**5. The educational path**

the goals and, only later, the involved disciplinary objectives. Knowledge should be just a

Turning this traditional, acquired, and consolidated educational approach into a process, starting from skills, requires constant and strong commitment. If this does not happen, in everyday practice, the testing of acquired knowledge of their students seems to be the priority. The Italian school system, with its encyclopedic content, does not facilitate the development of methodological approaches of active teaching-learning, such as problem solving, peer edu-

In fact, they require the teacher to abandon the traditional role of master of knowledge and

Earth Sciences are taught in all schools and all ages, with different levels of depth and of teaching quality. Plate tectonics and natural hazards, as volcanoes or earthquakes, are curricular topics; but people do not perceive the danger and the risk of living on the sides of a volcano, or in a seismic area, even when the area has already been affected by disastrous

Many researches [1–5] have highlighted the poor skills of Italian students, in the Earth sciences field, during and at the end of their course of study, whatever is their school curriculum and level of scientific specialization. The knowledge is often superficial and fragmentary, due to the respect of the ministerial curriculum. This curriculum, in fact, although renewed in recent years, lacks of prerequisites and of coordination with other scientific disciplines, as

Moreover, even today, even in scientific schools, it does not foresee neither the Biology, nor the Earth Sciences among the subjects of the written test in the final exam, and an inadequate

The training to promote the teaching-learning in Earth Sciences should pass by more effective educational approach. The use of educational tools and of learning objects seems to be

It is a widespread belief, based on tested and shared practices, that Science teaching-learning should be based primarily on active teaching methodological approaches. In the case of the so-called hard disciplines, Physics and Chemistry, the experimental and laboratory approach is a widespread and shared heritage: the use of machines, tools, and objects allows to develop experimental activities with the increasing complexity. The approach is generally based on the scientific method of Galilean memory, scientifically correct but with little space left for

In other scientific disciplines, as biology and geology, experimental practices are perhaps less widespread. But when they are used, they allow the development of operative paths favoring

transmitter of contents to become guide, collaborator, and mediator of the activities.

mean that allow these abilities transforming in skills.

62 Educational Psychology - Between Certitudes and Uncertainties

cation, case analysis, and inquiry-based teaching-learning.

events in the recent past. Human memory is very short.

**4. Working hypothesis**

particularly effective and involving.

intuition and autonomous reasoning.

Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, although taught by the same teacher.

knowledge does not allow the acquisition of effective and fundamental skills.

The educational path to promote interest in Earth Sciences, and then make grow students' knowledge and skills, should pass by some steps: they may seem obvious and even trivial, but are instead fundamental.

In fact, the lack of awareness toward Earth Sciences can derive from the lack of very simple tools; certainly, a part of the responsibility depends from the brittleness of teachers' knowledge, but also passion, effective educational approaches, educational tools, and even multidisciplinary links are needed.

The analysis is not exhaustive [4–8]; it should be extended to the history of Italian school, characterized, from its birth, by a prevalent humanistic culture. The reason why should be analyzed more deeply, despite the presence of great Italian scientists, from Leonardo da Vinci to Fabiola Gianotti, Natural Sciences, and particularly Earth Sciences, struggle to be loved.

The tools proposed below, already experimented and monitored, are certainly not sufficient to change this set-up, but they can be a valid starting point.

#### **5.1. Passion**

To propose, as the first instrument of educational efficacy, the passion with which Earth Sciences should be taught could seem banal and perhaps obvious: but to excite our students in this discipline, which seems too difficult and a bit boring, we must be, in turn, teachers passionate of the topic.

But it is necessary to be aware of the discipline to be passionate about it. If we want to be able to explain the contents and to answer to the inevitable questions, if we want to go deepen and to intrigue, it is obviously necessary to master the contents. Unfortunately, in Italy, sometimes sciences teachers are not masters of the discipline because they are predominantly biologists.

