Didattica - Università degli Studi di Padova

Syllabus

Prerequisiti:	No prerequisites are requested.
Conoscenze e abilita' da acquisire:	By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to: (i) Define what ecosystem services and nature-based solutions are and explain why they are important for society and economy; (ii) Define the concept of Green Care and its contribution to people’s health, societal well-being and social inclusion; (iii) Designate how and why green spaces can be used for health and wellbeing; (iv) Explain the key characteristics of Green Care initiatives with focus on four thematic sectors: forest-based care, social agriculture, urban green care and green care tourism; (v) Identify the range of Green Care initiatives that are underway in various fields of application and in different countries, in terms of e.g. social functions, locations, target groups, actors and roles, partnerships, business models; (vi) Differentiate among different types of innovation and Entrepreneurship (Technological, Institutional, Social, Sustainability etc.) concepts and appreciate how they can be jointly applied in Green Care initiatives in different contexts and situations; (vii) Describe the regulatory, legal and institutional/governance contexts within which Green Care initiatives in different fields of application operate; (viii) Define the structure, function, development, and emerging trends related to the markets for Green Care initiatives; (ix) Identify problems that feel driven to solve, entrepreneurial visions wish to develop and societal needs feel driven to solve and draft the business idea/solution; (x) Recognize successful business factors and challenging issues in Green Care initiatives; (xi) Develop forms of business management tools such as the Canvas Model and the Business Plan and apply them to GreenCare initiatives; (xii) Identify source of financing and acceleration for entrepreneurial management of Green Care initiatives; (xiii) Acquire basics in marketing and communication skills, such as use of social media and techniques of storytelling to be applied in Green Care initiatives.
Modalita' di esame:	The evaluation is based on two complementary components: 1. Completion of compulsory e-Modules, on the basis of a regular, active and constructive participation to online discussion forums, respect of deadlines, compliance with requirements set for each e-lesson (details provided online within each e-Module), quality of posts (see "Evaluation criteria" for details) and assigned tasks; 2. Completion of final examination, i.e. development and submission of a written report that each student must prepare and post on Moodle, respecting deadlines and requirements (e.g. length).
Criteri di valutazione:	The course consists of compulsory online e-Modules. A part from the final assignment, each e-Module consists of a number of e-lessons (activities) ranging from 2 to 4, which encompass various steps and sub-activities (e.g. reading documents, watching videos, participating in online discussion forums). In order to pass the course, the student must complete at least 6 out of 8 e-Modules (75%). An e-Module is completed when at least 2/3 of the e-lessons are completed (in e-Modules having only 2 e-lessons, both two must be completed for considering the e-Module as completed). Each e-lesson is completed when ALL the following conditions are met: a) the student access at least once each section, material, video , etc. provided for the e-lesson; b) the student posts at least one message in the discussion forum (when required) which addresses the e-lesson content; c) the student attend the synchronous e-lesson (when it is set); d) the student post the assignment (when it is set) e) the student correctly replies to a minimum of 75% of the questions included in the quizzes at the end of each e-lesson. Apart from the respect of assigned deadline(s) and other possible requirements/rules as defined in each e-lesson, student's performance will be evaluated on the basis of his/her ability to: correctly express concepts, using the appropriate technical-scientific terminology; be coherent with the assigned tasks, contents, issues and objectives; be original in ideas/insights brought into the discussion/posts and in writing the final and intermediate assignments; be accurate in references reporting and citations; be able to identify and critically analyse key-issues and be synthetic, clear and logic in writing and accurate in editing the posts and the final report. A rubric with details is presented in the first lesson presentation, and made available in Moodle. The active online participation (completion of the online e-Modules and quality of posts/attendance/respect of deadlines) counts for 50% of the final score; the final examination (quality and accuracy of the final written assignment) counts for the other 50% of the final score. To pass the exam, students must achieve the minimum score 18/30 (University of Padova grading system) = sufficient in each of the two components (online participation and final written paper). The activities and instructions provided in each e-lesson and modules are those requested as a minimum to PASS the exam. If the student wants to get higher grade, he/she must engage more than the minimum (e.g. posting more comments, providing relevant feedback to the other e-fellows, contributing with original material and examples, demonstrating a regular engagement in the course, etc.). Scores are assigned according to the University of Padova grading system, from 18/30 (sufficient) to 30/30 (excellent). Outstanding students can get 30/30 with honour.
