An Integrated and Interdisciplinary Model for Reading Education to Promote Creative and Divergent Thought in Students

The contribution presents an integrated and interdisciplinary model for reading education developed in the context of empirical research aimed at promoting creative and divergent thinking in students (Biasi et al., 2019; Biasi et al., 2020; Moretti & Morini, 2020; Poce, 2020). The research aimed to verify if and how it might be possible to enhance the didactic offer by introducing artistic activities, experiences, and materials to integrate with and support curricular content in a school context. The study involved four fifth-grade primary school class groups, two of which were experimental and two served as control groups. The classes were identified in educational contexts focused on the promotion of books, reading, and the appreciation of authors’ original illustrations. In the experimental class groups, teachers participated in a training program that emphasized picture books, art books, illustrated and interactive e-books, and art-focused apps. The research outcomes confirm that the integrated and interdisciplinary approach to reading education was effective, producing a statistically significant result in the experimental group compared to the control group.