Student orientation under COVID-19 conditions: an example of online dynamic Earth Sciences Labs presentation

Eleonora Vitagliano^1,2, Paola Petrosino², Federica Totaro² & Rosa Di Maio^2
1Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Via di Vigna Murata 605, Roma, Italy. ²Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse (DiSTAR), Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, Napoli, Italy.
Corresponding author e-mail: eleonora.vitagliano@ingv.it

We present an experience of high school student involvement carried out in February 2021 by the Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences of the University of Naples Federico II (Naples, Italy) during the promotion of the degree program in Geological Sciences. To avoid the risk of failing to engage students due to the unforeseen online environment required by the COVID-19 disease control measures, the orientation activity was guided by criteria inherent to the field of effective communication, which had been accumulated by university staff in the years preceding the pandemic. Therefore, instead of using the frontal teaching approach that had been used until then, the university carrier promotion was developed introducing various technical and communicative expedients, such as quick and dynamic laboratory presentations, young speakers, direct contact and face-to-face interaction between university staff and school students. The proposed strategy thus demonstrates how communication skills, most commonly used to disseminate scientific research, can be successfully applied in the field of university orientation to convey information about educational content. Finally, it shows the benefits of training in scientific communication for the staff involved in such an event.

Earth Sciences, student orientation, school student engagement, effective communication.