supporting the participation and learning of all students, it is essential to reflect on the role of didactic artefacts as mediators of disciplinary content and as potential facilitators or barriers to learning. This paper presents an experience of accessible redesign of a didactic artefact for mathematics learning, first implemented in a first-grade primary classroom and subsequently in a preschool setting with children aged five and six. The laboratory-based proposal starts from a critical analysis of an existing tool and documents its adaptation in an accessible and multisensory perspective, in line with the principles of UDL. By activating multiple perceptual channels and different modes of action and expression, the redesigned artefact expanded access to mathematical concepts and supported the participation of children with diverse educational needs, including sensory and motor disabilities. The article aims to contribute to the pedagogical reflection on accessible didactic artefacts as devices of cultural mediation, within a framework of inclusion and universal design for learning.