Il progetto PRIN PNRR 2022 Inclusive didactic for enhancing math learning and reducing math anxiety: efficacy of active breaks in the classroom

The PRIN PNRR 2022 Project Inclusive didactic for enhancing math learning and reducing math anxiety: efficacy of active breaks in the classroom – ABMOVE! (P20223RHM5), funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU (Mission 4, Component 2), brings together three research units (University of Salento/Pegaso University – PI, University of Turin, and University of Palermo) to investigate the effectiveness of curriculum-based active breaks, short bouts of motor activity integrated into instructional content, in primary school mathematics teaching. Grounded in the paradigm of Embodied Cognition and in the Universal Design for Learning framework, the project aims to reduce math anxiety, improve executive functions and attention, and enhance mathematics learning, while addressing the heterogeneity of the classroom from an inclusive perspective. Grounded in the paradigm of Embodied Cognition and in the Universal Design for Learning framework, the project aims to reduce math anxiety, improve executive functions and attention, and enhance mathematics learning, while addressing the heterogeneity of the classroom from an inclusive perspective. Building on a systematic review of the empirical literature and on an analysis of teachers’ perceptions across three Italian regions (Apulia, Piedmont, Sicily), the program has been developed through an Educational Design Research approach and evaluated via a Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial, outlining a model of inclusive didactics that integrates body, cognition, and emotion to support meaningful learning and the full participation of all pupils.