Innovation in Teaching Methods and Techniques. Experiments and Uncertainties of Academics Before and After the Pandemic in the Italian Universities

This paper reviews studies that examine definitions of innovative teaching, innovation in teaching via digital platforms, and distance learning, to identify differences between them. In terms of innovation in university teaching, our starting hypothesis was that the pandemic has led to a greater use of digital platforms, through an upsurge in distance learning. But this has not necessarily brought about innovation in methods geared towards a student- centered approach. The study here is the second phase of a project on innovative teaching, begun before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, assessing progress in Italian mega-universities running teacher-training projects for more than five years. The results of this second phase are presented, considering whether the pandemic emergency has accelerated, altered, or hindered innovation, a process foreseen by the European training space. The third phase of the study will take place post-pandemic when teaching innovation is no longer influenced by the health crisis. The research will be extended to actors other than teachers involved in the process, particularly students.