If using effective methodological approaches, innovative paths, engaging educational tools, developing and encouraging links with other scientific or humanistic disciplines, with the aim to promote skills and competences, is considered absolutely essential, teachers' work should be supported.

mission should be to excite our students in the discipline, so that through the acquisition of knowledge it is possible to increase students' skills. Experiences and paths, with suggestions

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65

To capture this complex skill, we need to renew the teaching of sciences; we must break the habit, encouraged by textbooks, of presenting science as a finished product, trying to show it as a passionate problem-solving, an adventure, that many have committed themselves to with passion: this is what we call an approach active. However, the term active in the daily practice of teaching has many ambiguities: it is not simply a practical, manipulative activity, although

• the activities must correspond to the tasks of the real world, rather than to the de-contex-

• activities should involve students in examining work from different perspectives, using

• activities should promote interdisciplinarity and allow students to have different points of

• activities that allow a series of results open to multiple solutions, rather than a single correct answer obtained from the application of predefined rules and protocols are

Active and survey-oriented laboratories stimulate students to develop independence and can improve subjects' understanding and promote positive attitudes toward science and science learning. These approaches are generally focused on investigative processes, such as problembased learning, which requires the identification of driving questions, and fundamentally the

Other approaches have been tested: the traditional "application of experimental protocols" is generally simpler, but less effective and less enjoyable; "formulating and testing hypotheses" is more complex and formative, but involvement depends on the topic or issue; "practical experimentation" is undoubtedly the most popular, even if it presents the risk of being a little playful. Also the Inquire Base Science Education, known as IBSE, has been experimented: IBSE is the most widespread education approach, thanks also to the extensive literature that has seen it as the protagonist, but in my opinion it retains much rigidity and does not always help promote

In fact, my experience has oriented me in time toward the Problem-based learning approach, which is generally based on an abductive approach. The process is aimed at using the power of authentic problem solving to engage students and improve their learning and motivation. From my experience, it has proved to be the most effective for developing critical thinking

• the activities require the students to define the tasks and the related articulations;

different resources to solve and separate relevant from irrelevant information;

view: this helps develop skills more than a single well-defined field;

development of pathways through practical laboratory activities.

passion and autonomy among the students.

• collaborative work is basically required to solve the task;

for their methodological approaches, are numerous and widely documented.

this is certainly useful in a school based mainly on transmissive teaching. There are many requirements that make a learning activity really active:

tualized or scholastic works;

preferable.

They should have more tools, more targeted training, and clear and experimented indications of work. Also, they should have less pressure from the system to achieve the disciplinary objectives required by the "program" and necessary to face the final exam. Finally, they should be seriously convinced of the importance, in a globalized system that is moving in this direction, of the priority of the skills toward the pure content.

But only a deep passion, and a great professionalism, allows to grasp the challenge that involves the experimentation and the use of new methodological approaches, of new educational tools. Obviously, the risk of not obtaining the desired effect, always remains: it is possible when we try and try again until we get the desired effect. We must overcome the concern of not being able to manage our students in new and less traditional contexts.

But the satisfaction of seeing their curiosity, their interest, and finally their passion grow justifies all the work that will be necessary.

#### **5.2. Educational approaches**

Frequently, Earth Sciences' theory is presented, in Italian schools, by not involving boring approaches, even a bit: they seem not useful to promote passion and interest. But the need to change the traditional transmissive and deductive approach with an active and inductive teaching-learning, although not yet shared and disseminated, is well-known and widely documented [6–8]. At school, many teachers and students, thanks to the cultural heritage deriving from the Galileo Galilei's principles, which consists in the use of the experimental scientific method, as the most correct methodological approach, believe that science advances linearly, following the hypothesis and testing model in the classroom.

But this view is increasingly inadequate to represent scientific inquiry: sometimes scientists have no hypotheses, other times discoveries are made by chance. It would be a challenge to find evidence of a linear scientific method in every research and in particular in the field of Earth Sciences. Moreover, the scientific experimental method of the scientific world, the basic tool of educational research and experimentation, is too often presented, in the daily work of the teacher, as a rigorous protocol to be followed. It should instead be considered as an opportunity for reasoning, for hypothesis, development, and formulation of the solution.

It is necessary to revolutionize, even if not always, our methodological approach, in order to involve and motivate students. It is enough to have few tools, few learning objects, but it requires, simultaneously and above all, the knowledge of the methodological approach from a theoretical point of view. Furthermore, a solid ability to manage the class, a talent for conducting activities and verifying any unexpected events during the course is required.

