I riassunti

Promuovere la conoscenza delle Geoscienze e la consapevolezza del loro ruolo nella società a livello di insegnamento secondario di secondo grado significa, prima di tutto, fornire una visione organica e interconnessa degli aspetti fondamentali delle discipline. Gli studenti possono sviluppare un vero interesse verso le Geoscienze in prospettiva di studi universitari solo se gli insegnanti sanno fornire loro un ampio panorama delle discipline di base, ma anche delle loro applicazioni, interazioni e relazioni con gli aspetti economici e sociali. In quest’ottica, il gruppo di lavoro UNIMIB del Piano Lauree Scientifiche (Progetto Nazionale Geologia) ha concepito, in collaborazione con gli insegnanti delle scuole superiori coinvolti, un percorso di laboratorio indoor e outdoor che trae spunto dal contesto geologico della Valsassina (Lecco). Questa valle, rapidamente accessibile da Milano, presenta una grande varietà di contesti strutturali e litostratigrafici (dal basamento metamorfico prealpino alla successione sedimentaria del bacino lombardo) e peculiari caratteristiche geomorfologiche, derivanti dall’interazione tra tettonica ed evoluzione Quaternaria in ambiente glaciale e fluviale. L’area è caratterizzata da un’importante tradizione mineraria attraverso diverse epoche storiche (dall’età romana ad oggi), che ha contribuito a plasmare la moderna geografia umana della valle. Infine, l’area è caratterizzata da vari contesti di rischio idrogeologico, e in particolare da fenomeni di instabilità di versante molti diversi (da crolli in roccia a grandi frane), la cui natura, distribuzione e pericolosità sono strettamente legate ai “paesaggi geologici” in cui si sviluppano. Il percorso didattico si sviluppa a partire da un fase indoor, dove gli aspetti teorici e le conoscenze di base sono tracciati attraverso presentazioni e attività di laboratorio (elementi di cartografia, riconoscimento delle rocce a mano e al microscopio), sempre con un approccio interattivo e finalizzato a sviluppare competenza pratica sia negli insegnanti che negli studenti. La successiva fase outdoor consente agli studenti di verificare ed applicare sul terreno elementi e competenze acquisite, e di collegare gli aspetti geologici, geomorfologici ed applicativi. Tale scopo viene perseguito attraverso un facile itinerario geologico, la visita a una miniera didattica (Cortabbio di Primaluna) e l’escursione alla grande frana di Bindo Cortenova, che forniscono allo studente un’ampia visione dell’importanza delle Geoscienze nella conoscenza e gestione del paesaggio naturale ed umano.

I COLORI DELLA TERRA. ESEMPI IN AMBITO LIGURE-TOSCANO

Andreotti S.1, Giannella S.1 & Storti M.*1

1 Istituto di Istruzione Superiore Statale Parentucelli-Arzelà, Sarzana (SP)

KEYWORDS:

geoscienze, scuola, minerali, pigmenti, storia dell'arte, Google Earth, alternanza scuola-lavoro.

Il progetto di eccellenza I colori della Terra è stato ideato nell’ambito dell’attività di Alternanza Scuola Lavoro per una classe terza del liceo scientifico. Esso si basa su un approccio interdisciplinare e pluriennale, apre alla conoscenza dei pigmenti naturali in rapporto alla conformazione geologica e geomorfologica del territorio ligure-toscano e approfondisce l’utilizzo in campo artistico di terre naturali e rocce. Particolare attenzione è stata riservata alle rocce e alle terre presenti nel territorio. Gli studenti hanno seguito un iter didattico-formativo in ambito tecnico-scientifico, con il supporto delle conoscenze derivanti dalle discipline delle scienze esatte (chimica, fisica, scienze, ecc.) e quelle più specifiche del campo artistico sulla teoria dei colori e loro utilizzo. Gli studenti, inoltre, hanno partecipato ad attività di laboratorio presso il Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra dell’Università di Pisa e presso il loro Istituto.

Nel primo laboratorio sulle proprietà dei minerali, gli alunni hanno imparato a riconoscere i vari minerali, ad elaborare schede descrittive basate sulla loro osservazione e a realizzare una mappa dicotomica per classificare e riconoscere un minerale incognito. Inoltre, partendo da alcuni brani tratti dal Libro dell’Arte di Cennino Cennini, gli alunni hanno messo in pratica le conoscenze, su pigmenti e leganti, e sulla preparazione dei colori e della pittura su tavola. Hanno quindi preparato delle tempere ad uovo utilizzando pigmenti minerali per una vetrina espositiva allestita presso il Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra (UNIPI) e dei testi per alcuni pannelli esplicativi. Nel secondo laboratorio gli alunni hanno approfondito aspetti teorici e pratici sulla realizzazione dei mosaici. Essi hanno imparato a misurare le principali proprietà fisiche e meccaniche dei materiali lapidei naturali e artificiali, a selezionare quelli più adatti alla realizzazione delle tessere e a creare una piccola opera musiva. Quindi le conoscenze acquisite nei laboratori e in classe sono state condivise mediante cartelle di Google Drive e attraverso la realizzazione di un sito web dedicato.

La prima fase di questo progetto triennale è stata caratterizzata da una visita didattica di tre giorni all’Isola d’Elba dove gli studenti, guidati da docenti e ricercatori del Piano Lauree Scientifiche del Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra dell’UNIPI e del loro Istituto, hanno avuto modo di raccogliere, riconoscere e classificare numerosi minerali e rocce. L’Isola d’Elba ha rappresentato per gli studenti il trade d’union fra l’osservazione laboratoriale e quella diretta sul campo. Infine, alla chiusura del primo anno di attività, gli alunni hanno geolocalizzato attraverso Google Earth i minerali e le immagini raccolti e creato una sorta di “diario di bordo” digitale sulla loro esperienza.

AN INNOVATIVE AND INTERACTIVE APPROACH FOR AN EDUCATIONAL MINERALOGICAL MUSEUM

Barone G.*1, Finocchiaro C.1, Mazzoleni P.1 & Bonacini E.2

1 Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Catania

2 Referente izi.Travel Sicilia, Catania

KEYWORDS:

museology, cultural heritage, multimedia audio guides, izi.Travel platform, flipped classroom.

During the "Precious Minerals and Rocks” course of the University of Catania Geological Science degree, it was experimented a methodology of teaching based on the flipped classroom with the aim to involve students in an active practice. In particular, the students were engaged to support a pilot project promoted by the Regional Department of Cultural Heritage in Sicily in the izi.Travel platform aimed to improve Sicilian Cultural Heritage. This platform is a free tool for the enhancement of artistic and cultural heritage with the use of new technologies as smartphones and tablets. This combination of art and multimedia, in a global scale, is innovative both for the aspects (participatory and co-creative) and for the wide variety of topics and of stakeholders that could be involved (institutions, associations, Universities and schools). In Sicily, the pilot project on izi.Travel has become a real best practice about co-creation, participation and democratization of cultural heritage, according to the Faro Convention: in about one year-project 130 multimedia audio guides are available.

This approach, shared between professor and students, was utilized with the goal to realize multimedia - interactive audio guides on the Mineralogical Collection of the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences of Catania University, following the main rules of museology (clarity, precision and persuasion). The museum offers to different targets of guests rich mineralogical collections made up of thousands of minerals properly catalogued. In particular, the oldest collections of the museum are represented by minerals and rocks offered at the University of Catania by the scientist Giuseppe Gioieni and by the Prince Biscari in 1781. However, the flagship of our museum is represented by the extraordinary collection of minerals belonging to the Sicilian Evaporites series such as sulphur, gypsum, aragonite and celestine. During our work, firstly, we divided the collection of minerals for categories and then we created data sheet (chemical formula, provenance, genesis and uses) and multimedia audio guides with scientific and cultural contents for each ones, in order to promote the department's collection as a real "digital mineralogical guide”. Finally, we believe that this project can be a great opportunity to revaluate our Museum and to give the possibility to many students to work for that purpose, considering that this project is a “unicum” in the izi.Travel platform at present.

TEACHING GEOSCIENCES BY NON-SPECIALISTS. GEOSCIENCES AND PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES

Benciolini L.*1

1 Dipartimento di Scienze Agroalimentari, Ambientali e Animali, Università di Udine

KEYWORDS:

In order to integrate several scales of observation and different techniques on a single geological problem, the example of the Vajont landslide in 1963 offers an excellent framework. As in many other countries (King, 2008), Geosciences in Italian school represent a small compulsory part of a national science curriculum and are mainly taught by Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Natural Sciences specialists with a little number of Earth Science specialists. How these teachers approach a geological problem ? The Master di II livello on “Professione Formatore in Didattica delle Scienze” has been a biennial National Project for inservice teacher training realized by the Udine University (A.A. 2013/14-2014/15). Twenty Science Teachers (Scuola Secondaria di I e II livello) were taught about the causes and effects of Vajont's landslide, then they were asked to examine this event from the point of view of the energy involved. A correct answer has to take into account the mechanical energy of the landslide, the energy absorbed by the lake water, the wave moving toward Longarone, the chemical energy linked to the montmirillonite hydration, the laws of conservation and the transformations associated with the event. The obtained answers are examined in order to observe the problem solving strategies considered by teachers coming from different scientific disciplines. Physics and chemistry specialists describe the event as a translation of a rigid-body on the inclined plane but does not remark the constraints revealed by direct observation (internal and external work with respect to the body in translation) thus failing to preserve the mechanical energy. Similarly, they do not realize that Bernoulli's equation can not describe the motion of water, because either of the turbulent flow and the work exerted on the surrounding rocks. Natural Science and Earth Science specialsts have provided further detailed descriptions of the Vajont event, but do not realize that any description (or classification) in Earth Science is always ambiguous because it may be functional to solving a peculiar problem (Ault, 1998). These data suggest that teaching Earth Science at school needs a better definition of its own methods and goals, other than those of the other sciences.

Ault, C.R.Jr. (1998): Criteria of excellence for geological inquiry: The necessity of ambiguity. J. Res. Sci. Teaching, 35, 189-212.

King, C. (2008): Geosciences education: an overview. Studies Sci. Educ., 44, 187-222.

OBSERVING THE SKY, UNDERSTANDING THE EARTH: AN EARTH SCIENCES ASTRONOMY-RELATED EDUCATIONAL PACKAGE FOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Bernagozzi A.E.*1-2, Giuli G.2, Paris E.2, Carbognani A.1 & Christille J.M.1

1 Fondazione C. Fillietroz - Osservatorio Astronomico della Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta e Planetario di Lignan, Nus (AO)

2 UNICAMearth Working Group, Scuola di Scienze e Tecnologie - Divisione di Geologia, Università di Camerino

KEYWORDS:

Earth sciences, astronomy, astrophysics, education, dchool, meteorites

The PhD Research Project “Observing the sky, understanding the Earth” is set in the framework of the UNICAMearth Working Group, with the establishment of an official co-operation between the University of Camerino and the Fondazione Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS, who manages the Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley and the Planetarium of Lignan.

The Project is focused on the link of Earth Sciences with Astronomy and Astrophysics. The study of the celestial bodies far away in space allow us to compare their physical, chemical and geological features to Earth’s ones and this helps us to understand better the processes that have shaped and are still shaping our planet and the environment where we live. The great educational potential of this interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach has not been capitalized in its fullness yet.

Since 2009, the world astronomical community has been doing greater and greater efforts to connect researchers and educators, with the official support of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). One of the most important result is the astroEDU website, an open-access platform for peer-reviewed science education activities that educators can review, distribute, improve, and remix.

The Project aimed at understanding first the process of identification of ‘good’ open-access peer-reviewed Astronomy educational activities by the IAU and then how to import, project and adapt this process in the UNICAMearth Working Group framework. The final goal is to suggest a set of ‘quality standards’ for Earth Sciences educational activities and, following these possible ‘golden rules’, design an Earth Sciences Astronomy-related Educational Package (in Italian) for high school teachers and students.