Contenuti:	The course is divided into the following 8 compulsory e-Modules: Module 1 – Introduction (Activities: welcome, objectives and learning outcomes, participants self-introduction and learning path, the Green4C project). Module 2 – Nature-based solutions and Green Care (Activity 1: Nature for Health, Well-being and Social Inclusion: Green Care, conversation with expert; Activity 2: Green spaces for well-being, inspirational video, report your own experience, conclusion and evaluation of the week). Module 3 – Green Care in action: thematic sectors and initiatives (Activity 1: forest-based care – definitions and overview of the literature, main characteristics of the forest-based care initiatives, a conversation with an expert, real experiences (video), co-creation of a database of cases; Activity 2: Social agriculture – definitions, real experiences (video), a conversation with an expert, co-creation of a database of cases; Activity 3: Urban green care – definitions, a conversation with an expert, real experiences (video), co-creation of a database of cases; Activity 4: Green care tourism – definitions, a conversation with an expert, real experiences (video) a database of cases; Activity 5: market outlooks. Activity 6. Conclusion of the Module). Module 4 – Actors, networks and institutional frameworks (Activity 1: Actors and networks in Green Care - theory on actors in the sector, a webinar on networks, a video on how research can support social enterprises; Activity 2: Institutional frameworks for initiatives in Green Care, policies for the sector, legal frameworks and bureaucratic issues, thematic exercises). Module 5 – Becoming an entrepreneur in Green Care: (Activity 1: Deciphering the markets in Green Care - innovation in Green Care, market outlooks; Activity 2: Entrepreneurship in Green care - entrepreneurs and type of enterprises, interviews with some entrepreneurs; Activity 3:Start realising your idea - identify a challenge and your response to it, first step from your idea to a business, Activity 4: Value Proposition and Business Model Canvases - theory, some good examples, Q&A from entrepreneurs). Module 6 – Resources and soft skills for entrepreneurs (Activity 1:Tips on marketing, networking, getting help from mentors and advisors, financial planning and sources of financing and fundraising; Activity 2: Let’s practice with entrepreneurs!). Module 7: Your turn! (Final examination. Activity 1: Developing and presenting your own business idea). Module 8 – Final evaluation (Activity 1: complete and present Learning Journey Canvas and share it with the group; Activity 2: Wrap up, reflections on the course, Evaluation by the tutors, Course evaluation by students).
Attivita' di apprendimento previste e metodologie di insegnamento:	Students are strongly recommended to enroll into the course at least 10 days earlier than the starting day, to allow solving technical problems and arranging group activities in due time. Each e-Module runs for a varying period, from a minimum of 1 week up to a maximum of 3 weeks, depending on the number and complexity of e-lessons and the annual teaching calendar. Each e-Module is divided into various e-lessons, where specific issues are described and discussed. Objectives, tasks, useful documents/materials and sources of information, working activities (to be performed in groups or individually) and deadlines are defined for each single e-lesson. Students are required to start by firstly reading the e-lesson's introduction, contents and structure and carrying out the activities as planned and described in each e-lesson. Modalities of teaching and learning tools include, among others: online discussion forums, videos watching, synchronous lessons and webinars, working groups, peer-assessment, document readings, in-itinere quizzes. In some of the e-lessons, students will learn also by creating collective databases, videos, E-photos portfolios, Games/gamification, Collaborative writing or story-making, Mind mapping. E-moderators (the teachers and some experts/moderators/assistants invited to participate) are continuously participating to the e-course by commenting students'posts, stimulating further discussion and reflections the on-line discussion forums, providing additional explanations and materials if necessary. Students are required to read troughout the material and documents provided in each e-lesson and actively follow/participate into the online activities by reading throughout ALL the posts and documents provided by both the e-fellows and the e-teachers/moderators/assistants.
Eventuali indicazioni sui materiali di studio:	Specific material is provided in each e-lesson. The material can include: videos, records of synchronous lessons and webinars, links, written documents, open access scientific publications, reports and others.
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