Educational resources to teach Geosciences in the Italian schools based on a research case study from Andrill and-1b drill core, Antarctica

Inspired by international Polar Research and Education experiences, and based on a research case study about the dynamics of a glacial system from Antarctica, this work aims to promote innovative science education practices and methods on Geosciences topics in the Italian school. In particular, a gr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: MACARIO, MADDALENA
Other Authors: Macario, Maddalena
Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
Language:English
Published: Università degli Studi di Camerino 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11581/401826
Description
Summary:Inspired by international Polar Research and Education experiences, and based on a research case study about the dynamics of a glacial system from Antarctica, this work aims to promote innovative science education practices and methods on Geosciences topics in the Italian school. In particular, a group of teaching modules including lesson plans and media resources is here proposed, based on the Inquiry-Based Learning approach, not yet widespread in Italy. These resources could be effective in promoting polar sciences or, more in general, geosciences in the Italian secondary-level schools. Polar Regions represent one of the most interesting and important natural environments that can engage students on topics related to global changes. Understanding how Earth records its past and how scientists gain evidences about these records are important educational goals to give not only a deeper knowledge, or simply more notions, but overall a major awareness about how Earth system works. The necessity to bridge more intensely school and research world is consequently even more urgent. This work aims to enhance the linking between formal and non-formal education that is here proposed through a project involving both pure research and research applied to education. In fact, the project aims to conjugate a disciplinary research case study with the design of specific educational paths benefiting of cuttingedge research and innovative teaching strategies as well. The basic concepts of the inquiry-based learning approach here adopted are that students have to construct actively their own learning and have to be involved also in their own assessment. Therefore, this approach promotes a student-centred education and, at the same time, changes completely the role of the teacher, from a content transmitter to a facilitator. The sequence of different stages of the project can be resumed as follows: 1. start from data coming from a real case study about Antarctica, in order to understand how an Antarctic glacial system worked in the ...