Wildfire Research in an Environmental Hazards Course: An Active Learning Approach

Abstract

Creating opportunities for students to actively apply hazards theory to real-life situations is often a challenge in hazards geography courses. This article presents a project, the Jocko Lakes Fire Project, that implemented learning strategies to encourage students to be active in wildfire hazards research. Wildfire hazards stand out as an increasing threat to communities in forested areas given current and projected rates of urbanization, the growing concentration of wealth in hazard-prone areas, the increasing costs of forest wildfire reduction, and climate change. Components of the project involved students in problem definition and the articulation of a research plan; identifying and collecting relevant data; and analyzing and documenting the wildfire hazard event. The student-based evaluation of the project and its outcomes highlights the ways in which this approach can increase understanding of local hazard scenarios, familiarity with relevant theory, geographical knowledge, and skills in research.

Key Words:

• natural hazards
• wildfire education
• active learning
• student research experience

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the students for their participation in the course and for their contributions to the case study project. We also greatly appreciate the insights and involvement of Tim Love, Seeley Lake District Ranger; Bob Harrington, Chief Forester, Montana Department of Natural Resources; and the community of Seeley Lake.

Tamara U. Wall is an adjunct professor of geography at the University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA. She studies wildfire risks and hazards and demographics with a focus on the American West.

Sarah J. Halvorson is an associate professor of geography at the University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA. Her teaching and research interests are in the areas of vulnerability science and environmental hazards with a focus on the American West and High Asia.

Notes

1. This course surveys the characteristics and impacts of selected natural and technological hazards. Course material emphasizes risk and vulnerability assessment procedures, mitigating measures to reduce damage, and strategies for planning community response.

2. We used the concept of small learning teams as an instructional strategy that focuses on teaching students how to work together to solve problems and produce work that is beyond their individual efforts and skills (Michaelson, Knight, and Fink 2004).