The chosen topic for the Educational Package is: “the meteorites as a proxy for the study of the inner composition and structure of the Earth”. Even if the topic is already inserted in the Earth Sciences curriculum for the Italian schools and many other countries, little relevance is usually given to meteorites.The Educational Package includes:

a set of presentations in digital format (pptx and pdf), that the teachers can download and use for 1 to 3 one-hour lessons to depict the topic in an self-consistent way at an introductory level
a practical activity about analysis of meteorite samples for a1 to 2 one-hour lessons, using freely available on line tools (Europlanet Virtual Microscope, Dawn Mission: Find a Meteorite)

In the poster, the authors describe the analysis of the astroEDU experience, how it helped to suggest the set of ‘quality standards’ for the design of Earth Sciences educational activities, the implementation and exploitation of the Educational Package and the results of a preliminary tests performed in 2016 and 2017 at the Liceo Scientifico e Linguistico «Edouard Bérard» in Aosta, Aosta Valley, Italy, with teachers and students for I and V class.

MUSEO, SCUOLA DELL’INFANZIA E UNIVERSITÀ IN UN PROGETTO DI EDUCAZIONE SCIENTIFICA

Bonaccorsi E.*1-3, Pieraccioni F.1-2, Dini A.3, Scaglia P.3, Galluzzi E.4 & Orsini M.4

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa

2 Dottorato Regionale in Scienze della Terra "Pegaso", Pisa

3 Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Pisa

4 Istituto Comprensivo "A. Pacinotti", Pontedera (PI)

KEYWORDS:

museo, scuola, didattica, bambini, minerali

Il Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Università di Pisa da tempo è, oltre che luogo di conservazione di reperti e ricerca scientifica, anche centro di progettazione educativa e studio didattico, in un rapporto attivo e partecipativo con le altre realtà educative del territorio, a partire dalla scuola. In questo quadro, nel Novembre 2016 è stata attivata una convenzione tra il Museo e l’Istituto Comprensivo A. Pacinotti di Pontedera (Pisa), con tavoli di programmazione – progettazione tra insegnanti e esperti museali per la costruzione e lo studio di percorsi didattici scientifici per i bambini della scuola dell’infanzia. Hanno preso parte al progetto le insegnanti delle Scuole dell’Infanzia Diaz e De Gasperi, con un totale di 88 bambini coinvolti. Gli argomenti concordati tra Museo e scuola sono stati ambiente, terra e minerali. Per ogni argomento sono stati individuati i nuclei centrali e identificati i percorsi museali più attinenti, talvolta modificandoli in funzione dell’obiettivo da raggiungere e dell’età dei bambini. Le insegnanti hanno poi definito le unità di apprendimento con tempi, scansioni, attività e collegamenti tra percorsi, in modalità ricerca-azione.

Fra gli argomenti fondamentali della geoscienze c'è il "senso del tempo", tempo che in geologia è molto lungo e di difficile comprensione anche per gli stessi adulti. Crediamo che questo concetto si costruisca nei bambini anche osservando le trasformazioni del mondo attorno a loro e imparando a pensare a "cosa è successo prima" e a "cosa succederà dopo". Il tema dei minerali, da sempre oggetti affascinanti capaci di incantare e far lavorare la fantasia dei bambini, è stato trattato a partire dalla narrazione di una storia, attraverso la quale i bambini hanno incontrato diversi ambienti: la montagna, il ghiacciaio, il torrente, il fiume e la spiaggia, attraverso un personaggio (https://sites.google.com/site/chiccosand/) che compare in tutti questi ambienti, ma si trasforma, diventa sempre più piccolo, più liscio, più arrotondato passando da uno all'altro. Durante e dopo il racconto, i bambini hanno lavorato con i sassi e la sabbia concentrandosi sulle SOMIGLIANZE di oggetti che sembrano molto diversi tra loro e sulle trasformazioni che portano da uno all'altro. Nella seconda parte, sempre seguendo la storia del personaggio, sono stati invitati ad osservare le DIFFERENZE tra quelli che loro chiamano "sassi". Al museo i bambini hanno sperimentato, pesato, graffiato, disegnato i minerali; si sono accorti che ci sono minerali molto pesanti, minerali trasparenti, minerali che luccicano, minerali che si attaccano alle calamite, minerali che scrivono sulla carta, eccetera. In sezione hanno poi verbalizzato le idee e le scoperte fatte, raccontando e raccontandosi, ripercorrendo l’esperienza museale, trasponendo il vissuto graficamente su fogli con i colori. Saranno presentate l’analisi ed elaborazione dei dati raccolti, e la documentazione prodotta da bambini e insegnanti.

EARTH SCIENCE KNOWLEDGES OF FRESHMEN: A SURVEY IN ITALY

Bonaccorsi E.1, Gioncada A.*1 & Pieraccioni F.1-2

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa

2 Dottorato Regionale in Scienze della Terra "Pegaso", Pisa

KEYWORDS:

Earth science, teaching, learning, alternative conceptions

Which are real knowledges about Earth science basic concepts of students at the end of high school? Do alternative conceptions live in minds of students? Does a difference in Earth science learning at secondary school exist among students choosing different university degree courses (e.g. biology vs. geology)? The answers to these questions and similar others can be useful to the teaching of Earth science both in secondary school and higher courses. Researchers from around the world have already posed these questions for long time (e.g., Dove, 1998). In Italy, Bezzi and Happs (1994) carried out an investigation about the students' ideas on the volcanism in the areas in which they lived and how much their opinions were deeply rooted. We proposed a questionnaire at freshmen of University of Pisa. The students were enrolled at degree courses of geology, biology, biotechnology, natural and environmental science, veterinary medicine, industrial engineering. The twelve questions of the test regarded the geological time, the motion of the Earth around the Sun and its consequences, petrology, tectonics and orogenesis. The test was multiple-choice with four replies. This survey is an open window on the general knowledge of Earth science that a citizen actually has at the end of its schooling. Interviewed mostly gave correct answers in some fields, but showed high uncertainties in several topics. This unsatisfying outcome may stem from different causes, such as alternative conceptions of students about the topics, difficulties of comprehension of issues, non-incisive learning methods. Understanding the reasons of the outcome deserve further in-depth analysis but, in our opinion, this kind of research could give us some interesting hints about the efficacy of the learning and teaching approaches commonly applied in geosciences.

References

Bezzi, A. & Happs, J.C. (1994): Belief Systems as Barriers to Learning in Geological Education: J. Geol. Educ., 94, 134-140

Dove, J.E. (1998): Students’ alternative conceptions in Earth science: a review of research and implications for teaching and learning, Res. Pap. Educ., 13, 183-201.

THE EDUCATIONAL AND DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES OF ASTRONOMY AND GEOLOGY HELD IN THE GEOPALEONTOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF ROCCA DI CAVE, ROMA TRE UNIVERSITY

Botticelli G.*1, Fabrizi L.2, Lombardi L.2, Ruggiero L.3, Silvestri M.1, Chirri M.1, Cifelli F.3 & Mattei M.3

1 Museo Geopaleontologico "Ardito Desio", Università di Roma Tre, Rocca di Cave (RM)

2 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma

3 Dipartimento di Scienze, Università di Roma Tre

KEYWORDS:

The Geopaleontological Museum "Ardito Desio" of Rocca di Cave (RM), proposes several educational activities for schools regarding astronomical and geological sciences. First of all the Planetarium “Skylab” (http://www.planetarioroma3.it/) is a useful and spectacular tool for implementing laboratory and practical activity of astronomy. The planetarium is an inflatable structure that can be easily bring to schools. The activities focus on the movements of the celestial vault, on the description of the main constellations and stories of the seasonal sky and the zodiac. Through interstellar journeys in full-dome to nebulous galaxies and distant galaxies, kids and students have a unique opportunity to learn astronomy and planetary science, being fascinated and amused by the experience. Moreover, the laboratory has always been an important part of scientific education. Some examples of it are the construction of Armillas and Sundials (models and instruments for understanding the apparent motions of the celestial vault and the Sun), and the construction of an Orientated Globe, a perfect model of Earth illuminated by the Sun during different seasons and daytime. A special attention is devoted for allowing to people with disability to participate to the experiences. In particular, blind students are allowed to follow the planetary presentations by means of tactile apparatus which have been specifically designed and realized. The primary educational objectives are: to facilitate the learning process, the diffusion of the knowledge of the sky, and the extension of the cosmic space; to understand the main astronomical phenomena, starting with those responsible for daytime and the alternation of seasons in our planet; to teach respecting nature and environment through illustrations of light pollution issues; to use the history of astronomy and the myths connected to it as an element of intercultural learning to foster processes of mutual knowledge and integration.

AN EDUCATIONAL APPROACH FOR A PLS GEOLOGICAL INFORMATION LABORATORY

Ciarcia S.1, La Luna A. 2, Russo F. 1 & the students of the IISS - CAT Ruggero II High School of Ariano Irpino Italy

1 Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie, Università del Sannio, Benevento

2 Istituto Superiore "Ruggero II", Ariano Irpino (AV)

KEYWORDS:

educational geological laboratory, geopedology, geology, Scientific Graduates National Project, teaching, Ariano Irpino

The Geological Survey Laboratory, experimented for no. 25 hours at IISS - CAT Ruggero II in Ariano Irpino (AV), aimed at increasing and improving the theoretical and practical knowledge of fourth and fifth year students on some geological themes and phenomena, typical of the Campania landscape and specifically of the Irpinia–Sannio Apennines. The illustrated case studies refer to environmental hazards typical of the Human-Environment System that require reflection on management organization and territorial planning, the role of anthropization in natural systems alteration, the risk mitigation and geological hazard assessment, the proper management, use and enhancement of local geological heritage.

The topics discussed were also used to properly inform the school about geological studies in view of the future choice of university disciplines and to improve the perception of the importance of the School / University link.

The training course for a.s. 2016/2017 has been structured in seminars, workshops and fronts, co-designed by the teachers of the High School and by researchers at the Department of Science and Technology of the University of Sannio in Benevento.

The themes were as follows:

- The rocks and the sedimentary successions of the territory around Ariano Irpino and their geological representation (reading and interpretation of a geological map - Introduction to geological survey);

- From rocks to the soils: a reason for life (an introduction to geopedological survey);

- Macro and microscopic observation of rocks typical of the Irpinia region and reordering of the school's collection of rocks and minerals;

- Local quarrying of clay and gypsum;

- Climate and natural environment changes in Earth's geological history;

- Vesuvius volcano: a danger to be avoided or a resource to be safeguarded?

Laboratory activities and demonstration were also carried out on the field with special daily or half daily tours and with excursions to quarries and local work sites for the extraction and processing of clay and chalky materials.

The produced didactic material (papers, publications, Powerpoint slides, etc.) was left in use at the School for further insights in the classroom.

The learning path carried out also served to increase the professional growth of non-geologist teachers (Agronomists, engineers, mathematicians, physicists, letters, etc.) of the High School.

TEACHING GEOSCIENCE FROM A SHIP. THE CASE OF AN OUTREACH OFFICER ONBOARD THE JOIDES RESOLUTION

Cicconi A.*1-2, Katz Cooper S.3 & Kurtz N.3

1 Liceo Classico "F. Stabili - E. Trebbiani" , Ascoli Piceno

2 Sscuola di Scienze e Tecnologie - DIvisione di Geologia, Università di Camerino

3 Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA

KEYWORDS:

RET (Research Experiences for Teachers), professional development, inquiry, outreach, science education, expedition

In the majority of OCSE Countries, the decreasing of graduates in scientific disciplines has been addressed on one hand with a reform of secondary schools curricula and on the other hand by improving the proficiency of Science teachers (NRC, 2012; Wilson, 2013). This last approach takes from the assumption that the way in with Science in taught is responsible for the decline in the interest in science among students. For this reason, the Report Rocard in Science Education (Rocard et al., 2007) considers teachers as "the cornerstone of any renewal in science education".

Studies on science education have found that teachers who lack research experience are less confident in teaching science with an inquiry methodology (Roth et al., 1998), the way that reflects how science really works and is found the most effective regarding students' achievement in science and their confidence in addressing STEM careers.

The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) utilizes an educational and outreach program that involves teachers and outreach professionals in the expeditions on board their platforms. This immersive experience gives teachers the opportunity to be part of the research process with the aim to fill the gap that exists between how science is explained in textbooks and the real practice of scientific research.

In this study, we present and discuss the results of the educational project of the Outreach Officer on board the JOIDES Resolution for Expedition 367 South China Sea Rifted Margin.

this research addresses:

1) The effectiveness of an "Education through Expedition" program to disseminate the research in geoscience;

2) The effectiveness of tools like video conferences for building a bridge between scientists and schools;

3) The value of being a teacher at sea as professional development for science teachers.