There is always an element of risk, as in any innovation, but, step by step, the teacher masters the class and the different ways of working and gains self-confidence. Unfortunately, there are no rules: we must experiment and find them in the practice of daily teaching. Teachers' mission should be to excite our students in the discipline, so that through the acquisition of knowledge it is possible to increase students' skills. Experiences and paths, with suggestions for their methodological approaches, are numerous and widely documented.

To capture this complex skill, we need to renew the teaching of sciences; we must break the habit, encouraged by textbooks, of presenting science as a finished product, trying to show it as a passionate problem-solving, an adventure, that many have committed themselves to with passion: this is what we call an approach active. However, the term active in the daily practice of teaching has many ambiguities: it is not simply a practical, manipulative activity, although this is certainly useful in a school based mainly on transmissive teaching.

There are many requirements that make a learning activity really active:


If using effective methodological approaches, innovative paths, engaging educational tools, developing and encouraging links with other scientific or humanistic disciplines, with the aim to promote skills and competences, is considered absolutely essential, teachers' work should

They should have more tools, more targeted training, and clear and experimented indications of work. Also, they should have less pressure from the system to achieve the disciplinary objectives required by the "program" and necessary to face the final exam. Finally, they should be seriously convinced of the importance, in a globalized system that is moving in this

But only a deep passion, and a great professionalism, allows to grasp the challenge that involves the experimentation and the use of new methodological approaches, of new educational tools. Obviously, the risk of not obtaining the desired effect, always remains: it is possible when we try and try again until we get the desired effect. We must overcome the concern

But the satisfaction of seeing their curiosity, their interest, and finally their passion grow justi-

Frequently, Earth Sciences' theory is presented, in Italian schools, by not involving boring approaches, even a bit: they seem not useful to promote passion and interest. But the need to change the traditional transmissive and deductive approach with an active and inductive teaching-learning, although not yet shared and disseminated, is well-known and widely documented [6–8]. At school, many teachers and students, thanks to the cultural heritage deriving from the Galileo Galilei's principles, which consists in the use of the experimental scientific method, as the most correct methodological approach, believe that science advances

But this view is increasingly inadequate to represent scientific inquiry: sometimes scientists have no hypotheses, other times discoveries are made by chance. It would be a challenge to find evidence of a linear scientific method in every research and in particular in the field of Earth Sciences. Moreover, the scientific experimental method of the scientific world, the basic tool of educational research and experimentation, is too often presented, in the daily work of the teacher, as a rigorous protocol to be followed. It should instead be considered as an opportunity for reasoning, for hypothesis, development, and formulation of the solution.

It is necessary to revolutionize, even if not always, our methodological approach, in order to involve and motivate students. It is enough to have few tools, few learning objects, but it requires, simultaneously and above all, the knowledge of the methodological approach from a theoretical point of view. Furthermore, a solid ability to manage the class, a talent for conducting activities and verifying any unexpected events during the course is required.

There is always an element of risk, as in any innovation, but, step by step, the teacher masters the class and the different ways of working and gains self-confidence. Unfortunately, there are no rules: we must experiment and find them in the practice of daily teaching. Teachers'

of not being able to manage our students in new and less traditional contexts.

linearly, following the hypothesis and testing model in the classroom.

direction, of the priority of the skills toward the pure content.

64 Educational Psychology - Between Certitudes and Uncertainties

fies all the work that will be necessary.

**5.2. Educational approaches**

be supported.


Active and survey-oriented laboratories stimulate students to develop independence and can improve subjects' understanding and promote positive attitudes toward science and science learning. These approaches are generally focused on investigative processes, such as problembased learning, which requires the identification of driving questions, and fundamentally the development of pathways through practical laboratory activities.

Other approaches have been tested: the traditional "application of experimental protocols" is generally simpler, but less effective and less enjoyable; "formulating and testing hypotheses" is more complex and formative, but involvement depends on the topic or issue; "practical experimentation" is undoubtedly the most popular, even if it presents the risk of being a little playful. Also the Inquire Base Science Education, known as IBSE, has been experimented: IBSE is the most widespread education approach, thanks also to the extensive literature that has seen it as the protagonist, but in my opinion it retains much rigidity and does not always help promote passion and autonomy among the students.

