Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and earthquake: the teaching of emotions meets Geoscience

Abstract

In the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the 2019 L'Aquila earthquake, the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia of Lerici (SP), together with the Fire brigade Command of La Spezia and the Seismic Sector-Office of the Tuscany Region, designed a transformational learning path for the 2019 INGV-ScienzAperta involving about 300 students of Middle Schools (ISCED 2) of Liguria in their classrooms. Images, videos and readings of earthquake testimonies told by rescuers, seismologists and geologists were shown to students, underling the great humanity of people who worked during the emergency. The Social Emotional Learning (SEL) experiment revealed an enriching experience for both recipients and trainers, as it was well put in evidence by the touching students' essays after the ScienzAperta meetings and by the satisfaction questionnaires differentiated for students and teachers. The results were also presented at the University of Camerino 2019 Summer School for Geosciences teachers.