This exploratory study was carried out with qualitative methodology using questionnaires and surveys.

References:

NRC (2012): National Research Council. - A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. National Academies Press.

Rocard, M., Csermely, P., Jorde, D., Lenzen, D., Walberg-Henriksson, H., Hemmo, V. (2007): Rocard report: Science education now: a new pedagogy for the future of Europe. EU 22845, European Commission.

Roth, W.M., McGinn, M.K., Bowen, G.M. (1998): How prepared are preservice teachers to teach scientific inquiry? Levels of performance in scientific representation practices. J. Sci. Teacher Educ., 9, 25-48.

Wilson, S.M. (2013): Professional development for science teachers. Science, 340, 310-313.

PLS IN GEOLOGY: A TOOL FOR CONSOLIDATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY

Cifelli F.1, Adanti B.1, Bollati A.1, Grossi F.1, Lucci F.1 & Mattei M.1

1 Università di Roma Tre

KEYWORDS:

PLS, school, university, didactic laboratory

The Department of Sciences of Rome TRE University has developed through time, specific competences in the field of training of teachers and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the territory of Rome. PLS has allowed these activities to be included in a well-defined project, with a formalized relationship with schools and a long-term exchange with students and teachers. In fact, the PLS project was designed to create a strong connection between School and University in which students, teachers and university professors are all protagonists.The types of activities proposed under the PLS program are of 3 types: seminars on geological themes of general interest, laboratory activities and excursions. Seminars have focused on geological themes representing indispensable contents of the National Guidelines or on highly relevant topics; examples are: the lithogenetic cycle, plate tectonics, paleomagnetism, evolution of life and environments. The labs were designed for both students (to face the study of the Earth with a critical approach), and teachers who can use them as valuable resources for teaching Geology. A peculiarity of the PLS course was the didactic excursions organized for students and teachers to directly ‘touch’ the geological history of the Roman area. The didactic excursions that have been designed, proposed and realized in the city are: 1) Excursion to the Caffarella Park, where it is possible to recognize the different forms of the landscape related to the geology of the territory and the action of geomorphic agents that shaped the forms of the Roman area over time; 2) visit to the San Paolo Basilica, where it is possible to observe a unique variety of rocks, coming from different areas of the Mediterranean Basin; 3) excursion through the historic center of Rome to understand how much the geology of the territory, and its resources and associated risks, have influenced the settlement and the subsequent development of the city. An upgrade meeting dedicated to high school teachers was held at Rocca di Cave, where the Geopaleontological Museum "Ardito Desio" of Roma Tre University is placed. Located in the Rocca Colonna, the museum ‘tells’ the geological history of the central Apennines, with a journey through time that dates back 200 million years ago. This journey helps in interpreting the origins of the landscapes that are visible from the Rocca terrace and the presence, on top of the Prenestini Mountains, of an ancient fossil reef. The Museum hosts an astronomical observatory where teachers are guided through the constellations in celestial exploration. Finally, a note deserves the activities that were successfully devoted to counteracting abandonment of students in Geological Sciences during their first year of attendance. This activity required an active role of University professors in encouraging students to get familiar with geology and passionate them about the knowledge of the territory where they live.

FROM SCHOOL TO UNIVERSITY: THE “STRATEGIC STUDENT” INITIATIVE OF THE ITALIAN NATIONAL ACTION OF SCIENTIFIC DEGREE FOR GEOSCIENCE

Cirrincione R.*1

1 Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Catania

KEYWORDS:

Italian national action of scientific degree, geoscience.

The Italian National Action of Scientific degree is am ambitious project designed and promoted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research. Its main purpose consists on stimulating and attracting students towards scientific curricula at a university level. This can be obtained through educational orienteering of students combined with teacher’s training.

For most students, the choice of Earth Sciences rises from passion for Nature and for its spectacular as well as fascinating evidences such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, minerals, fossils and landscape.

Some years ago, an investigation carried out on students attending the University course in Earth Sciences pointed out that passion for Geosciences was triggered by out-of-school- divulgation activities.

Therefore, a wise choice for university study should start from the need to combine both interest and curiosity for Nature.

Within this frame, the “Geology National Project” comprises actions aimed to orientate students coming from secondary school to Geosciences. These interventions consists of activities also focusing on the role of the geologist in the now-a-day society.

So, the assignments of the Geology courses at the university level must rely on concentrating interests and activities in order to emphasize the student’s passion on geology. At the same time, the student must benefit of geological know-how and learn expertise on solution of problems concerning the territory and its resources, by applying the scientific method.

MODELIZZAZIONE DI MINERALI CON STAMPANTE 3D

Colotti C.*1 & Pieraccioni F.2-3

1 Istituto Comprensivo "Alfieri-Bertagnini", Massa

2 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa

3 Dottorato Regionale in Scienze della Terra "Pegaso", Pisa

KEYWORDS:

minerali, apprendimento, modelli, stampante 3D

Spesso i ragazzi fanno confusione tra rocce e minerali perché creano nella loro mente "concetti alternativi" (Dove, 1998) di questi elementi naturali facendo riferimento alla loro esperienza quotidiana. Per fare chiarezza su questo argomento, in una classe terza della Scuola Secondaria di Primo Grado Alfieri Bertagnini di Massa, è stato approntato un percorso didattico riguardante le rocce e i minerali. L’attività è stata condotta facendo uso dell’approccio a 5 fasi: osservazione, verbalizzazione individuale, discussione collettiva, concettualizzazione e produzione condivisa (Fiorentini, 2000); questo in accordo con le idee del costruttivismo (es., Driver & Oldham, 1986) e della ricerca-azione (es., Barbier, 2007). Inizialmente, sia per le rocce che per i minerali, è stata proposta un’osservazione libera di alcuni campioni che ha permesso poi di individuarne le caratteristiche comuni importanti per la successiva classificazione. Quindi, per evidenziare l’importanza della forma per il riconoscimento dei minerali, gli alunni sono stati avviati ad una attività di modellizzazione della realtà; questo è stato reso possibile grazie all'impiego di un software per la progettazione e modellazione tridimensionale e di una stampante 3D per la costruzione di alcuni modelli di minerale. In questa fase del percorso, i ragazzi hanno misurato angoli, lunghezze di diedri e spigoli di alcuni campioni di pirite, calcite e quarzo; hanno quindi riprodotto su carta e poi su PC l’immagine tridimensionale di quest’ultimi. La fase successiva quindi ha previsto la stampa dei modelli realizzati dai ragazzi per mezzo di una stampante 3D. In conclusione, il percorso intrapreso ha consentito agli alunni di partecipare attivamente alle attività proposte e di acquisire le prime basi del metodo di indagine scientifica. Inoltre, il processo di pensiero e di apprendimento, messo in atto durante tutto questo percorso, ha permesso agli alunni di apprendere le prime basi del disegno tridimensionale e di indagare in modo più approfondito sulla natura tridimensionale degli oggetti reali, avvicinandoli ancora meglio ai non banali concetti di diedro, prospettiva e volume già affrontati in ambito matematico e tecnologico.

Bibliografia

Barbier, R. (2007): La ricerca-azione. Armando, Roma, 128 p.

Dove, J.E. (1998): Students’ alternative conceptions in Earth science: a review of research and implications for teaching and learning. Res. Papers Educ., 13, 183-201.

Driver, R. & Oldham, V. (1986): A constructivist approach to curriculum development in science. Stud. Sci. Educ., 13, 105-122.

Fiorentini, C. (2000): Quali condizioni per il rinnovamento del curricolo di scienze?. In: "L’arcipelago dei saperi", F. Cambi, ed. Le Monnier. Firenze, 275-290.

FROM COSMOS TO EARTH TO LIFE TO CULTURE. A RESILIENT STRATEGY FOR NATURAL, PHYSICAL, AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES: THE PROPOSAL OF A “WIDESPREAD MUSEUM” FOR THE CITY OF ROME

Corrado S.*1, Adanti B.1, Bollati A.1, Caneva G.1, Gioia C.2, Grossi F.1, de Angelis I.3, Magrone P.4, Mobilio S.1, Paolucci F.3 & Tedeschini Lalli L.4

1 Dipartimento di Scienze, Università di Roma Tre

2 Liceo Ginnasio Statale “Eugenio Montale”, Roma

3 Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università di Roma Tre

4 Dipartimento di Architettura, Università di Roma Tre

KEYWORDS:

Rome, scientific walks, widespead museum, outreach, geology

In recent years, the development of new media, based on information technologies and the diffusion of multimedia tools, has stimulated the diffusion of scientific knowledge, making it accessible to a large audience. At the same time, the rapid increase in the use of these techniques has seen a progressive decline in experiential practice, particularly important for scientific disciplines such as Geology, Astronomy, Mathematics in Architecture and Botany, which find in direct observation the priority medium for the acquisition of scientific knowledge on our planet and on the Universe. The aspect of direct observation is particularly delicate in the context of urban areas where intense anthropization has drastically decreased the possibility of observing "the earth beneath us and the sky above us" in a context in which the spatial and temporal scales in which the experiences and observations take place have been reduced. These territories are now increasingly “hidden”, with the inevitable consequence that global scale phenomena, such as climate change, energy consumption in perpetual growth, natural disasters, are perceived in our society as unexpected, sudden events apparently far from our shared lives.

The present project uses an extraordinary natural laboratory, the territory and history of the city of Rome and its surroundings, to experiment with a new model of the dissemination of scientific culture in the field of Geology, Astronomy, Mathematics in Architecture and Botany. The project is part of the tradition of the Diffused Museum, a model that, moving away from the objective idea of cultural property, extends its look to the cultural and natural heritage. The urban landscape, with its stratifications, its transformations, its "long duration", becomes the object of active observation, through the direct experience of the city and its public spaces. "Scientific walks" become "multipliers of curiosity", offering the opportunity to put some urban resources (museums, parks, documentary memories, squares, streets, libraries) into system so that they represent different but coherent stages of a territorial network. The project includes the Department of Science, Mathematics and Physics and Architecture of the University of Rome TRE. The aim is to define an organizational protocol, based on the collaboration between leaders in the various disciplines, which allows the transmission of scientific knowledge both in the school and in the territorial, capillary, effective and high level. A project to create in the new generations a habit for the holistic perception of cities and the natural context in which they develop.

In the SIMP session “Geosciences at school 2017” special regard will be devoted to the contribution of the geologists to the project and to the direct experience with several classes of High Schools of the Roman territory. Examples of the feedback work will be presented.

CYCLING&SCIENCE: GAME TOGETHER

Cossu C.*1-2-3-4

1 Scientix ambassador

2 Next Lab ambassador

3 STEM Alliance teacher

4 Associazione Nazionale Insegnanti di Scienze Naturali

KEYWORDS:

peer tutoring, experiments, Scientix, Next Lab, STEM, Alliance, Earth resources, bike, game

This year an important bike competition starts from Alghero, Sardinia and we decided to organize a science outreach activity that put together science and bicycling. The name Cycling with Science is related to the secondary means of transport to get to the several elementary school. In this activity have been involved a mixed group of students from Liceo Scientifico of Alghero, aged from 14 to 16 years old who tried to engage in different science activities primary school children. The high school students proposed to the 7-8 younger 20 density base experiments and 22 light base experiments to the 9-11 years old pupils. These experiments have been chosen from Scientix http://www.scientix.eu/, STEM Alliance http://www.stemalliance.eu/home and Next Lab http://www.golabz.eu/labs earth Science repositories. In the last day of this project the secondary School students will cycle a long the cicle track with an experiment in their basket and envolve citizends in their experiments. It will be a festival were sport earth science and the community will take part .

LOOKING FOR THE LITHOSPHERE

De Nunzio A.1, Langella A.2, Nicoletti M.C.1, Russo F.*2, Travaglione S.1 & the collaboration of the students of Applied Sciences of the Galilei–Vetrone High School of Benevento, Italy

1 Istituto di Istruzione Superiore "Galilei–Vetrone", Benevento

2 Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie, Università del Sannio, Benevento

KEYWORDS:

educational geological laboratory, mineralogy, petrography, volcanology, scientific graduates national project, teaching, Benevento

“Looking for the Lithosphere” is the title of a small school project, aiming at re-organizing from a systematic point of view an old collection of rocks samples, heritage of the “Galilei-Vetrone” High school of Benevento. This project grew slowly until it became an activity that progressively involved a group of students within the School-Job orientation paths and PLS (National Project of Scientific Graduates), under the supervision of the geologist of the Sannio University.