In fact, my experience has oriented me in time toward the Problem-based learning approach, which is generally based on an abductive approach. The process is aimed at using the power of authentic problem solving to engage students and improve their learning and motivation. From my experience, it has proved to be the most effective for developing critical thinking and creative skills, to improve problem-solving skills, with the aim of making students apply their knowledge to new situations. Facing situations in their context and appropriately structured problems, students must investigate and discover meaningful solutions.

• reasoning and,

be misleading or disruptive.

**5.4. Multidisciplinary connections**

• to help the formulation of more general rules and, when possible, of laws.

tions between different elements and principles, intra- and inter-disciplinary.

Learning and the use of driving questions (see above) (**Figures 1–3**).

and evaluating the contents and the skills acquired [1, 2, 4].

with other disciplines: few efforts are made in both directions.

(c) A model of fold, made with cocoa, white and yellow flour, and sand.

Finally, models should be able to stimulate the abstraction and the ability to identify connec-

Educational Tools and Methodological Approaches to Enhance Interest and to Grow Skills…

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67

It was possible to verify that more simple, rough, self-produced, even banal were the models, the more effective the results. Of course, they must be compared with the events to which they correspond in the Earth dynamics. The use of learning objects was actually experimented in various contexts: using models and tools, the utility of hands-on in the growth of knowledge, in understanding phenomena but also in the importance of emotions in the learning process, was demonstrated. This seems strange and unpredictable, particularly in a subject such as the Earth Sciences that generally seem rather prosaic and rigid for students, where nothing can

It might be useful to show some easy and tested examples of the different materials produced. All these tools are intended as learning objects to apply the principles of Problem-based

The educational paths and the kits have been tested for their feasibility in various aspects: with students of different ages and different contexts, monitoring the understanding process,

If we remain closely connected to Earth Sciences' contents, at first sight, it seems not easy to find relationships and links with other disciplines. Earth sciences, so *cum plicate* (see above) and sometimes closed on themselves, do not seem to have such tight ties, links, or connections

**Figure 1.** (a) A fold in lower Jurassic limestone layers of the Doldenhorn Nappe, Switzerland. (b) A bent gneiss sample.

Indeed, it is an approach that is rich in meaning and potential results, but requires commitment, time, and passion. Moreover, it is obvious that it cannot completely replace the more traditional lessons in our school system. It is important not to confuse PBL with simple practical activities included in the traditional education system, just to vary educational communication or as the culminating event of a training unit. However, PBL poses challenges for teachers. In fact, the role of the teacher changes significantly as it becomes a facilitator of learning, promoting an investigation environment rather than providing facts, thus testing the student's ability to remember these facts through memorization. The teacher loses the role of lecturer, culture transmitter, the holder of power in the classroom: he must be open to his constructivist nature, be able to take a studentcentered approach.

Furthermore, this approach requires much more material than a course based on conventional lessons. Finally, it requires a great sense of responsibility and professionalism, which is acquired through competence and experience: in short, it requires being a professional.

#### **5.3. Educational tools**

In the teaching-learning of Earth Sciences, the main goal is the understanding of complex phenomena. Despite the availability of useful and engaging software, it is sometimes very effective and interactive. My personal experience has shown that the use of hands-on tools is often the most effective with the students. Secondary schools in Italy have, very often, in their scientific laboratories, high quality instruments such as seismographs, weather stations, or telescopes. Often, we can also find historical collection of minerals, rocks, and fossils. Both typology of tools are essential for the approach to the contents of the discipline, and are useful because they allow students a manipulative approach. But a deep change of mentality is needed: in fact, while it is easily possible to be fascinated by the beauty of a mineral, from the history contained in a fossil, it is less easy to discover what "hides" a rock sample. Too often, this appeal does not emerge, and a rock remains a simple stone.

In the Earth Sciences teaching-learning, it is necessary to find a different approach, which is able to make students understand the richness and variety of the relationships between the biotic and abiotic world, the contribution that each piece of rock can have in the complex system of the Earth [2].

