“Map Your Hazards!”: Assessing Hazards, Vulnerability, and Risk Through an Active Learning-Based Educational Module

Abstract

One of the society’s grand challenges is reducing the risk of natural hazard events. To address this concern, we developed the “Map Your Hazards! – Assessing Hazards, Vulnerability, and Risk” module (Brand et al., Map your Hazards. [online] Map your Hazards!. https://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/teaching_materials/map_hazards/index.html. Accessed 27 June 2018, 2014), which provides students with an interactive mechanism to engage in place-based exploration of natural hazards, social vulnerability, risk, and the factors that shape community perception of natural hazards and risk. Students identify and apply credible geologic and social science datasets to identify hazards and social vulnerabilities within their region; collect and evaluate survey data on the knowledge, risk perception, and preparedness within their social networks; and make recommendations based on their findings to potential stakeholders for development of prepared and resilient communities. The interdisciplinary nature of the module allows students to improve their geoscientific thinking skills while fostering systems thinking about the interconnection of hazards, social vulnerability, and risk. The course is designed to be adaptable to any location and can be taught from 100 to 300 levels in Geoscience, Environmental Science, and Social Science courses.