Deep understanding of natural hazards based on the Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction in a higher education geography module in Singapore

Abstract

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction develops and implements strategies to reduce disaster risks and can be used as a pedagogical tool to improve knowledge of natural hazards. From an early age, individuals can contribute positively to natural hazard mitigation and this is supported by research conducted in schools in countries like Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Our research aims to explore undergraduate university student engagement and learning of natural hazards through real-world data analysis, risk assessment, developing adaptation and mitigation strategies and effective stakeholder communication in a region, while building students’ knowledge about the various hazards affecting an area. Throughout a series of tutorials and assignments, students were asked to explain a specified hazard, identify existing risks, explore adaptation and mitigation strategies and develop a stakeholder communication tool. Overall, students performed well in each individual assignment, getting marks between 14-18 out of 20. Assignment 4, in which students had to create a communication tool to report their findings to a stakeholder, such as a governmental agency, was the one where students received the highest marks. Students’ feedback at the end of the assignments was positive; most of them felt engaged and that the series of assignments enhanced their critical thinking skills.

Keywords:

• Communication
• disaster risk reduction
• invitational education
• natural hazards

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the students of the 2017 class of GE3231: Natural Hazards for agreeing to be examined in this study. All ethical considerations were approved by the National University of Singapore, Internal Review Board (Reference Code: S-17-286E). This research was partially funded through C.G.’s NUS Start-up grant (R-109-000-233-133). C.G. also thanks Liew Shin Dee and Gan Joo Seng from the Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning at NUS who helped formulate and contextualise this pedagogical approach. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their careful examination of our manuscript and the comments they provided have strengthened the paper.

Declaration statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.