TEACHING SCIENCE THROUGH EMERGENCY EDUCATION

Solmaz Mohadjer and Zach Adam info@teacherswithoutborders.org

ABSTRACT CONCEPT Will my house collapse during an earthquake?

Teachers Without Borders (TWB) is exploring a science education approach Build relevance for the teachers
that combines inquiry-based science lesson plans with emergency education and students by connecting: SAFETY
scenarios known as tabletop exercises. The proposed framework is designed to
introduce science concepts in a format that emphasizes personal or regional  Scientific data supports safe
relevance, decision-making, and community survival skill development. In a mitigation practices and
recent pilot project, students and teachers in earthquake-prone cities hazards awareness
surrounding the Himalayas (Dushanbe, Tajikistan and Dujiangyan, China)
received earthquake education training that incorporates Earth sciences,  Regional hazards conveyed
emergency preparedness, community planning, and bookmaking in an through inquiry teaching SCIENCE INQUIRY
integrated curriculum. Preliminary data describing the success of the approach
in Dushanbe and the challenges of using assessment methods commensurate  Inquiry formalized through
with project objectives are discussed. Why do some buildings
the scientific method What is a seismic load? collapse while others survive
an earthquake?

CURRICULUM STRUCTURE Earthquake Drill & Planning

TABLETOP EXERCISES
Non-Structural Hazards
A Tabletop Exercise simulates a complex, realistic situation with multiple possible
Structural Hazards responses before the students have obtained all of the knowledge of the lesson
concepts. In this way, students have the opportunity to train for a situation where
Landslides they do not have all of the information necessary to make an informed decision,
Liquefaction as often happens during an emergency.
Seismic Energy Tabletop exercises have three distinct phases: the introduction, the exercise
Earthquakes
itself, and the post-exercise discussion.
Plate Motions The introduction consists of providing a basic outline of the scenario, preparing
and Faulting the appropriate classroom environment, and informing the students of the primary
Properties of
objectives of the exercise. During the exercise, students are asked to respond to
Earth’s Materials and evaluate courses of action as an emergency scenario unfolds. The post-
Plate Boundaries
exercise discussion is conducted immediately after the exercise has ended.
Students are encouraged to discuss their responses to the scenario, and to be
Earth’s Interior & responsible for determining and explaining why any particular suggestion might
Plate Tectonics
be considered safe or unsafe.

SAMPLE LESSON: LANDSLIDE HAZARDS A PILOT PROJECT: DUSHANBE, TAJIKISTAN

 Tabletop Exercise: “Three Friends in a Valley”  Participants and Implementation
Three girls in the scenario observe strange behaviors of the ground around their Forty-three middle school students in grades 8 and 9 from two public schools (one
homes and schools. Students are asked to interpret whether or not these behaviors class for each school) in the capital city of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, participated in a
may indicate that the ground is unstable and prone to landslides, and to justify their pilot lesson plan implementation in the winter of 2008. Participation was voluntary,
reasoning. Days later in the scenario, the three girls experience earthquake- and all lessons were held after regular school hours every day, five days a week for
triggered landslides. Students are then asked to critically evaluate the actions of the two weeks. Both genders were equally represented. No school teachers
girls in the story, and to imagine what they would do differently if faced with the participated in the implementation of the lesson plans.
situation.
 Preliminary Assessment Data
 Tabletop Experiment: “The Homemade Landslide” Pre-assessment consisted of one-on-one interviews with all participating students.
Interview questions were selected to assess students’ pre-existing knowledge and
Students build, operate, and observe misconceptions. The interview data revealed that all students had experienced at
a landslide experiment using a cookie least one earthquake where over half of the reported earthquake experiences took
pan, sand, soil, gravel, and flat rocks. place at school, while the remainder were at home. The concept of ‘earthquake
Students study triggering phenomena preparation’ was completely unfamiliar to all students. No student could
such as earthquakes (by shaking the scientifically explain the causes of earthquakes.
inclined cookie pan) and heavy rain or
snow (by adding water). Students will Post-assessment consisted of guided focus group discussions. Most students
identify setup variables, discus how were able to accurately connect the scientific concepts that explain earthquakes.
changing each variable affects the Students discussed how to mitigate hazards and shared their suggestions with
experiment outcome (making appropriate school authorities.
predictions), test the variables, and
collect, record, interpret, and evaluate
their results.  Challenges
Pre- and post-assessment techniques must be made compatible to rigorously
 Hazards Mitigation evaluate lesson plan effectiveness. TWB shall focus on teacher professional
development in Tajikistan to help make earthquake education a sustainable effort
After the students have explored the physical mechanisms that cause landslides to (this approach is currently being tested in Sichuan, China). Teachers,
occur, they devise and experiment with landslide remediation and mitigation administrators, local scientists and emergency responders must collaborate to
strategies using the experimental setup using simple materials such as string, wire, ensure effective earthquake information reaches the school community. Students
cloth, nets, and toothpicks. and teachers must be included when planning and implementing hazards mitigation
in schools.