The training course involved students according to their specific curricular skills hereafter specified:

1. Third-year High school students (traditional curriculum and applied science curriculum) followed a mineralogical/petrographical oriented project;

2. Fourth-year High school students (traditional curriculum and applied science curriculum) followed a geomorphologic and vulcanological oriented project.

The main purpose of the mineralogical/petrographical oriented project was the restoration along with a new cataloguing of the rocks and minerals of the School.

Experience: a first approach of the investigation was devoted to the identification of the main macroscopical features of these samples (specific weight, color, luster, hardness, cleavage, etc.) followed by simple chemical tests (solubility, acid attack) necessary to provide an easy access to an overall minero-petrographical classification. A more careful characterization was carried out with an infrared photospectometer provided by Sannio University.

The student had also the chance to visit the Regio Museum of Mineralogy of Napoli.

Results: the students produced data sheets of the whole collection of minerals and rocks reporting the scientific name of the mineral or of the rock, the main mineralogical, petrographical and chemical features, the classification, the provenance (whenever possible), the technological applications and industrial uses, and some curiosities.

The main purpose of the geomorphologic and vulcanological oriented project was the study of Somma-Vesuvius and how is important the monitoring of this volcano to foresee any possible activity in one of the most populated area.

Experience: the Somma-Vesuvius volcano has been the object of multidisciplinary scientific studies. The study also considered iconographic-artistic, socio-economic, tourist and anthropological aspects.

Results: A visit to the Ercolano excavations highlighted the risk associated with a Plinian eruption such as the one that interested this area in 79 A.D. This visit has made such a volcanic site perceived as a major georesource to be protected.

GEOSCIENCE WORKSHOPS ON SICILIAN ACTIVE VOLCANOES: IMPLEMENTING THE SCHOOL EDUCATION THROUGH COLLABORATION AMONG DIFFERENT INSTITUTIONS

Diliberto I.S.*1, Calabrese S.2 & Gioia C.3

1 Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Palermo

2 Associazione Naturalistica GEODE, Palermo

3 Liceo Ginnasio di Stato “E. Montale “, Roma

KEYWORDS:

geoscience, volcanoes, fumaroles, field-work, digital technology, soft skills

“The attention devoted to our valuable geological heritage land has been often lacking in Italy. We have experienced it, as field experimentalist or as science teachers. So, we need to improve the knowledge of earth-science at any educational level and we think an empiric approach, can be the proper beginning for a successful scientific cognitive path. The geo-tourism essentially attracts foreigners. During our field experiences on active volcanoes, we are still surprised by local visitors who enjoy seasonal activities, like skiing on the flanks of Etna, or doing sea activities on the coastal beaches at Vulcano and Stromboli, but who are not interested in the ongoing volcanic processes. Consequently, we have integrated the social impetus that drives active citizenship with school education in order to relate our scientific knowledge to the professional and existential needs of young students.. Two scientific workshops have been carried out in collaboration with the science school teacher, the researcher of a naturalistic association (Geode), and researchers of the INGV. The first (A.Y. 2015/2016) was targeted to the Aeolian isles of Vulcano and Stromboli, the second to M. Etna (2016/2017).

Set goals:

- To increase the sensibility, respect and care for natural environment, as well as the awareness of the natural phenomena characterizing it;

- To overcome the traditional school setting organized in the classroom, using both field and laboratory approach; - use a more effective (and attractive) teaching style to increase young people cognitive abilities, training also the relational skills, like work ethics, orally speaking, and teamworks;

- To foster the multi-disciplinar approach for solving complex problems;

- To contaminate disciplines with digital technologies highlighting instrumental potentiality and versatility;

- To orient young people into future professional applications.

The didactic pathway provided information on geology, volcanology and on botanic-naturalistic aspects of the Aeolian archipelago, Mount Etna and surrounding areas. We formed groups of students, heterogeneous for class and address, ranging from 28 to 35 items. The didactic experience consisted into theoretical lessons in the classroom and excursions by land and by sea, through the most significant itineraries of Vulcano, Stromboli and Etna (Monti Rossi, Alcantara Gorges). The students were introduced to the volcanologist's task in the field of volcanic surveillance, through an operational approach. Volcanic surveillance is a fast evolving multi-disciplinar research field, aimed to the mitigation of risk. The application of geochemical and of geophysical principles and instrumentations, allow to monitor some changes of energy release occurring in volcanic system.

Field activities have provided: a) learning of the main notions of orienteering (geographic map reading, compass, GPS, Google Earth); b) petrologic recognition in field and by microscope; c) sampling of volcanic fluids emitted from the fumaroles on the rim of the crater; d) simulation of geochemical explorations, using temperature and pH sensors on a mesh of acquisition points; e) identification of the main botanical species, typical of the visited areas.

By returning the campaign data, students shared the acquired data and prepared a final presentation with some digital software: virtual padlet, power point presentation, genially presentation... The students' cognitive and soft skills were evaluated as inputs and outputs from the workshops, to qualify the experience, highlighting strengths and weaknesses in the perspective of continuous improvement.

Following the release of L.107 / 2015 "La Buona Scuola", this workshop experience has been recognized as a school-work didactic method (“Alternanza Scuola Lavoro”) for high schools (L.107/2015 art.1, 33–43). In fact, one of the training objectives set out in Art. 1c.7e;i, is the deepening of the methodological dimension by expansion and innovation of teaching strategies".

AURAL STRUCTURE: CREATION OF MUSICAL MODELS IN MINERALOGY EDUCATION

Eramo G.*1, Monno A.1, Mesto E.1, De Tullio M.1 & Ferilli S.2

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientali, Università "Aldo Moro", Bari

2 Dipartimento di Informatica, Università "Aldo Moro", Bari

KEYWORDS:

mineralogy, crystallography, music, chemistry, STEM education

Aural Structures is a project aimed to the creation of musical models of crystals and their educational application to mineralogy. The use of music in STEM has been associated to help memorising scientific concepts. However, music (without lyrics) can also be considered in itself as an interesting way to explore and explain the complexity of both natural and artificial structures, and a way to guide learners of any age towards the deep understanding of the difficult concept of molecular order, even for disabled people. For this purpose, we developed a scientifically based model of crystal structures which can give an aural representation of crystals that might be able to improve memorisation and learning through emotional involvement. All sound parameters (pitch, duration, timbre, and dynamics) are based on physical and chemical properties of the atoms involved in the structure. We are currently transposing our approach into a software program that will allow to automatically generate the musical model from the chemical composition and the space group of a given crystal. Once ready, the software might be extended to take additional parameters based on which it will change the sound rendering of the structures, according to the different educational purposes, allowing further development of the approach. Possible applications of this novel educational approach will be illustrated with practical examples about some relevant topics of mineralogy (e.g., solid solutions, polymorphism).

A CLIL TOOL FOR TEACHING GEOSCIENCES AND SAFETY RULES IN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Ercolino I.*1

1 Scuola di Bioscienze e Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Camerino

KEYWORDS:

technology, educative tools, CLIL, primary school

The aim of this work is to focus on a controversial question concerning the use of computers by children especially in education at the primary school level and the idea to develop more hand’s on activities with poor materials in the classroom as cootie catchers (is a form of origami used in children's games) to learn geosciences and safety rules to observe in case of earthquake. On one hand the use of technology in education is absolutely necessary in order to experiment more in pedagogy in the classroom. There are countless resources for enhancing education as apps and e-books to use as amazing educative tools that make learn with more fun and effective. On the other hand parents, teachers, students and policy makers focuses on technology that can be a distraction and can foster more cheating in class and also during tasks. Moreover many of them firmly believe in damages that can be provoked by a continue use of computer that can cause very often a possible disconnect of social interaction and very often for example computer game addiction when youngest refers damages caused by unhealthy excessive amount of time spent playing computer games . The addicted user is very far from the real world while they need more experience with reality, because likely it is not the right age for abstraction. They need to cooperate with other students in social activities as handicraft activities. It is for that Cootie catchers are great tools that can foster students in their earth science learning. “Give people facts and you feed their minds for an hour; awaken their curiosity and they feed their own minds for a lifetime” Ian Russell (Kassin et al., 2013). When we talk in class about earthquakes we know that content is based on vocabulary that tranfer concepts. This tool can help pupils for memorizing scientific concepts and glossary and CLIL methodology. “In consideration of the need for pupils to start using English as a second language (L2) beyond the 2-3 hour a week compulsory “English lesson” in Italian primary schools, the new Italian National Curriculum Guidelines encourage multilingual education. This official stimulus could lead to the achievement of a more bilingual classroom with increased usage of English.., especially through the use of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) strategies”. (Bailey, 2015) “Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is most important” (Gates, 2014).

Bailey, N. (2015): Attaining Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in the Primary School Classroom. Am. J. Educ. Res., 3, 418-426.

Gates, B. (2014): https://www.brainyquote.com/

Kassin, S., Fein, S., Markus, H.R. (2013): Social Phychology, 9th ed., Cengage Learning, Wadsworth, 759 p.

FIELD-BASED EARTH LEARNING FOR HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHERS: TRAINING ACTIVITIES FROM ALPS AND APENNINES

Ghirotti M.1, Rossi V.2, Mazzucchelli M.*3, Natali C.1 & Berti M.2

1 Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, Università di Ferrara

2 Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna

3 Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena

KEYWORDS:

PLS Geologia, Vajont, field training, science high school teachers

With the purpose to enhance Earth Science competence, PLS Geologia of Bologna, Ferrara and Modena - Reggio Emilia Universities organize an annual geological field training for Science High school teachers. The project (action C of DM 976/2014) is devoted to improve knowledge and skills of teachers but it also addresses issues of how to transfer scientific information to high school students, in order to both broaden student education and enhance competence in Earth Sciences. The courses have been designed to provide an interactive learning environment focused on student needs. The geological field training comprises common lectures, field exercises and activities. Selected case studies in Alps and Apennines offer the opportunity to deal with a variety of landforms and processes and to face with issues such as geological risks, climate change or sustainable resources. Course syllabi are printed and posted on a website that is be housed at each of the participating teachers, it includes also illustrative material, scientific articles, and links to other relevant websites.

The first year field training took place in October 2016 at the Vajont Landslide. The Vajont landslide is one of the best known and most tragic examples of a natural disaster induced by human activity. Many questions have been posed and remain concerning the legal, economic, social and scientific issues associated with the history of the dam and in emergency management of the reservoir slope up to the time of catastrophic failure. In this sense, it lends itself to the development of highly interdisciplinary, not only geological, school projects. Numerous initiatives have been carried out in order to contribute to keeping the memory of the catastrophic disaster alive. Among these the creation of a “multi-centre museum”, consisting of historical-natural science paths, permanent exhibitions and other educational and/or popular multimedia material concerning the Vajont catastrophe. The two days field training covered geology, stratigraphy, tectonics and geomorphology of the Vajont Valley, introduced by a scientific seminar and videos. A walk on the crown of the dam gave the teachers the possibility to observe the dam itself and the landslide; a stop at a safe outcrop permitted them to observe the stratigraphy of the area, to learn to use the geological compass; with a visit to the Vajont Museum in Longarone and a stop at the monumental cemetery of the victims of Vajont, the field training ended.

In September 2017 the field training will took place in the Santerno and Senio river valleys (N Apennines), where turbidite deposits of the Marnoso-arenacea Formation (MAF) crop out extensively. The main targets of the field trip will be the MAF stratigraphic and tectonic features, and the landslides that affected this type of rocks.

Additional information on PLS projects are available at: http://plsgeo.unimore.it/; http://fst.unife.it/orientamento/pls; http://www.pls.unibo.it/it/geologia.

BUILDING AWARENESS OF THEIR ORIGINS FROM THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TERRITORY

Gigante F.*1

1 Istituto Comprensivo Sant'Elia-Commenda, Brindisi

KEYWORDS:

ambienti costiero, ecosistemi, educazione ambientale

Brindisi (main town in the Salento peninsula, Puglia, Italy) is an important natural harbor known for centuries as the “Valigia delle Indie”. The whole coast that develops in NW and SE deserves great attention to structural characteristics, values, physical-environmental relationships, nature, history, settlement and landscape.

