Investigating the teaching and learning of natural hazard disaster reduction
Date
2022-02-10
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Abstract
Vaatamata teaduse ja tehnoloogia arengule on loodusõnnetuste ja nendest põhjustatud inimohvrite arv viimastel aastatel kasvanud. Loodusõnnetuste ohtu tõstab märgatavalt üleilmne soojenemine ja linnastumine. Loodusõnnetuste riski ja nendega seotud tagajärgi aitab leevendada asjakohane haridus ning eelkõige õpetajate suutlikkus arendada õpilaste loodusteaduslikku mõtlemist.
Eelkirjeldatud probleemi leevendamiseks ja lahendamiseks esitab käesoleva töö autor kaks olulist tulemust: (1) loodusõnnetuste alase teadlikkuse ja valmisoleku indeks, mis aitab selgitada teemakohase hariduse mõju teadlikkuse ja valmisoleku tõstmisel; (2) kontseptuaalne mudel loodusõnnetuste temaatika käsitlemiseks, mis aitab olemasolevatele teadmistele tuginedes arendada õpilaste teemakohaseid väärtushinnanguid, teadmisi, oskusi ja hoiakuid.
Uuring näitas, et 30 riigi PISA loodusteaduste testi tulemuste (nn haridustegur) ning loodusõnnetustest teadlikkuse ja valmisoleku indeksi vahel on tugev seos. Õpilaste parem teemakohane haridus vähendas riigi elanikkonna haavatavust loodusõnnetuste tagajärgede suhtes ning tõstis toimetuleku- ja kohanemisvõimet.
Töö tulemusena valminud kontseptuaalne lähtub teaduse ja tehnoloogia mõtestatud kasutamise põhimõttest.
Edasi arendatud mudeli aluseks on loodusteadusliku sisu kontekstis kolm kognitiivset operatsiooni: üldistamine, täpsustamine ja taasüldistamine. Mudelist lähtuvalt küsitles töö autor Eesti, USA ja Jaapani kooliõpilasi, et hinnata nende loodusõnnetuste alaseid kogemusi ja riskitaju. Kõigi uuringus osalenud riikide õpilaste teadmised loodusõnnetuste korral käitumise osas osutusid võrdselt madalateks. USA õpetajate küsitlus ja jätkuintervjuud näitasid, et õpetajad vajavad koolitust, kuidas õpetada õpilasi oma tegevusi analüüsima ja mõtestama isegi siis, kui loodusõnnetus on mitte tegelik, vaid üksnes kujuteldav. Uurimuse põhjal soovitab autor loodusteaduste õpetamise töömudelile lisada vastutustundliku käitumusliku tegevuse kujundamise etapi.
Despite of our efforts, development in science and technology has not stopped mass casualties as a consequence of natural disasters. This is worrying as the frequency and scale of natural hazards had increased due to global warming and increased urbanization. Awareness of potential natural hazards are an important first step to reduce associated risks. Raising such awareness is an essential educational task. The extent to which the necessary knowledge and readiness to behave adequately in crisis situations reach the students' consciousness depends on teaching and learning. To alleviate the problem, two approaches have been developed in this work: (1) a disaster awareness and preparedness index on the impact of education on awareness and preparedness, and (2) a conceptual model towards disaster teaching/learning contexts, and its potential to increase competencies in values, knowledge, skills and attitudes through experience. We found a significant positive correlation between the new index and the national level determined education factor, which is based on PISA science test results. This confirms the importance of education in aiding the mitigating the consequences of natural disasters in the country. A four-stage educational model, based on the meaningful use of science and technology, was developed. Its basic parts are well-known from the classical pedagogical theory: contextualization, de-contextualization, and re-contextualization. In this thesis, the existing model has been upgraded with the stage of responsible behavioral action. Based on the logic of the model, a survey conducted among Estonian, US and Japanese school students, on the basis of which the students' experiences of natural hazards and risk perception were assessed. The results of the test are similar across countries and show a relatively low awareness of students' competence with respect to natural hazards. The test and follow-up interviews conducted among teachers confirms that it is important to teach students to be aware of reasons for performing activities related to responsible behavior even in the conditions of an imaginary natural disaster situation. This shows that an additional stage of responsible behavioral action needs to be added to the 3-level model for science teaching/ learning.
Despite of our efforts, development in science and technology has not stopped mass casualties as a consequence of natural disasters. This is worrying as the frequency and scale of natural hazards had increased due to global warming and increased urbanization. Awareness of potential natural hazards are an important first step to reduce associated risks. Raising such awareness is an essential educational task. The extent to which the necessary knowledge and readiness to behave adequately in crisis situations reach the students' consciousness depends on teaching and learning. To alleviate the problem, two approaches have been developed in this work: (1) a disaster awareness and preparedness index on the impact of education on awareness and preparedness, and (2) a conceptual model towards disaster teaching/learning contexts, and its potential to increase competencies in values, knowledge, skills and attitudes through experience. We found a significant positive correlation between the new index and the national level determined education factor, which is based on PISA science test results. This confirms the importance of education in aiding the mitigating the consequences of natural disasters in the country. A four-stage educational model, based on the meaningful use of science and technology, was developed. Its basic parts are well-known from the classical pedagogical theory: contextualization, de-contextualization, and re-contextualization. In this thesis, the existing model has been upgraded with the stage of responsible behavioral action. Based on the logic of the model, a survey conducted among Estonian, US and Japanese school students, on the basis of which the students' experiences of natural hazards and risk perception were assessed. The results of the test are similar across countries and show a relatively low awareness of students' competence with respect to natural hazards. The test and follow-up interviews conducted among teachers confirms that it is important to teach students to be aware of reasons for performing activities related to responsible behavior even in the conditions of an imaginary natural disaster situation. This shows that an additional stage of responsible behavioral action needs to be added to the 3-level model for science teaching/ learning.
Description
Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone
Keywords
science education, natural disasters, comprehension, natural science disciplines, teaching methodology