To an Audiovisual Learning Hypothesis. Theories and Practices for the First Cycle of Education.

Over the past fifteen years, the Indicazioni Nazionali for the First Cycle of Italian Education have emphasized the role of images and audiovisual media as cross-disciplinary tools for teaching and learning curricular subjects. In this regard, audio-visual language should be considered a complementary mode of writing and a means of developing procedural thinking (analogous to coding, for example). This study hypothesizes that audiovisual media can play a functional role in primary education by leveraging their engaging and cognitively effective nature to facilitate the active construction – i.e., with student involvement – of videos that synthesize knowledge in an equally effective and shared manner. The paper proposes a learning model based on narration (a central element in animated productions and TikTok), cognitive processes, and the ability to create effective media products. The study is divided into two parts. The first explores theoretical issues related to film and audiovisual studies (including a neuro-cognitive perspective) in dialogue with didactic methodologies and the Indicazioni Nazionali. The second presents case studies of animated series and experimental projects using short-form audiovisual media – such as those typical of social platforms like TikTok – as empirical support for the theoretical hypothesis.