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Promoting Tsunami Risk Awareness through Service Learning and the Application of the Disaster Imagination Game (DIG) in Ocean Engineering: an Analysis of Students’ Perceptions Years Later

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Community Engagement Division 5 - Nurturing Well-Being and Promoting Awareness

Tagged Division

Community Engagement Division (COMMENG)

Page Count

11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43989

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/43989

Download Count

215

Paper Authors

biography

Gianina Morales Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-0144-7942

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Gianina Morales is a Faculty at the Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile. She has an M. Ed degree and is currently a Fulbright Ph.D. student at the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on disciplinary literacy in engineering and the improvement of instructional practices to foster persistence and equity in undergraduate engineering education.

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biography

Mauricio Reyes Gallardo Universidad de Valparaíso, Chile

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Mauricio Reyes Gallardo is associate professor at Universidad de Valparaíso. He is Civil Engineer and has a Master degree in Disaster Management . His research is focused on several topics related to disasters and coastal engineering, bussines continuity planning, disaster education for resilience and risk management.

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Abstract

The Disaster Imagination Game (DIG) is a Japanese method to promote disaster risk awareness and resilience. It is a simple, low-cost, versatile, and effective methodology for strengthening local capacities for disaster prevention. The game’s core is a teamwork exercise around a printed map, where people discuss and record information about the territory under study. We used an adaptation of the DIG methodology in the context of a service-learning third-year course in an Ocean Engineering program at a regional university in Chile. During the course, students were first introduced to the theoretical and empirical aspects of earthquakes and tsunamis. Then, they were guided through the conceptual and practical learning of the game to prepare them as facilitators. At the end of the course, students led a DIG workshop with community members that allowed participants to identify evacuation routes and vulnerabilities in the city. After more than two years and a pandemic hiatus, we wonder: how might this experience have impacted students’ tsunami and earthquake awareness? In this article, we present a small qualitative inquiry. We interviewed students who actively participated in the service-learning experience to analyze their perceptions of their disaster risk awareness learning promoted by the course. The results indicate that students value the experience as a catalyst for their risk awareness, identified in actions such as paying attention to evacuation routes in diverse settings or creating preparation strategies. Moreover, students value the opportunity to work closely with the community as a contribution to their professional identity. Findings offer implications for engineering educators interested in applying service-learning experiences to promote professional learning and community engagement.

Morales, G., & Reyes Gallardo, M. (2023, June), Promoting Tsunami Risk Awareness through Service Learning and the Application of the Disaster Imagination Game (DIG) in Ocean Engineering: an Analysis of Students’ Perceptions Years Later Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43989

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