Multicultural School System: lens on problem-based learning as a method for in training teachers

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has made explicit the socio-technological gap of Italian students and their families. Schools and teachers feel more than ever the need to reduce these differences, to find, as well as the right tool, effective design models, and methodologies to improve inclusion. The need for a trained faculty has never been stronger. This contribution describes the implementation of an online teaching model used in a training course that involved 23 teachers from schools in Tuscany, with the aim of promoting inclusion in highly complex multicultural educational institutions. Problem-based learning and case-based learning are the approaches implemented in the model discussed herein. The online training activities were carried out through the following steps: 1. Presentation of a case study, based on real problems of professionals’ life; 2. Discussion in a virtual community about knowledge and previous professional experience; 3. Access to in-depth theoretical materials; 4. Proposal of an individual solution strategy. Data has been collected in the virtual environment. Results highlight the effectiveness of the model and the challenges facing multicultural schools in this period of emergency.