An increased sense of citizenship in young people of 11-13 years of age range is built starting from the knowledge of the territory understood as a set of experiences and climbing habits from individual perception to the collective. The 3 years of junior high school is proposed to the students with a general overview of the landscape of the province: the study of the coastal environment as a result of geological processes and ecosystem relationships is a key part of the curriculum.

This specific comprehensive teaching programs in the 2nd and 3rd year include the study of ecosystems and a general overview of the geology of the planet Earth.

The extracurricular part of the program consists of projects aimed at the knowledge of the area by hiking the sites and use of various technologies, both physical-chemical (environmental analysis) and computer (for the geographical classification). In particular in the coming months they will be examining the lagoon environment analysis of the biotope Torre Guaceto, a wetland safeguarded according to the Ramsar Convention 1972. For the computer part every year a literacy course is organized which includes the knowledge of the use of GIS and image processing.

During these winter months also some classes will prepare for participating in a race at the national level based on knowledge of ecosystems.

THE SCIENTIX PROJECT: AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE BEST PRACTICES IN EARTH SCIENCE TEACHING

Gravina T.*1-2, Cossu C.1-2, Fosella X.2-3, Macchia S.4 & Molaro D.2-3

1 Associazione Nazionale Insegnanti di Scienze Naturali

2 Scientix ambassador

3 Associazione B:kind - Science & Co

4 Next - Lab ambassador - Istituto Comprensivo “Giovanni Arpino”, Sommariva del Bosco (CN)

KEYWORDS:

Earth science, STEM, teacher professional development

Scientix is a project funded by the Horizon 2020 programme of the European Union for research and innovation, that promotes and supports a Europe-wide collaboration among STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) teachers, education researchers, policymakers and other STEM education professionals. Scientix is coordinated by European Schoolnet, a Brussels-based consortium of thirty ministries of education, which is a driving factor for innovation in teaching and learning and fosters pan-European collaboration between schools and teachers. Scientix is represented in Italy by a National Contact Point (Indire) and by 39 ambassadors, STEM teachers from middle and high school interested in promoting STEM topic and teaching activity. The Scientix project supports teachers in their professional development with face to face workshops, moodle courses and webinars, and provides a repository of teaching materials, developed by different european project on STEM topics.

The Scientix projects include also teaching resources and tools focusing on Earth science, available for teachers with no geological background that would like to improve their knowledge in this field. In addition, we would present teaching materials included in Scientix repository focused on geological topics as useful tools to engage students in Earth science. Moreover we would share our experience as Scientix ambassadors in order to invite new teachers, policy makers and stakeholders involved in Earth science education to participate in Scientix community and share best practices and experiences.

SPELEOLOGY AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALIZE DIDACTIC LABORATORY ON THE TERRITORY

Gravina T.*1 & Farina L.2

1 Associazione Nazionale Insegnanti di Scienze Naturali

2 Gruppo Speleologico, Club Alpino Italiano - sezione di Napoli

KEYWORDS:

education, lesson plans, karst landscape

The study of Science in Secondary schools is based on the observation of environment, so it is very useful to introduce a link to the territory in which the students live into the didactic activity. This arrangement helps to learn the genetic processes of landscape forms. This paper proposes a teaching program that includes the use of the karst landscape as a natural laboratory, allowing to introduce other disciplines too, such as hydrology, hydrogeology and biology, and environmental protection. The activity includes several learning objectives based on the age of the students: observation and application of basic concepts for middle school students, analysis of karst for the high school students. The participation of students from different levels of education allows to carry out the activity through the peer-tutoring enabling the development of multi-disciplinary skills.

AN EXPERIENCE ON PREPARING NOT GEOLOGIST FOR TEACHING GEOSCIENCES AT SCHOOL

Greco R.*1, Mateucci Milena A.P.1, da Silva Andrade W.1, Freitas dos Santos Jacaúna C.L.1, Costa Nascimento Infanger L.A.1, Baldin C.1 & Paris E.2

1 Instituto de Geociencias, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil

2 Scuola di Scienze e Tecnologie - Divisione di Geologia, Università di Camerino

KEYWORDS:

Geoscience education, teachers training, geography teachers

Geoscience contents are usually presents in school curricula worldwide, although with remarkable differences. As well is quite difference the profile of academic study of the teachers in charge to teach this contents, the common point it’s in general a lack of preparation in geoscience during his/her own degree. As in Italy most of the teachers that teach Earth Science content are biologist in Brazil are biologist or geographer. As geography is considered a human science usually geography students have not great motivation in study science disciplines and that difficult even their understanding of the contents. We do not enter in the discussion if geographer are the most adapt professional profile for teaching geoscience in secondary school, by the way, as they are involved in this activities for law in a pragmatic way we will analyse the experience of a new discipline introduced at Unicamp (Brazil) that focus prepare geography teachers to teach geosciences content at school. The curricula of geography course change a lot from university to university, at Unicamp this degree is inside the Geoscience Institute as the geology degree, probably for this reason there is a good balance between human and physical geography in Unicamp geography curricula, so future geography teachers received a good training in geoscience as well. Since march 2017 were introduced a new discipline focus in improve the ability to teach geoscience at school. In this discipline theoretical and practical aspect are equally worked with great emphasis on methodology based on constructivist, inquired based science education and field trip. Several experts, including PhD students and schools’ teachers that are doing project in geoscience education were invited to give seminars in order to show practical examples realizes in real schools. The group analysed in this study is composed by the 28 students of the discipline. All the students are of the second year of the geography degree devoted to prepare school geography teachers. The discipline provides weekly six hours of activities, two of them are presencial in university classroom. The students were divided in two group, the first group, that is the day course, include 15 students, the second group, that is the night course, involve 13 students. During the lectures of the discipline and during the field we observe and take note of behaviour, attitude, questions and answer and interactions in the work-group. The qualitative analyses of this data show a progressive increase in self-confidence of the students for teaching geoscience. Further study will be necessary to verify if this attitude will be maintained and confirmed when the students start to give lecture as professor in secondary school.

IL TEMPO DELLA NATURA E IL TEMPO DELL'UOMO: UNA LUNGA STORIA DI CAMBIAMENTI CLIMATICI

Landi B.1 & Papini P.*1

1 Istituto Comprensivo " Primo Levi", Impruneta (FI)

KEYWORDS:

cambiamenti climatici, storia della Terra e della Vita, fattori antropici e naturali

Nelle ultime decadi le variazioni climatiche hanno avuto ripercussioni sui sistemi naturali e antropici in tutti i continenti e gli oceani. In molti casi, le variazioni nelle precipitazioni e la fusione dei ghiacci hanno alterato il ciclo idrologico modificando la risorsa idrica da un punto di vista qualitativo e quantitativo.

Le attività antropiche, le città, le fabbriche, hanno contribuito al cambiamento climatico? Cosa sono i cambiamenti climatici e quanto influiscono sull’ambiente, la sua vegetazione, la sua fauna? Molte specie terrestri e acquatiche in risposta ai cambiamenti climatici stanno modificando o hanno già modificato la loro presenza e il loro comportamento nei vari ambienti. Come l’ambiente risponde ai cambiamenti nei tempi geologici e nei tempi storici? Quanto il sistema antropico ha modificato l’ambiente ed è stato modificato dai cambiamenti in corso?

Queste sono alcune delle domande che ci siamo posti nelle nostre classi terze e abbiamo deciso, insieme ai nostri alunni, di cercare le risposte osservando ciò che ci circonda ma con uno sguardo che indaga nel passato. Lo studio delle Scienze della Terra, e della Paleontologia in particolare, ci offre gli strumenti per comprendere che la storia della Terra e della Vita su di essa non è stata altro che una lunga serie di cambiamenti. In particolare ci fornisce prove evidenti di antichi e ciclici periodi in cui sono avvenute variazioni climatiche, anche in un passato recente.

Gli obiettivi essenziali di apprendimento di questo percorso didattico, sviluppato nelle classi terze della Secondaria I grado, possono essere così sintetizzati: comprendere come cambiamenti climatici avvenuti in passato abbiano portato a cambiamenti di esseri viventi che popolavano la Terra; conoscere i processi che hanno agito nel corso del tempo geologico per comprendere come e perché l’ambiente cambia e per prevedere ed affrontare i futuri rapporti tra uomo e ambiente; comprendere come non debbano essere i cambiamenti di per sé a dover far riflettere, ma i tempi con cui essi si manifestano.

HIRING STUDENTS AS CITIZEN SCIENTISTS: A LEARNING UNIT BASED ON OPEN DATA FROM AN ANTARCTIC DRILL-CORE

Macario M.*1-2, Talarico F.3 & Paris E.2

1 Liceo Scientifico “N. Copernico”, Prato

2 Scuola di Scienze e Tecnologie - Sezione Geologia, Università di Camerino

3 Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, dell'Ambiente e della Terra, Università di Siena

KEYWORDS:

geoscience education, citizen science, IBSE (Inquiry-based Science Education), Antarctica, open data

Students feel particularly engaged in science whenever they can experience the real work of scientists, gathering, representing and interpreting data to gain evidence about natural phenomena. At the same time, students feel proud if they can help scientists to get new evidence from data sets already existent in open access repositories acting as citizen scientists (Silvertown, 2009). The present work aims to promote a learning unit, developed during the doctorial period of one the authors at the University of Camerino (Italy) and targeted at upper secondary school students (Macario, 2014). The unit is evidence-based driven and approached using the “5 Es learning cycle” (Bybee et al., 2006). After a preliminary brainstorming as Engage phase, working groups of students are invited to examine some basic features of the clasts included in a drill-core section (ANDRILL AND-1b), whose high definition pictures are fully accessible online (http://coreref.org/projects/and1- 1b/viewer/). These data are considered relevant in understanding how the Antarctic glacial system has worked in the past, during advance and retreat stages linked to periodic climate changing (McKay et al., 2009). In the following Explore phase students use simplified schemes and are guided by questions and templates in describing number, shape, size, roundness and lithology of each clast that is adequately detectable in a given portion of core. At a later stage, all data are reported as tables or plotted as diagrams. In the Explain phase, students are invited to interpret trends and patterns they can evidence. Then, the overview of the full core section is cooperatively built up, in order to infer the behaviour of the glacial cover over the drill site. Finally, in the Elaborate phase, all these evidence are discussed in a plenary session under the supervision of the teacher who will help students to understand the meaning of their results, which are compared with palaeoclimatic models previously described for the region considered. Therefore, they are invited to propose a model for the dynamics of the glacial system under exam in the time period examined. The activity is concluded by a self-assessing session in which students evaluate all the contributions given by peers. All the materials used to perform the activity are available on demand.

Bybee, R.W.,Taylor, J.A., Gardner, A., VanScotter, P., Powell, J.C., Westbrook, A., Landes, N. (2006): The BSCS 5E Instructional Model: Origins and Effectiveness. Office of Science Education National Institutes of Health, BSCS.

Macario, M. (2014): Educational resources to teach geosciences in the Italian schools based on a research case study from ANDRILL AND-1b drill core, Antarctica. Doctoral dissertation, SCHOOL OF ADVANCED STUDIES-Doctoral course in Earth Sciences (XXVI cycle).

McKay, R., Browne, G., Carter, L., Cowan, E., Dunbar, G., Krissek, L., Naish, T., Powell, R., Reed, J., Talarico, F., Wilch, T. (2009): The stratigraphic signature of the late Cenozoic Antarctic Ice Sheets in the Ross Embayment. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 121, 1537–1561

Silvertown, J. (2009): A new dawn for citizen science. Trends Ecol. Evol., 24, 467-471.

INQUIRY LEARNING SPACE: AN INNOVATIVE TOOL TO TEACH EARTH SCIENCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOL.

Macchia S.*1, Gravina T.2-3 & Cossu C.2-3

1 Next-Lab ambassador - Istituto Comprensivo “Giovanni Arpino”, Sommariva del Bosco (CN)

2 Scientix ambassador

3 Associazione Nazionale Insegnanti di Scienze Naturali

KEYWORDS:

Earth science, STEM, teacher professional development

The Go-Lab Project (Global Online Science Labs for Inquiry Learning at School) (http://www.go-lab-project.eu/) opens up online science laboratories (remote and virtual labs) for the large-scale use in school education. The overall aim of the project is to encourage young people aged from 10 to 18 to engage in science topics, acquire scientific inquiry skills, and experience the culture of doing science by undertaking active guided experimentation.

