New methodologies and technologies in Earth Sciences education: opportunities and criticisms for future teachers

During the academic year 2017-2018, the Universita degli Studi di Milano organized an educational path (For24) useful to acquire or to complete the personal training in educational disciplines and in methodologies and technologies for education, nowadays necessary for the teaching profession. The course in Earth Sciences Education has been attended by about two hundred trainees. The scheduled program complies with the indications presented in the Ministerial note (2017 August) and it focuses on: epistemological and methodological-procedural bases and on approaches in Earth Sciences education; Earth Sciences education in laboratory and in the field; methodologies and technologies to study relationship between Earth Sciences and the present Society (geo-resource sustainability, natural risk prevention, cultural and geological heritage); teaching and learning procedures based on the use of the new technologies and multimedia tools. In this paper, we analyze the population of trainees who attended the course, the results of the final exams and we discuss criticisms related to the Geosciences key concepts.