The Erickson Research Center owned by the Erickson Publishing House (Italy) developed an ongoing three years research project  (E-VALUE), based on several years of action-research projects and test-retest actions held in primary schools around Italy, evaluating difficulties in learning and teaching literacy and numeracy.

E-VALUE is funded by the Autonomous Province of Trento under the scientific supervision of Prof. Giacomo Stella (University of Modena Reggio Emilia) and Prof. Cesare Cornoldi (University of Padua).

The main objective of the E-VALUE project is to design, develop and test a multimedia platform, which integrates the evaluation of various learning cognitive abilities (metaphonology, writing, reading , calculate, etc.) with the didactic intervention in class using Learning Objects (LO) and e-books derived from the Erickson books and multimedia software catalogue.  

The E-VALUE model  of intervention involves directly class teachers in several phases of action:

1. teachers’ training on developmental neuropsychological aspects of learning and didactic action (blended learning)
2. evaluation: didactic tests submitted directly by teachers in class twice a year oline or offline (test/retest). Tests are developed on the basis of a shared psycho-pedagogical model following national guidelines about LD and development of learning abilities(AID, 2009);
3. scoring: data processing in a quantitative and qualitative way by a community of experts (trainers), comparing pupils’ scores with a normative dynamic database (constantly updated, integrated and compared by new ongoing data) 
4. return results: meetings at school between teachers and trainer after first and second test phase: scoring explanation and structuring of the didactic path of recovery/enhancement of skills/competencies of the individual or group class.
5. didactic intervention: basing on previous phases, trainer and the teachers design the didactic intervention (contents and strategies) individualized for individual and class. 

The research questions investigated by the project do regard:

-         the workflow’s and management system’s effectiveness shared among school community, Erickson and trainers;

-         teachers’ improvement in planning and managing  didactic interventions of recovery/enhancement of skills/competencies using tests and didactic tools supported by learning experts;

-         pupils’ improvement in different learning abilities, using personalized didactic paths on the basis of the different levels of abilities reached by the class group and verified by the tests;

-         knowledge’s acquisition by the Erickson company, in order to produce didactic materials based on the E-VALUE psycho-pedagogical reference model.

The system have been tested involving several school in two project’s phases. A first test has been conducted in year 2011 among 13 classes and 220 pupils. A second phase of testing will be conduct during Spring 2012 among 22 classes in four different regions of Italy with 400 pupils.

AID (Associazione Italiana Dislessia) (2009), Disturbi Evolutivi Specifici di Apprendimento, Trento, Erickson. Stella G., Savelli E. (2011), Dislessia oggi, Trento, Erickson. Fletcher J.M., Reid Lyon G., Fuchs L.S., Barnes M.A. (2007), Learning disabilities: from identification to intervention, New York, Guilford Press. Franceschi S., Savelli E., Stella G. (2011), Identificazione precoce dei soggetti a rischio DSA ed efficacia di un intervento abilitativo meta fonologico: uno screening regionale, “Dislessia”, vol.8,n.3 Jenkins J.R. (2002), Early identification and intervention for young children with reading/learning disabilities, in Bradley R., Danielson L., Hallahan D.P. (edited), “Identification of learning disabilities: research to practice”, Mahawah (NJ), Lawrence Erlbaum Associated; Vellutino F.R., Fletcher J.M., Snowling M.J ,Scanlon D.M. (2004), Specific reading disability (dyslexia): What have we learned in the past four decades?, “Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry”, vol.45, pp. 2-40.