Knowing Through Body, Theatrical Practices, and Technological Tools: The Role of Knowledge Ecologies in Teacher Education for the Digital Transition

In contemporary educational pathways, shaped by digital transformations and processes of hybridization between bodies, technologies, and diverse modes of communica tion, it becomes necessary to adopt a situated and embodied epistemological paradigm, grounded in emotional and relational dimensions, to rethink the ways in which knowledge takes shape. The pilot study presented is based on the paradigm of ecologies of knowledge and employs an embodied approach to teacher training, exploring the potential of theatrical practices as tools for didactic mediation. The study analyzed the project “Theatre, Teaching, and Pedagogy for Digital Transition in Schools”, aimed at secondary school teachers in the city of Portici (Naples). The training pathway was structured into theoretical and experiential phases, in which theatrical practices were integrated with digital tools to foster pedagogical reflection among the participating teachers. The performed experience developed the teachers’ bodily and relational dimensions and promoted meaningful learning and profes sional transformation, encouraging reflection on their educational practice and their capacity for interdisciplinary planning. The study employed the Art-Based Research methodology, implemented through the experimental CReAP+T approach, which involved the analysis of both qualitative and quantitative tools. The results of the pilot study highlighted a strength ened awareness among teachers regarding their educational practice, the management of re lational and emotional dynamics, verbal and non-verbal communication, and their ability to design inclusive educational environments. The dialogue between theatre, pedagogy, and technology emerges as an innovative perspective for an ecological and embodied redefinition of educational practice.