To achieve this aim, the Go-Lab project creates the Go-Lab Portal (http://www.golabz.eu/labs) allowing science teachers finding online labs and inquiry learning applications appropriate for their class, combining these in Inquiry Learning Spaces (ILSs) supporting particular lesson scenarios, and sharing the ILSs with their students.

Here we will show the steps for designing an ILS using the Earth Sciences laboratories (https://goo.gl/PpIziy) "Historic Climate Trends" and "Orfeus Earthquake Data Center" from the Go-Lab project. ILSs are online learning spaces that can be used by mobile devices so that make virtual laboratories accessible real-time wherever students are located and at any time of the day. The results show that if teacher uses ILSs in classroom, these can increase in students love to geoscience experiments, the growth of their critical thinking skills, the willingness to give and receive help, the learn from their own mistakes, the openness to different ideas and the ability to argue in group.

LEARNING ON GAMING IMPROVES INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF BASIC SCIENCE SKILLS AND FOSTERS CURIOSITY TOWARDS THE EARTH SCIENCES.

Maraffi S.*1 & Paris E.1

1 Scuola di Scienze e Tecnologie, Università di Camerino

KEYWORDS:

Learning on Gaming, Earth sciences, innovative teaching, Game Based Learning

According to the European Commission (Eurydice 2016), it is necessary to improve student learning levels and their acquired skills, and at the same time to train, motivate and renew the teaching staff.

The aim of this work is to use the latest Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to create innovative educational products for students and new materials for teachers, to effectively respond to the European Union instances.

Learning on Gaming (LoG) is a project based on a new didactic methodology: a Computer Class Role Playing Game (CCRPG), GeoQuest. Unlike virtual games, which digitally reproduce reality, GeoQuest world is created with drawings and pictures, music, sound effects and videos, realizing an ambience for a full and complete immersion into the game. Adventures include laboratory activities that can be made in the classroom or in a lab during the game, or can be viewed on specific recorded videos (Maraffi et al., 2016). The GeoQuest game includes interdisciplinary adventure paths based on topics of Geology, Volcanology, Mineralogy, Environmental Sciences and has been created for 11-14 and 15-18 students year old.

The first data collected during the experimentation were processed according to the methodologies indicated in the literature (Martìnez Godìnez, 2013). An result is the students’ response to CCRPG (51%), which is significantly higher than that of PowerPoint-supported lessons (34%) and traditional (frontal) lessons (15%). Moreover, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities was carried out by considering the following parameters: participation, comprehension of the themes, ability to convey complex interdisciplinary topics, ability to interact in a foreign language.

The results obtained until now confirm that Learning on Gaming, proposed through the CCRPG GeoQuest, can improve an integrated development of basic skills and European key competences and foster Earth Sciences disciplines.

European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2016. Structural Indicators for Monitoring Education and Training Systems in Europe – 2016.

Maraffi, S., Pennesi, D., Acqua, A., Stacchiotti, L., Paris, E. (2016): SoilQuest: an IBSE approach with Computer Class Role Playing Game. Int. J. Res. Innovation Earth Sci., 3, 88-91.

Martínez Godínez, V.L. (2013): Paradigmas de investigación. Manual multimedia para el desarrollo de trabajos de investigación. Una visión desde la epistemología dialéctico crítica.

PLATE TECTONICS: DISCOVERING OCEAN AND CONTINENT ON THE APUAN ALPS

Montomoli C.*1, Bonaccorsi E.1, Gioncada A.1, Pieraccioni F.1, Ragaini L.1, Iaccarino S.1 & Vezzoni S.1

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa

KEYWORDS:

Alpi Apuane, plate tectonics, summer school

A Summer School for teachers, focused on understanding plate tectonics by the direct observation of its effects in the field and with the aid of hands-on activities, has been proposed in the frame of “Piano Lauree Scientifiche“ project. Rather than being a theory to be known only from schoolbooks, plate tectonics can be, in fact, discovered in our landscapes and rock outcrops.

The Summer School has been organized, im collaboration with the “Parco delle Apuane” as a three days field trip across the Alpi Apuane massif in Northern Tuscany, during which different tectonic units have been observed, deriving from both oceanic paleoenvironment (i.e. Ligurian Units) and continental crust (Apuane Unit and Tuscan Nappe)

During field observations special attention has been posed to the study of brittle and ductile deformation of different lithologies that have been deformed at different structural levels , i.e. in different Pressure and Temperature ranges, developed during plate collisions and subsequent exhumation of the rocks towards the surface. Interactive observations have been addressed to recognize different rock types and to define how they are oriented in the space to understand their relative geometric relationships fundamental to reconstruct the architecture of the belt.

Outcrop scale structures have been related also to mountain scale ones (i.e. pluridecametric folds) leading to the construction of the chain.

During the first day we focused also on the development of natural cave and karstification processes. In this view we visited the “Antro del Corchia” cave that represents one of the best examples in the Northern Apennines belt. Not far from the Antro del Corchia cave we had the opportunity to visit the old mine of Levigliani were we discussed about related mineralizations that till not far ago represented a very strong commercial activity for the region.

During the last day, various interactive lab activities have been proposed regarding mainly classification problems of rocks and minerals, determination of rock ages and interpretation of topographic and geological maps.

FROM FIELD AND LAB EXPERIENCES TO SCHOOL DESKS: A “PIANO LAUREE SCIENTIFICHE” PROJECT AT PISA UNIVERSITY

Montomoli C.*1

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa

KEYWORDS:

Piano Lauree Scientifiche project, hands-on activity, field work

Piano Lauree Scientifiche Project (PLS) is a MIUR funded poject to increase high school students’ interest in basic sciences and to improve teachers training.

During the first years of the project field work and hands-on activities, based on the direct observations of geological processes, have been used as strategy for integrated learning , at different students’levels, in the area of Geosciences.

Fieldwork and lab activities have a big potential, for both students and teachers, to develop competencies promoting interdisciplinary learning. They enhance interdisciplinary approaches and that is why we used them as teaching strategies to consolidate theoretical concepts and to develop specific competences.

Approaching to field geological examples and to hands-on activities theoretical and difficult concepts could become easier to understand thanks to the direct observations of the different processes.

The PLS comprises four main themes and for all of them we privileged “pratical” experiences.

The main activities we organized, according to the main four themes included in the project, are:

1) Several lab activities, at Earth Science Department of Pisa University, to teach and learn sciences addressed to secondary school students

2) Fieldwork activities to let secondary school students to be aware of their interest in earth science disciplines

3) Field based summer schools for teachers to directly observe the main effects of plate tectonics

4) Field trip across the Northern Apennines for first year bachelor students.

LETTURA DEL PAESAGGIO IN CHIAVE INTERDISCIPLINARE. SCIENZE, GEOGRAFIA ED EDUCAZIONE TECNICA IN SINERGIA PER UN APPRENDIMENTO MULTIPLO.

Pennesi D.*1 , Ricciardi S.2, Menichelli F.3 & Paris E.1

1 Scuola di Scienze e Tecnologie - Sezione di Geologia, Università di Camerino

2 Scienze della Formazione Primaria, Dipartimento degli Studi Umanistici, Università di Urbino

3 Istituto Comprensivo "V. Monti", Pollenza (MC)

KEYWORDS:

didattica interdisciplinare, lettura del paesaggio

Il paesaggio rappresenta un elemento chiave del benessere individuale e sociale (Convenzione Europea del Paesaggio, Preambolo, capoverso n. 9), i suoi caratteri derivano dalla natura, dalla storia umana, dalle reciproche interrelazioni (Codice Urbani, art. 131).

Tanto le Indicazioni Nazionali per il curriculo della scuola dell’infanzia e del primo ciclo di istruzione (Decreto Profumo del 2012) quanto la Raccomandazione del Parlamento Europeo e del Consiglio del 18 dicembre 2016 (2006/962/CE) fanno della lettura del paesaggio un obiettivo fondamentale. Di qui la scelta delle scriventi, di presentare un contributo relativo ad attività didattiche rivolte a studenti della scuola di base, di età compresa tra gli 11 e i 14 anni.

Evitando confini convenzionali tra discipline che non hanno riscontro con l’unitarietà tipica dei processi di apprendimento (ogni persona infatti impara attingendo liberamente dalle sue esperienze e rielabora), si intende allenare i ragazzi a cogliere nell’insieme dei caratteri che concorrono a formare la fisionomia di una scena paesistica, la concatenazione che li lega ed in questa concatenazione, un’espressione delle leggi generali dell’organismo terrestre (Paul Vidal de Lablache). A partire dall’osservazione con tutti i nostri sensi, abbiamo indicato il metodo per scoprire, descrivere, interpretare i rapporti di causa-effetto che esistono fra le componenti fisiche ed antropiche di un territorio: dalle strutture geologiche al rilievo, dal rilievo al clima, dal clima all’idrografia, alla vegetazione, all’uomo potente agente di modellamento del paesaggio, al pari di quelli atmosferici. Applicando al paesaggio il metodo cartesiano di costruzione della conoscenza, si gli alunni sono stati avviati a leggere nel caso specifico, la Valle del Potenza (Marche), come una radiografia superando l’iniziale approccio estetico ed emotivo, per ricostruirne i processi genetici.

La raccolta, la catalogazione ed il confronto dei dati è stata elaborata attraverso la produzione di plastici, disegni e schede di classificazione del paesaggio in esame, usati poi per la valutazione degli alunni. Attraverso l'uso della cartografia ufficiale, della bussola, di schede di rilevazione e immagini da telerilevamento è affiorato in maniera naturale il concetto di regione nella sua accezione polisemica.

L’insegnante di scienze ha mostrato come esaminare campioni di vegetazione ripariale e di suolo tipici del territorio collinare marchigiano per imparare a “vedere” analogie tra le foglie e la diversità nei colori dei suoli.

In una logica ricorsiva, si è partiti dal mondo reale per ritornare su di esso passando per le fasi di conoscenza teorica ed esperienza pratica.

AN APPROACH PATH TO EARTH SCIENCE

Pieraccioni F.*1-2, Pandolfi L.1, Ribolini A.1, Casaburo S.3, Ricci F.3 & Fancesconi F.3

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa

2 Dottorato Regionale in Scienze della Terra "Pegaso", Pisa

3 Istituto di Istruzione Superiore “A. Meucci”, Massa

KEYWORDS:

Earth science, teaching, Apuan Alps, scientific degree course plane (PLS)

The guidelines actions of DM 976/2014 consider “to put at system the practice of the lab" for the teaching of basic sciences, in particular for the training orientation of students of the last three years of secondary school”. The DM 976/2014 regards the Scientific Degree Course Plane (PLS) to impassion to Science and to increase the number of university students. Earth Science Department proposed at I.I.S. “A. Meucci” of Massa an approach path to Earth Science for third classes students of Scientific High School and Quantity Surveyors. The sequence envisages a first knowledge about Earth Science and then labs to deepen some aspects of geology for the two further years. First year was organized in three segments: a meeting in class to know better the Earth Science, a field trip on Apuan Alps for a day and a lab with the georadar. The activity began in classroom with a brief funny test about some aspects about geologists’ employment. This was the icebreaker for talking about branches of Earth Science together with students and discover opportunities of job. The appointment was to the successive Saturday with only interested students at geology. Seven students (six males and one female) got at the meeting. Students were led at Campocecina in Apuan Alps for an excursion. The field trip consisted of a backwards travel in the geological time: from the current anthropization of landform for marble quarries to the deposition of Jurassic carbonatic platform. Last segment was the use of Georadar in the garden of the school looking for something buried. The students participated to the experiment using the Georadar with the help of the teachers and after that the teachers introduced them to the processing of the collected data using the Georadar software in the classroom. The experience was positive for Department of Earth Science and for I.I.S. "A. Meucci" because it showed that put together synergies leads at an active participation of students in an important propose regarding their future lives.

EARTH SCIENCE LEARNING RESEARCH: METAPHYSICS OR SCIENCE?