As it is not possible to reproduce in the laboratory the real movement of the plates, the eruption of a volcano, or the movements of the air, it is necessary to use models. In my personal experience of researcher, with the aim to support teachers' work, I have focused the attention on finding more effective ways to create teaching tools and paths. To be effective, the different tools should primarily have the function of


• reasoning and,

and creative skills, to improve problem-solving skills, with the aim of making students apply their knowledge to new situations. Facing situations in their context and appropriately struc-

Indeed, it is an approach that is rich in meaning and potential results, but requires commitment, time, and passion. Moreover, it is obvious that it cannot completely replace the more traditional lessons in our school system. It is important not to confuse PBL with simple practical activities included in the traditional education system, just to vary educational communication or as the culminating event of a training unit. However, PBL poses challenges for teachers. In fact, the role of the teacher changes significantly as it becomes a facilitator of learning, promoting an investigation environment rather than providing facts, thus testing the student's ability to remember these facts through memorization. The teacher loses the role of lecturer, culture transmitter, the holder of power in the classroom: he must be open to his constructivist nature, be able to take a student-

Furthermore, this approach requires much more material than a course based on conventional lessons. Finally, it requires a great sense of responsibility and professionalism, which is acquired through competence and experience: in short, it requires being a professional.

In the teaching-learning of Earth Sciences, the main goal is the understanding of complex phenomena. Despite the availability of useful and engaging software, it is sometimes very effective and interactive. My personal experience has shown that the use of hands-on tools is often the most effective with the students. Secondary schools in Italy have, very often, in their scientific laboratories, high quality instruments such as seismographs, weather stations, or telescopes. Often, we can also find historical collection of minerals, rocks, and fossils. Both typology of tools are essential for the approach to the contents of the discipline, and are useful because they allow students a manipulative approach. But a deep change of mentality is needed: in fact, while it is easily possible to be fascinated by the beauty of a mineral, from the history contained in a fossil, it is less easy to discover what "hides" a rock sample. Too often,

In the Earth Sciences teaching-learning, it is necessary to find a different approach, which is able to make students understand the richness and variety of the relationships between the biotic and abiotic world, the contribution that each piece of rock can have in the complex

As it is not possible to reproduce in the laboratory the real movement of the plates, the eruption of a volcano, or the movements of the air, it is necessary to use models. In my personal experience of researcher, with the aim to support teachers' work, I have focused the attention on finding more effective ways to create teaching tools and paths. To be effective, the different

this appeal does not emerge, and a rock remains a simple stone.

tured problems, students must investigate and discover meaningful solutions.

66 Educational Psychology - Between Certitudes and Uncertainties

centered approach.

**5.3. Educational tools**

system of the Earth [2].

• stimulating observations,

• hypothesis,

tools should primarily have the function of

• to help the formulation of more general rules and, when possible, of laws.

Finally, models should be able to stimulate the abstraction and the ability to identify connections between different elements and principles, intra- and inter-disciplinary.

It was possible to verify that more simple, rough, self-produced, even banal were the models, the more effective the results. Of course, they must be compared with the events to which they correspond in the Earth dynamics. The use of learning objects was actually experimented in various contexts: using models and tools, the utility of hands-on in the growth of knowledge, in understanding phenomena but also in the importance of emotions in the learning process, was demonstrated. This seems strange and unpredictable, particularly in a subject such as the Earth Sciences that generally seem rather prosaic and rigid for students, where nothing can be misleading or disruptive.

It might be useful to show some easy and tested examples of the different materials produced. All these tools are intended as learning objects to apply the principles of Problem-based Learning and the use of driving questions (see above) (**Figures 1–3**).

The educational paths and the kits have been tested for their feasibility in various aspects: with students of different ages and different contexts, monitoring the understanding process, and evaluating the contents and the skills acquired [1, 2, 4].

#### **5.4. Multidisciplinary connections**

If we remain closely connected to Earth Sciences' contents, at first sight, it seems not easy to find relationships and links with other disciplines. Earth sciences, so *cum plicate* (see above) and sometimes closed on themselves, do not seem to have such tight ties, links, or connections with other disciplines: few efforts are made in both directions.

