FRESCO
Florence RESidency and COdesign
Florence RESidency and COdesign
The FRESCO Project, coordinated by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education Center Italy (I-OAE), focuses on developing Game-Based and Playful Learning activities for primary school students The project brings together educators from Lebanon, Morocco, Greece, Portugal, Nigeria, Syria, Pakistan, Turkey, India, and Egypt to collaboratively co-design educational resources, fostering creativity, cultural exchange and innovative teaching practices.
An activity going on during the residency.
Moment of discussion during the residency
The project began with a series of on-line codesign meetings followed by an in-person residency in Istanbul, from 12 to 16 October 2024, where participants co-designed prototype activities and explored ways to implement them effectively in classrooms. These prototypes were then refined and tested in local contexts, including schools in Portugal and India, leading to small adaptations and improvements. More testing will be carried out also in other countries and teaching guides supporting these activities are currently in preparation and will be published on AstroEdu to ensure usability across diverse educational pathways.
Alongside resource development, FRESCO has carried out a detailed evaluation of the co-design process itself. Focus groups and online collaboration sessions were analyzed to understand how international educators worked together, which challenges arose, and which practices were most effective in producing shared educational materials.The project also continues to develop the “Constellation Explorer” game, incorporating cultural stories and myths contributed by participating educators. While some planned testing activities were postponed, the team continues to refine the game and prepare it for publication. FRESCO’s work highlights the potential of collaborative design and playful learning to engage students and enhance astronomy education across the Mediterranean.
More pictures of the residency