Promoting Earth sciences teaching-learning in the Italian schools: improving students' skills and competence, diffusing new effective educational approaches, extending cooperation and networking

Susanna Occhipinti (a,b,c)
(a) Geologist, PhD. (b) School director ISIT Innocenti Manzetti Aosta -Saint Vincent, Italy. (c) ANISN - National Association of teachers of Natural Sciences. Italy. Corresponding author e-mail: susanna.occhipinti@unicam.it

I have been invited to introduce this session of “Le Geoscienze a Scuola 2016” organized in Napoli by the Società Geologica Italiana (SGI). This session, few years ago poorly considered or ignored in the scientific meetings and unknown to the teachers, has become in the last years a periodic appointment for the researchers active in this field, for the teachers and the school world in general. Finally, in analogy with what happens for other disciplines (chemistry, physics, mathematics, ...) there is a strong interest by the geological academic world in teaching geosciences in schools and in understanding the importance to collaborate with the teachers in their work. On the other side, the success of this session proves that by the teachers there is a mutual interest to take part to these events and enter in closer contacts with researchers.

active science education, networking, epistemology.