**Figure 1.** (a) A fold in lower Jurassic limestone layers of the Doldenhorn Nappe, Switzerland. (b) A bent gneiss sample. (c) A model of fold, made with cocoa, white and yellow flour, and sand.

In the Earth Sciences, complex relationships link the different scientific branches that characterize it: geochemistry, volcanology, petrography, and geophysics. Ever more complex and surprising bonds are discovered between volcanic eruptions and the climate, between geological evolution and paleontology. But many others increasingly unpredictable are discovered in the field of different scientific disciplines. But it cannot be so surprising, indeed, if we think that all living beings, the autotrophs and the heterotrophs, depend strictly on the soil, on its chemical composition and on its structure, which in turn depend on the substrate and therefore on its geological history and from the age of the minerals and rocks that compose it.

Educational Tools and Methodological Approaches to Enhance Interest and to Grow Skills…

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89371

69

Other links, more transversal, subtle, and even more surprising are interconnected with different disciplines: history, literature, and art. They have conditioned, modified, and transformed them. And vice versa, a historical event could have favored new discoveries and new theories: the exploration of the ocean floor for defensive purposes during the Second World War was the occasion to clash with the oceanic ridges at the center of the Atlantic and to favor

The relationship between the early stages of the hominization process and the opening of the African rift is quite documented; recent discoveries are correlating the impact of a meteorite and the shift of the Earth's magnetic field with the extinction of Neanderthals for genetic mutations. The relationship between the impact of the Cixculub meteorite in the Jucatan peninsula, highlighted by the rich level of iridium studied by the Alvarez, in Italy the Bonarelli level, with the extinction of the dinosaurs is known and quite documented. The relationship between the formation of the Dekkan Traps and the great extinction of the late Cretaceous is

But the unexpected connections that very often we can find in all the subjects we daily face are even more surprising. Many know the relationship between the eruption of Tambora, in April 1815, and some English literary works, such as Mary Shelley's Frankestein and John Polidori's Dracula. The two authors, in the cold summer of the "Year without summer" that followed the eruption of Tambora in 1915, were passing their holidays in Switzerland. Without the possibility of excursions, because of the bed weather, they could not spend their time outside; then, they challenged those who had written the best horror novel. Less well-known is that even the Fairy Tales of the Grimm Brothers resented the special cold climate that marked that year, or how it influenced the colors of the well-known paintings of William Turner and migrations of many Italians, forced by famine toward America and, when arrived here, the Conquest of the West.

And it is known to many, the impact that the Little Ice Age had on history and society between 1650 and the end of 1800; less known is that the harsh climate marked the growth of the trees, making the growth rings smaller and the wood more compact, allowing the creation of musical instruments, the Stradivarius violins, particularly precious for its exceptional acoustics.

The traditional definition of competence, which comes from literature, is the implementation of a performance in a given context that involves the use of attitudes and motivations, knowledge, competences, and skills, and is aimed at achieving a purpose. More precisely, competence is, "What, in a given context, one can do (ability) on the basis of a knowledge to achieve

the development of the plate tectonics theory.

less known, but perhaps chronologically more coherent.

**5.5. Competences and skills**

**Figure 2.** (a) A deep alluvial Ouadi-Namibia. (b) An eroded rock sample. (c) A model of water erosion—regional scientific laboratory.

**Figure 3.** (a) A landslide, (b) a landslide model, and (c) preparing a landslide.

We are realizing that new scientific discoveries in the research' world derive more and more from the boundaries of the disciplines, more and more distant from the traditional and wellknown contents, or the intertwining of different scientific areas. It is from the astrophysics, from the astrochemistry, from the molecular engineering, from geobiology that interesting and amazing data are emerging. Even in the Earth Sciences, the most intriguing aspects can be derived from these plots. The discovery of connections, of relations of cause and effect, of relationship between seemingly distant topics, make every subject a source of amaze.

I personally have always found the proposal of these connections fascinating especially when unexpected; even among the students, the discovery of these connections has given surprising answers, an occasion for motivation and re-motivation toward Earth Sciences. It is possible not only to bridge the gap between the various disciplines, which is surprisingly very narrow, but also discover that Geosciences are at the basis of many events in the natural history of the Earth, just like in the history of the human species. Many events in the past, eruptions, earthquakes, and major disasters that may have strongly influenced the climate in geological eras, had also a strong effect on organisms' evolution [1, 2, 4].

