Junior Achievement Italia is proud to announce the appointment of one of its entrepreneurial teachers, Carlo Mazzone, among the 50 finalists of the Global Teacher Prize 2020, organized by the Varkey Foundation in collaboration with UNESCO.
Education Minister Lucia Azzolina said: “An Italian among the finalists of the Global Teacher Prize is always good news. It is even more at times like this. Our country is committed to facing an unprecedented emergency in which the school is proving to be a great educational community that does not leave children alone, does not stop, maintains contact through distance learning. Good luck to our finalist, representative of the Italian school in the world. A school to be proud of”.
The Global Teacher Prize recognizes internationally those exceptional teachers who have made an important contribution to the profession, highlighting the fundamental role that teachers have in society. The winner will be announced on October 12 in London, during an award ceremony at the Natural History Museum, and will receive $1 million to invest in school programs.
Selected among over 12,000 colleagues from over 140 countries, Carlo Mazzone teaches Information and Communication Technologies and Computer Science at the Industrial Technical Institute “G.B.B. Lucarelli” di Benevento.
Taking up the challenges of the social context in which he works, Carlo Mazzone encourages a learning-by-doing approach: he created the “Vivariumware” teaching methodology, he forms groups composed of two-three students each having a specific role and challenges them to manage a mini-enterprise aimed at carrying out a project. The teacher provides general indications on the technologies to be used, then he leaves full autonomy to choose the nature and type of project to be implemented. This method encourages students to realize their works in the best and most enthusiastic way.
This approach led him to achieve relevant results in the programs proposed by Junior Achievement Italia until he became one of its entrepreneurial teachers.
For three years, Carlo Mazzone’s classes have won the regional final of Impresa in Azione, Junior Achievement Italia’s main entrepreneurial education program dedicated to High Schools’ students, and they won the Italian final – Biz Factory – in 2019 with the F.A.T. (Farm Animal Trade) project. Then, they represented Italy at the “JA Europe Company of the Year Competition” in Lille, where they won the third place.
Within the school he also plays the role of “Digital Animator”, a figure recognized by the Italian Ministry of Education, to guide his institute in the implementation of the Government’s National Digital School Plan, in order to push the entire school community to the mediated use of technology and promote the school and social success of the students.
“We are proud of the result obtained by Carlo Mazzone, an entrepreneurial teacher with whom we have been working for years. Together, we work in the same direction: provide our students with a complete and innovative educational background, which will enable them to face the challenges of their own future”, declares Miriam Cresta, CEO Junior Achievement Italia. “In the last school year, our Association, active in Italy since 2002, has involved almost 50 thousand young people from 6 to 24 years old. This would not be possible without teachers like Carlo, who aim to give their students the tools to enhance their skills and recognize and seize opportunities, encouraging and guiding them in their schooling and career path”.