Pieraccioni F.*1-2

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa

2 Dottorato Regionale in Scienze della Terra "Pegaso", Pisa

KEYWORDS:

teaching, research, scientific societies, Earth Science

The teaching of science associates both the scientific method, introduced by Galileo, and learning methods. Students have to observe a phenomenon, experiment and do their deductions. This learning approach has its roots in the constructivism, where pupils replace prior ideas with new knowledges (Driver & Oldham, 1986). Learning sequences, planned with these objectives, cannot be improvised but theoretically studied and practically experimented. So, learning theories have to associate with science to form science teaching. Earth Science teaching is peculiar within other scientific disciplines. Earth transformations occur at very different pressures, temperatures and times from daily experience. So, Earth Science need models for teaching. Earth Science teaching has to be supported by learning theories associated at disciplinary contents for avoiding the rise of "alternative conceptions" (Dove, 1998). The question is: who has to do the research of Earth Science teaching? This researcher must have scientific expertise and deep knowledges of learning features. This figure must be filled by Earth scientists, such as for mathematics, physics and chemistry. Earth Science researchers interested about teaching are very few. Until recently, in Italy, by an academic point of view, didactics for school and Earth Science were two separated and faraway worlds. Now more researchers have approached didactics for school through the Piano Lauree Scientifiche. The first difficulty that researchers face is to find a space where to publish their researches about didactics. Earth Science academic compart seems to consider teaching research like a no-science or metaphysics, papers are considered not scientific and so not worth publishing. Instead, didactic research has got a scientific status. The data collection may be different compared to Earth Science research, but results are scientific. Initially, research methodology is qualitative but then becomes quantitative (Libarkin & Kurdziel, 2002) to confirm data. Findings of teaching research must find place in a scientific context to not remain a metaphysic reasoning. It should be allowed to Earth Science teaching researchers to access at an editorial space on scientific journals and didactic commissions in scientific societies and associations. If it's important to do Earth Science research it is important to do didactic Earth Science research for improving skills of students that could be future researchers in Earth Science.

Dove, J.E. (1998): Students’ alternative conceptions in Earth science: a review of research and implications for teaching and learning. Res. Papers Educ., 13, 183-201.

Driver, R. & Oldham, V. (1986): A constructivist approach to curriculum development in Science. Studies Sci. Educ., 13, 105-122.

Libarkin, J.C. & Kurdziel, J. (2002): Research methodologies in science education: The qualitative/quantitative debate. J. Geosci. Educ., 50, 78-86.

EVALUATION OF THEATRE AS A WAY TO PROMOTE EARTH SCIENCES SKILLS DEBATING

Porta M.*1-2, Paris E.1, Pelfini M.3 & Invernizzi M.C.1

1 Scuola di Scienze e Tecnologia - Sezione di Geologia, Università di Camerino

2 Liceo “A.Banfi”, Vimercate (MB)

3 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra “A. Desio”, Università di Milano

KEYWORDS:

theatrical arts, creative writing, skills debating, changing climatic conditions

This research aims to investigate the efficiency of theatrical arts to improve scientific debating and to transfer specific knowledge.

After an analysis of previous experiences of theatrical arts for scientific outreach and education useful to identify weaknesses and the strengths of the educational strategy (Chemi & Kastberg, 2015), the project was planned.

It started as a laboratory of creative writing prompted from personal studies on the Earth Sciences topic and related arguments carried out by the students, with the aim to produce a script where they are authors/actors.

The script has a central idea: the complex relationship between glacier and man, the first one inserted in a geological context (the Alps with their origin, structure, rocks and minerals) and the second one interacting with the glacial environment under different factors (natural, historical, artistic and cultural). A constant dialogue between man changing following his history and glacier changing under changing climatic conditions allow for the involvement of more topics and disciplines thus increasing knowledge, awareness and sensitivity to geoconservation. Under such educational approaches, geology (orogenesis, tectonics plates, petrography and mineralogy, glaciers, climate changes) have been discussed as well as art, physics, history and literature. The building phase was tested by teachers attending Summer School at the University of Camerino in terms of contents and didactic suitability; then the reviewed script was tested through a dramatization useful to promote discussion and reasoning (Simon & Richardson, 2009). An evaluation phase considered the script, the rehearsals and the last performance (dramatization) focusing on the students’ debating skills and on the transfer of specific knowledge. The first goal is analysed by: i) design criteria useful to assess students’ debating; ii) comparison of students’ levels before, during and after the theatrical activities; iii) comparison of a control class (all students 17 years old).

Specific criteria (number of sentences, specific words related to the topic, complexity, formal correctness, justification, statistic data, bibliographic references, opinion, scientific data, ability to argue both for and against, ability to argue schematically using bulleted lists, tables, lists,) were evaluated. Results are encouraging both in terms of acquired knowledge, specific abilities and transversal skills achieved were learn to learn, working in group, communicate, entrepreneurship. To estimate the transfer of specific knowledge to the general public a questionnaire was distributed to the public and the results seem really positive.

Chemi, T. & Kastberg, P. (2015): Education through theatre: Typologies of science Theatre. Appl. Theatre Res., 3, 53-65

Simon, S. & Richardson, K. (2009): Argumentation in School Science: Breaking the Tradition of Authoritative Exposition Through a Pedagogy that Promotes Discussion and Reasoning. Argumentation, 23, 469-493.

ANALYSIS OF EARTH SCIENCES TEACHING METHODS AND CONTENTS IN HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULA AFTER THE GELMINI REFORM

Porta M.*1, Paris E.1, Pelfini M.2 & Cabrini A.2

1 Scuola di Scienze e Tecnologie -Sezione di Geologia, Università di Camerino

2 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra “A. Desio”, Università di Milano

KEYWORDS:

Gelmini Reform, curricula, final reports, topics

This work analyzes the contents and the way of teaching "Earth Sciences" in the various high schools of provinces of Cremona, Lodi and Mantova (Lombardy region, Italy) after the Gelmini Reform (2010). The main purposes are to analyze a) how the curricula have been changed according to the reform, the annual programming and the final report, b) check the degree of adjustments to the National Guidelines (first biennium, second biennium and fifth year), c) in case of divergence from the pre-reform teaching methods, investigate the reasons. (Realdon et al., 2014). Seventy-five high school science teachers were interviewed using a questionnaire and the contents of the work plans (containing preventive programming) and the final reports were analyzed, both referring to the school year 2015/2016, obtaining a total of 663 documents. A comparison was also made between the various high schools: scientific (science disciplines with the option of applied sciences) classic, linguistic. In the first biennium topics that are not currently included in the National Guidelines are proposed.

The comparison between the topics actually carried out in school and the original work plans shows that the programming was never fully respected (156 documents out of 299 totals). The questionnaires allowed us to highlight which topics were dealt with most and which least. In the first biennium of all the high school types, "Climate of the Earth" and "Geomorphologic Study of Earth Surface Structure and Processes" were treated the most and the least, respectively (93.6% and 66.7%). In the second biennium, the most popular contents are: "Mineralogy and Petrology” (55.4%), "Earthquakes" (50%), "Volcanism" (36%). Finally, in the fifth year, the topics covered are "Plate tectonics” (73.8%) and "Meteorology" (59.5%).

Regarding the non-covered topics in relation to the original programs, in all high schools only those in agreement with the National Guidelines for content and period were considered. Among these only 45.7% of the total content of the "Earth Sciences" programs were carried out in school.

This analysis shows a vision of Earth Sciences not integrated with other disciplines and not as a complex discipline functional to obtain a comprehensive view of the Earth system. Instead, the idea of skipping entire topics not only do hinder comprehension but also the interest of the students, who see Earth Sciences as separate chapters of a book, with gaps in-between and without links one to the other.

Realdon, G., Paris, E., Invernizzi M.C. (2014): Teaching Earth Sciences in Italian liceo high schools following the 2010 reform: a survey. Rend. Online Soc. Geol. It., 40, 71-79.

SYSTEM APPROACH TO EARTH SCIENCES BY MEANS OF A VERTICALLY ARTICULATED CURRICULUM ON MARINE MICRO-PLASTICS

Realdon G.*1-2, Candussio G.2, Manià M.2, Palamin S.2†, Paris E.1 & Invernizzi M.C.1

1 Scuola di Scienze e Tecnologie - sezione di Geologia, Università di Camerino

2 Associazione Scienza Under 18 Isontina, Fogliano Redipuglia (GO)

† deceduto

KEYWORDS:

micro-plastics, micro-beads, system approach

Differently from ocean garbage patches, known since many years, marine micro-plastics only recently have become popular in the media and are still new as an educational topic.

Apart their growing relevance as a global environmental problem, they appear a suitable topic to be exploited in the teaching of Earth Sciences according to a system approach (King, 2008) addressing the interactions between the different “spheres” making up the planet and between humans and these components of Earth system through bio-geo-chemical cycles. Microplastics, in fact, relate to multiple topics included in science curricula: marine environments, food-chains, weathering, water cycle and river runoff, oil geology and petroleum chemistry.

Inspired by this issue, we developed a series of practical activities for students of different age with the use of different communication styles and teaching techniques.

For younger students (age 3-7) we address the topic of micro-plastics bioaccumulation in marine food chains by means of visible models (giant “micro-plastics” built with plastic bottles) and dramatization. We use a performance in which pupils act as fish of different size and trophic level: the biggest one – a tuna – ends up as a “meal” shared by pupils group. Teachers guide the performance, play other characters and stimulate observations and remarks about the origin of micro-plastics and the correct management of plastic objects. The performance has been documented in a video and presented in a national teacher workshop (3 Giorni per la Scuola, Napoli 2015).

For students aged 8-13 the approach is more traditional. The activity begins with observation and manipulation of common household plastic objects, followed by physical/chemical testing of different polymers, aimed at understanding the characteristics that make these materials valuable and troublesome at the same time. The fate of plastic objects is then addressed through the observation of beach litter and of beach sand containing natural components and man-made fragments, including micro-plastics. In this way pupils can directly experience the fate of dumped plastic, discussing more sustainable management of plastic objects.

For older (14-16) students we introduce primary micro-plastics by means of personal care products containing micro-beads: students learn to recognize the presence of micro-beads by reading the product’s composition, touch and observe them, then measure micro-beads content of one of these products and calculate a possible annual dispersion of micro-beads from their town to the sea. The activity is followed by discussion about possible solutions to micro-beads water pollution.

Lesson plans containing these activities are freely available (Realdon, 2015; Realdon, 2016) Micro-plastics activities have been evaluated through satisfaction questionnaire given to class teachers with positive results. Students’ learning has been informally assessed by questioning them at the end of each activity.

King, C. (2008): Geoscience education: an overview, Stud. Sci. Educ., 44,187-222

Realdon, G. (2015): Microplastics: small but deadly. Sci. School, 34, 32-35

Realdon, G. (2016): Scheda didattica – Un’immensa zuppa di plastica. Sci. Magaz., 15, 7-8.

HOW DOES THE GEOLOGIST WORK? THE EDUCATIONAL APPROACH OF A PLS LABORATORY

Russo F.1, Sisto M.1-2, Valente A.*1 & the collaboration of the students of the Aeclanum High School in Mirabella Eclano (Italy)

1 Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie, Università del Sannio, Benevento

2 Istituto Superiore Aeclanum, Mirabella Eclano (AV)

KEYWORDS:

PLS, natural risks, geology, global change, Irpinia

The lab experience consisting in a 25 hours course based on Earth Sciences “information”, developed at Liceo Scientifico Aeclanum in Mirabella Eclano. Such experience was aimed to improve either the theoretical or practical knowledge of a group of students attending the fourth and the fifth classes about some specific themes and phenomenon characterizing Campania’s landscape and namely the Irpino-Sannita one. Cases study have been referred to those risky situations that involve the relationship between man and the environment. This consideration requires a reflection on a specific management and planning of the territory in the presence of human activities, if a change is to be expected

The formative planning for 2016/17 school year has been structured with seminaries front lessons and lab activities done in cooperation between school teachers and researchers of the Sciences and Technologies Department of University of Sannio. Discussed topics were also used to properly inform all students about geological studies in view of the future choice of university and to improve the perception of the importance of the school/university linkage. The specific topics were as follows:

1. Human impacts
2. Vesuvius, a real dangerous presence or a resource to safeguard?
3. Climatic changes
4. The soil resource
5. Sismicity and risk
6. Tectonic and vulcanism of Phlegrean Fields
7. Enviromental geochemical analysis and the potentially toxic elements in the water.

To complete the programme, demonstrations and lab activities have been performed in open air excursions, as at the water springs of Serino (AV).