In the Earth Sciences, complex relationships link the different scientific branches that characterize it: geochemistry, volcanology, petrography, and geophysics. Ever more complex and surprising bonds are discovered between volcanic eruptions and the climate, between geological evolution and paleontology. But many others increasingly unpredictable are discovered in the field of different scientific disciplines. But it cannot be so surprising, indeed, if we think that all living beings, the autotrophs and the heterotrophs, depend strictly on the soil, on its chemical composition and on its structure, which in turn depend on the substrate and therefore on its geological history and from the age of the minerals and rocks that compose it.

Other links, more transversal, subtle, and even more surprising are interconnected with different disciplines: history, literature, and art. They have conditioned, modified, and transformed them. And vice versa, a historical event could have favored new discoveries and new theories: the exploration of the ocean floor for defensive purposes during the Second World War was the occasion to clash with the oceanic ridges at the center of the Atlantic and to favor the development of the plate tectonics theory.

The relationship between the early stages of the hominization process and the opening of the African rift is quite documented; recent discoveries are correlating the impact of a meteorite and the shift of the Earth's magnetic field with the extinction of Neanderthals for genetic mutations. The relationship between the impact of the Cixculub meteorite in the Jucatan peninsula, highlighted by the rich level of iridium studied by the Alvarez, in Italy the Bonarelli level, with the extinction of the dinosaurs is known and quite documented. The relationship between the formation of the Dekkan Traps and the great extinction of the late Cretaceous is less known, but perhaps chronologically more coherent.

But the unexpected connections that very often we can find in all the subjects we daily face are even more surprising. Many know the relationship between the eruption of Tambora, in April 1815, and some English literary works, such as Mary Shelley's Frankestein and John Polidori's Dracula. The two authors, in the cold summer of the "Year without summer" that followed the eruption of Tambora in 1915, were passing their holidays in Switzerland. Without the possibility of excursions, because of the bed weather, they could not spend their time outside; then, they challenged those who had written the best horror novel. Less well-known is that even the Fairy Tales of the Grimm Brothers resented the special cold climate that marked that year, or how it influenced the colors of the well-known paintings of William Turner and migrations of many Italians, forced by famine toward America and, when arrived here, the Conquest of the West.

And it is known to many, the impact that the Little Ice Age had on history and society between 1650 and the end of 1800; less known is that the harsh climate marked the growth of the trees, making the growth rings smaller and the wood more compact, allowing the creation of musical instruments, the Stradivarius violins, particularly precious for its exceptional acoustics.

#### **5.5. Competences and skills**

We are realizing that new scientific discoveries in the research' world derive more and more from the boundaries of the disciplines, more and more distant from the traditional and wellknown contents, or the intertwining of different scientific areas. It is from the astrophysics, from the astrochemistry, from the molecular engineering, from geobiology that interesting and amazing data are emerging. Even in the Earth Sciences, the most intriguing aspects can be derived from these plots. The discovery of connections, of relations of cause and effect, of

**Figure 2.** (a) A deep alluvial Ouadi-Namibia. (b) An eroded rock sample. (c) A model of water erosion—regional

scientific laboratory.

68 Educational Psychology - Between Certitudes and Uncertainties

I personally have always found the proposal of these connections fascinating especially when unexpected; even among the students, the discovery of these connections has given surprising answers, an occasion for motivation and re-motivation toward Earth Sciences. It is possible not only to bridge the gap between the various disciplines, which is surprisingly very narrow, but also discover that Geosciences are at the basis of many events in the natural history of the Earth, just like in the history of the human species. Many events in the past, eruptions, earthquakes, and major disasters that may have strongly influenced the climate in geological

relationship between seemingly distant topics, make every subject a source of amaze.

eras, had also a strong effect on organisms' evolution [1, 2, 4].

