The Materials and Technologies for Historic Buildings course is taught to students in the first year of the Master's degree. What is explained during the lectures is supplemented with a practical workshop / project work, a true experiential learning experience.

The main objective of the Project work is to learn, through active and creative learning, about the technologies and materials used in historic buildings in order to create in students a correct layer of knowledge, competences and sensitivity useful for intervening in renovation works. To this end, in order to give students the appropriate tools to deal with historic buildings from the perspective of sustainability, through the Problem Based Learning approach, the evaluation of the thermal transmittance of the building element in its current state and after renovation was introduced.

The students, in a community-based learning perspective, interact with each other throughout the workshop, changing information and points of view.

The he course of Materials and Technologies for historic building is divided into two modules, one addressing the theoretical basis and the other one addressing the project work and practical exercises.

At the end of the course, the student has knowledge of the evolution of both the historic materials and construction techniques and the repair methods, especially focusing on stone, wood and masonry. At the end of the course he/she is able to specify a set of criteria useful to ensure that the materials selected for conservation and rehabilitation are best suited to the needs of each building in terms of safety, efficiency, sustainability and cost effectiveness.

The course content is entirely covered by lectures and is divided into two modules:

Module 1, conducted by Prof. Marco Alvise Bragadin, is concerned with explaining the theory inherent to the materials and technologies required to understand and treat historical buildings, while Module 2, conducted by Prof. Ugo Maria Coraglia, through practical exercises in the classroom and the project work, is concerned with deepening through the study and drawing of construction details what was learned in the first module.

Each lesson consists of Module 1 followed by Module 2, in order to allow the student, during the hours dedicated to the workshop, to immediately put into practice the knowledge learned in the first module.

The works, both those performed in the laboratory and those assigned at home, are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and form part of the student's background and assessment during the final exam.

Furthermore, as part of the course, students are asked to analyse the thermal transmittance of the building elements reproduced for the final exam, both of the de-facto status and of the proposed refurbishment design alternatives, in order to demonstrate the improvement in performance.

The purpose of these analyses is to enable students, through an interdisciplinary approach, to understand and demonstrate how sustainable the proposed renovation activities can be.

The UniBO course was structured on the basis of concepts related to the 2001 revision of the taxonomy theories formulated by Bloom in 1956. The opportunity to flank theoretical lectures in the classroom with the development of a group project in the laboratory allows students to address the different cognitive processes, through which they can deepen the different layers of knowledge characterising Building Site Design by setting well-structured objectives throughout the course.

In this way, the teacher can assess the student's understanding of the subject step by step right from the theoretical lessons. In the workshop, moreover, through practical application relating to the development of the project, the teacher can verify the student's ability to analyse the notions learned during the individual lessons. The final project presented by the students in the examination, and on which they will be assessed, will ultimately be a practical synthesis of the knowledge learned during the entire course.

Specifically, the final grade is the result of a summative assessment due to the following sessions: the written examination, which consists of a test composed of several questions, the passing of which, with a minimum mark of 18 and a maximum of 30, allows access to the oral examination. The latter, in addition to the technical-theoretical discussion on what was learnt in Module 1, consists of a review of the work produced throughout the whole course, in class and at home, a review of the written examination, and an evaluation of the project for improving the performance of building elements through the analysis of thermal transmittance, i.e. the U-value of external walls, or roofs or basement floors.

On successful completion of these two sessions, the student receives the final grade and, once informed of the criteria that led to this assessment, may make any appeals supported by appropriate explanations.

On a grading scale from 18 (sufficiency) to 30 (excellent), the highest marks are awarded to students who demonstrate an organic understanding of the subject, a high capacity for critical application, and a clear and concise exposition of the content.

In order to achieve a pass, students must demonstrate at least some knowledge of the key concepts of the subject, some ability in critical application, and an understandable use of technical language.

A failing grade will be awarded if the student shows gaps in knowledge of the key concepts of the subject, inappropriate use of language, and/or logical deficiencies in the analysis of the subject.

At the end of the course, the students obtain a deeper knowledge of the evolution of both the historic materials and construction techniques and the repair methods, especially focusing on stone, wood, and masonry. In particular, they will be able to specify a set of criteria useful to ensure that the materials selected for conservation and rehabilitation are best suited to the needs of each building in terms of safety, efficiency, compatibility, passive resilience, sustainability and cost-effectiveness, as a palette of variables that the design must manage simultaneously. The students acquire the tools to tackle the design process of the renovation of historic buildings, taking care of the performance related to their design approach, in particular with regard to the choice of materials and technologies that can be less involved in the production of CO2 or energy consumption, for an ever-increasing sensitivity and responsibility in the environmental safeguard in a future and global perspective.

To provide further benefits for the student's learning, open-air lessons or built examples visits are included in the course programme. Conducting lessons or workshops directly inside historical buildings, usually under renovation, gives the students the possibility of observing, understanding and getting in touch with the actual renovation process.

Co-creation process and active learning could be implemented.