All the materials produced during the didactic action (maps, publications, power point slides, etc.) are now at disposal of the school for any further usage in classroom activities. Moreover these procedure has contributed to enhance the professional capabilities of all non-geologist teachers who work in this school. They have also been involved in interesting interdisciplinary researches on a great relevance aspect of Geosciences. In particular, within a project called "SOS Climate", a daily pollutant survey was conducted by processing the data from monitoring units available on web. The results of this survey combined with welfare data allowed the environmental quality for the middle area of Irpinia.

GEOSCIENCES LABORATORIAL EXPERIENCES IN THE MIDDLE-SCHOOL

Scacchetti M.*1 & Bertacchini M. 2

1 Società Reggiana di Scienze Naturali e Scuola Secondaria “Manini”, Vezzano sul Crostolo (RE)

2 Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena

KEYWORDS:

mineral, rock, fossil, laboratory

A third-year Middle School Class of the town of Vezzano (Reggio Emilia) took part in a specific project dedicated to earth sciences. The activities concerned experimental laboratories on the recognition of minerals, rocks, fossils and the observation of various landscapes. To deepen The study was organised in different phases. During the first step, the fundamental of chemical knowledge were acquired, followed by mineralogical principles and rock classification related to their genesis. The second step considered the typical landscapes modified by weatherings. Finally, the main old biological taxonomic groups were explained: indeed, several living beings originated fossils because of their mineralized parts.

From time to time, laboratory experiences were performed by pairs of students freely aggregated, provided that the couples were flexible in the four laboratories.

During “Mineral-laboratory” every pair was provided with a short block-note, the essential features of about twenty minerals and an experimental kit. This kit was composed of a precision scale and a graduated cylinder, and several objects to determine the hardness of the minerals. On the desk the pairs of kid could test other mineral properties such as cleavage, fluorescence, magnetic properties, acid reaction and streak colour.

During “Rock-laboratory” every pair was provided with a short block-note and the description of about ten common rocks of the three genetic groupings, some of which were of generic class while some others more specific. Every pair had a magnifying glass and could test the reaction through hydrochloric acid, as well as rock flotation and softening by water immersion. Each pair had to examine a tens of rock samples.

During “Fossil-laboratory” every pair was provided with a short block-note, essential features of the main fossil groupings and five samples belonging to several taxonomic groupings, in order to make comparative observations and the following recognition of the fossils.

The “Landscape-laboratory” started with a slide-show of about forty images of landscapes modified by weathering. The students in pairs had to describe what weathering agent had acted on every specific landscape. In the end, every pair delivered its observations to the teacher.

At the end of all three laboratories on minerals, rocks and fossils, the students had to elaborate own observations and hypothesis about the classification and the identification of the samples contained in the various boxes, each of them containing the name of the sample.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION THROUGH GEOSCIENCES: CHOCOLAND, AN EDIBLE EXPERIMENT

Stacchiotti L.*1, Acqua A.1, Pennesi D.1, Giannangeli A.2, Teloni F.2, Vissani P.2 & Paris E.1

1 Scuola di Scienze e Tecnologie - Sezione di Geologia, Università di Camerino

2 Istituto Compresivo “E.Paladini”, Treia (MC)

KEYWORDS:

environmental education, geomaterials, IBSE, sustainable development

Students are usually not aware of the relationship between their lifestyle and its impact on the environment. This is true regarding the use of non-renewable resources, like geomaterials, usually considered infinitely available. The teaching of Environmental Education in the Italian schools (11-13-years old students) allows approaching, for example, the concepts of georesources and ecosustainable development. Geosciences become therefore tools to study complex topics, connecting different skills and competences also from other disciplines. The proposed activity (1), based on the IBSE approach, was organized to make pupils identify variables, find relationships and confront each other, to respond to the IBSE question: “Which are the economic advantages and environmental consequences of mining”? They carried out their investigation in groups, by simulating mineral extraction making use of chocolate-chip cookies: each group bought the mine (biscuit), tried to pull out minerals (chocolate chips), bought staples and toothpicks (mining tools) and filled up a form where gains and losses were recorded. Groups earned when a chocolate chip was pulled out but they also needed to payback environmental damages it caused (e.g. lost soil surface, ecosystem impairment etc). In the last phase the groups fulfilled an identical form, but they did not extract new minerals anymore but they used those they already extracted (re-use and recycle). The hands-on asset and the use of chocolate cookies made pupils protagonists of their own learning, since they were involved through several perceptual channels (Head, Hearth and Hands). Besides, the topic used interdisciplinary connections (e.g. History, Technology, Math etc) which allowed to describe the use of metals in the antiquity, link the mineral resources to actual objects of everyday life, make graphs and calculations. Moreover, a practical application of recycling was carried out in collaboration with the Technology teacher: pupils realized simple objects made from recycled or recovered materials, as an example of environmental liability and conscious consumption. So far the project has been carried out only halfway. However, it is possible to highlight some observed points of interest. 1) The students demonstrated a high level of concentration, but also an emotional involvement, which reflected positively on the acquisition of competences. 2) Experiments allowed pupils to observe, measure, collect and interpret data, starting from a practical situation. 3) The IBSE approach influenced positively the students’ ability to identify relationships. 4) Pupils retrieved manual skills through realization of handcrafted articles made with recovered materials. 5) The use of geoscience topic allowed following all the process of production of an object, with many interdisciplinar connections, introducing the students also to the concept of circular economy.

(1) http://www.womeninmining.org/activities/.

"DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTATION OF EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES IN GEOSCIENCES FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL."

Tassistro M.*1, Marescotti P.1, Matricardi G.2, Torella G.3 & Cabella R.1

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e della Vita, Università di Genova

2 Dipartimento di Scienze della Formazione, Università di Genova

3 Liceo "Martin Luther King", Genova

KEYWORDS:

school, experimentation, geosciences, education

This work reports the results of a Master Degree Thesis in Earth Sciences focused on the design and experimentation of educational activities in geosciences and developed under the PLS geology national program promulgated by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR). The main goal was to test a training course, closely related to the Ministerial program for third-class high school students, consisting of lectures, laboratory activities and field works. For this training course we chose two third-classes from scientific and classic high school Martin Luther King (Genoa, Italy).

The educational activities were subdivided into five modules (minerals, igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks, and geology of Liguria) and were developed from October, 2016 to February, 2017 for a total of 13 hours for each class.

For each module we provided a preliminary test ("test in"), to determine numerically the basic knowledge, and an assessment test ("test out") to evaluate knowledge and skills aquired during the development of the project. Finally, rating tests were proposed to evaluate the effectiveness of the project and to highlight any issuess and criticalities.

The results obtained, evidenced a significant improvement of skills acquired by students, a progressive better response to the presented issues, a generally better attitude towards learning geology and a greater awareness of the relevance of the role the earth sciences play in our daily lives. Students evidenced good autonomy in the application of acquired knowledge or basic skill (how to classify, to compare, to describe, and to find the reasons) and even higher level skills, i.e., problem-posing ability (analysis of the problem) to the problem-solving capacity (solve the problem). Finally, it is worth to note that all results indicated that laboratory activities were perceived by a majority of students as an effective means of learning science.

The most important issues emerged from the analysis of assessment- and rating-test results were i) the timeframe in which the project was developed and ii) the fragmentation of the Earth Science in the scientific and classic high school programs which is scheduled over three years (first, third and fifth years, respectively). Althoug the first problem can be resolved by reducing the number of modules in this type of experimentations, it stresses the insufficient number of hours devoted to earth sciences by ministerial programs. The second problem is even worse; the fragmentation of the earth sciences over three non-consecutive years and the new organization of the different topics pose particularly significant issues since it interrupts the learning continuity of a particularly complex and widespread subject.

In conclusion, this experience of collaboration among high school and university is certainly to be repeated in the future also in other types of schools to compare the data obtained in different cultural contexts.

RIGHT ABOUT TO EXPLODE. OUTREACH ACTIVITIES FOR EARTH SCIENCES

Todesco M.*1, Lolli B.1, Sheldrake T.2, Perfetti P.1, Cavaliere A.1, Danesi S.1 & Camassi R.1

1 Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Bologna

2 Département des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Genève, Switzerland

KEYWORDS:

outreach, uncertainty, experiments, party popper, volcanology, Earth science, dissemination

In this presentation we will present a few examples of outreach activities carried out to talk about volcanoes and other geological processes. Through the years, we tested different approaches, ranging from traditional lessons to more informal, interactive activities where participants are directly involved in the discovery process. Engaging activities are usually more effective in keeping the attention alive, but we find that too much emphasis on the entraiteinment may prevail over the actual transfer of scientific information, depending on condtitions and age. While kide usually enjoy these kinds of programs, making sense of the game in relation to the actual natural phenomenon may be difficult. We will discuss some of the activities we propose, trying to hightlight both strengths and weaknesses.

First, we describe a promising storytelling approach. Then, we focus on a game that explores the complexity of decision making under uncertainty. The game is based on party poppers whose explosion is triggered by pulling a string: participants are asked to guess the load required to explode the poppers. Participant's guesses and the visualisation of results are realised via web pages, using Free Software components. This approach makes the experiments easily recordable and allow to involve wide audiences in the activity. The distribution of guesses and the actual outcome of each experiment are discussed with the participants to gain information on the behaviour of the party poppers. While repeated experiments may help to constrain the amount of pull required to trigger the explosion, each popper is different and each explosion hits rather unexpectedly. We’ll discuss the outcome of these activities and share related outreach materials (video and booklets, in Italian, English and Spanish), all available through our institutional websites.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS EXPLORE GEOSCIENCES IN EXTREME ENVIRONMENT: ATTITUDE AND KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION

Ugolini F.*1, Di Lonardo S.1, Rossi R.2, Coppola E.2, Raspini S.2, Giacinti L.3 & Macario M.4

1 Istituto di Biometeorologia, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Firenze

2 Scuola primaria "G. Battagli", Rapolano Terme (SI)

3 Soc. Coop. Biancane, Rapolano Terme (SI)

4 Liceo Scientifico "Niccolò Copernico", Prato

KEYWORDS:

experiential education, learning in natural environment, greenhouse gas emission, extreme environment, plant adaptations

Most pupils are curious about the natural world showing a great love for it, and learning in natural environment has a great impact on their behaviour, attitude toward science learning and learning achievements (OFSTED, 2008; Natural England, 2012). Hopefully this enthusiasm will influence their future choices as well. We propose an outdoor science experience in a kind of terrestrial extreme environment, Bossoleto mofette (Mofeta del Bossoleto, Rapolano Terme, Siena), where pupils can approach different disciplines. Many school teachers of the villages nearby the site, have been wishing to show this special and inaccessible location to students, because of its singular value and because it allows an interdisciplinary experience. This site is a doline formed by collapse of the parent rock underneath, namely fractured travertine. The area is characterized by natural emissions of CO2 from soil and caves and water resurgences. A CO2 lake (Kies et al., 2015) forms every night with CO2 concentration close to 85% at one meter from the ground. This high concentration of CO2 and the typical geomorphology of the area cause also an extreme greenhouse effect during the daytime, which drives adaptation responses in the biological communities here living.

Students from primary and secondary schools, guided by researchers in an experiential field trip, learn about many scientific aspects of this unusual place, making a multidisciplinary experience about geology (geological aspects like formation and weathering of travertine), botany (species, physiological adaptations), biocenosis (living communities), gas and climatology (gas concentrations and properties, greenhouse effect). The visit includes explanations but also direct observations and measurements.

This study reports about the results of a pre-post survey on a sample of primary school students about (i) their attitude toward science, (ii) expectations about the experience and, after the field trip about satisfaction (iii) and achievements (iv) in terms of knowledge transfer, raise of curiosity and interest. Finally, an example of authentic assessment for upper secondary school is here presented, proposed after the outdoor activity, which could be useful to test competence and skill in Geoscience learning at the end of the first biennium level.

Kies, A., Hengesch, O., Tosheva, Z., Raschi, A., Pfanz, H. (2015): Diurnal CO2-cycles and temperature regimes in a natural CO2 gas lake. Int. J. Greenh. Gas Control, 37, 142-145.

Natural England (2012): Learning in the Natural Environment: Review of social and economic benefits and barriers. Natural England Commissioned Report NECR092. www.naturalengland.org.uk. ISSN 2040-5545.

OFSTED (2008): Learning outside the classroom: how far should you go? Crown, London, UK.

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