**Figure 3.** (a) A landslide, (b) a landslide model, and (c) preparing a landslide.

The traditional definition of competence, which comes from literature, is the implementation of a performance in a given context that involves the use of attitudes and motivations, knowledge, competences, and skills, and is aimed at achieving a purpose. More precisely, competence is, "What, in a given context, one can do (ability) on the basis of a knowledge to achieve the expected goal and produce knowledge. It means to choose, use, and master knowledge, skills, and abilities appropriate in a given context, to set and/or solve a given problem" [7] The acquired experience has shown that Earth Sciences are the discipline that more promote citizenship and transversal skills and, furthermore, develops the ideas of system and complexity. It is surprising how these skills can be easily applicable, malleable, and adaptable to different contexts and contents of Earth Sciences, where they become tools to think, observe, connect, relate, research, solve, and communicate.

But the promotion of Earth Sciences as a discipline that most develops ideas of system and complexity, whose understanding is essential to promote scientific skills, requires a strong disciplinary epistemology. Unfortunately, the level of research on epistemology of Earth Sciences is very weak. Earth Sciences, like any scientific discipline, should be based on their epistemology, necessary to face the fundamentals of the discipline, and to define the conditions that allow to build scientific knowledge and to develop methods to reach this knowledge. But Earth Sciences, unlike other scientific disciplines, have a complex history: from time to time they have faced sociological, economic, technological, and human aspects, from which it has been difficult to break away to develop an abstract epistemological theory. This resulted in a lot of explanations concentrated more on the various components involved, that a search for universal laws, typical of other scientific disciplines [10, 11]. While the philosophy that inspired the work of the founders of modern geology, from Steno to Lyell, between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, led directly to a discipline characterized by the principles of identity and unity, in the following years, up to the twentieth century are characterized by research by many of specialists, each attentive to their field, certainly not interested in the epistemological theories of the discipline. As a global geological theory was far away in time and would still have required many years, everyone was focused on building their own small model, in a reductionist approach, away from the idea of the complexity of the knowledge system. The same happened in the past for Chemistry and Physics. Later, however, chemists and, above all, physicists were able to construct a common language and vision, which led philosophers and historians of science to use these sciences as an epistemological model. In the current model of science, there is a sort of hierarchy that separates the hard sciences from the soft ones, like the natural sciences:

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But the specificity of Earth Sciences derives precisely from this fragmentation. It seems particularly useful to develop an epistemology of complexity and in particular it allows to support the idea of non-linearity, useful when the linear model seems too simple and not adequate. In a nonlinear model, every component and every phenomenon must be related to other systems, and it is not possible to find a separate law for each fact. A complex system cannot be static or linear: it is a combination of random processes and non-linear interactions. It is the result of an evolution of the process, in which sometimes it is not possible to recognize relationships of cause or effect

between the different components, because both are the result of their common history.

The complexity that characterizes the Earth sciences does not allow to identify a single formal structure of the discipline and is the responsible of its weakness; however, this complexity, due to the presence of so many fields of study that even if in different forms, have to do with

The promotion of Earth Sciences' teaching-learning in Italian schools requests to pass through tools, both theoretical and practical. On a practical level, it is necessary to identify effective educational tools: objects, models, and paths, similar to those presented. At the theoretical level, it is necessary to reconsider the different educational approaches, choosing the most

Biology and Earth Sciences.

the Earth system, is also his wealth [1].

**7. Conclusions**

The goal is to be able to understand that every single phenomenon, a landslide, a flood, a volcanic eruption, or an earthquake, is part of the global system: all are connected to each other. It is possible to pass from a single case to a general law of nature. In the case of the approaches traditionally used in the sciences, inductive and deductive reasoning, in which the rule is given from the beginning, the definition of a law occurs regularly, and with relative ease. In the case of the abductive process, such as in the Problem-based Learning, ability to synthesize becomes an essential element: understanding why landslides can fall or earthquakes occur requires a general ability to synthesize [8, 9].

More precisely, the analysis of the phenomena studied by the Earth Sciences, phenomena are not always predictable but interconnected, allows to promote:


In the case of natural phenomena, of course, the variables are many and not always easy to connect: this represents a challenge for the scientist and for the student. It is not always possible to define a law, but we can always find a cause-effect relationship. Each landslide or any meteorological phenomenon can be triggered by a person kicking a stone or by the beat of a butterfly's wings.
