Teaching Tips

• Teaching tips and suggested resources for more information are provided throughout unit.
• The instructor should test all links and request limited-access materials well in advance of teaching this unit, as there may be a time-lag in receiving those materials.
• The instructor can modify the activities for use in a variety of courses.

About the Content

• This unit is designed to help students calculate frequency and probability of natural hazards using data from the New Hampshire Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (2013) as a case study. It also helps students analyze risk associated with natural hazards using a Hazards Vulnerability Analysis (HVA), and then critique a Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) using New Orleans as a case study.
• There is opportunity for the instructor to bring in local data instead of using the prescribed case studies.
• Comments from expert scientist:
  Scientific Strengths: The concept mapping activity is innovative and allows students to identify their existing thoughts and assemble them in creative ways. Pre- and post-unit assessment surveys are simple and clean, helping the students think about how they expanded their learning. Also very clear learning objectives.
  Suggestions: The statement that storm surge happens due to low atmospheric pressure and high waves is incorrect. Storm surge is the result of sustained winds on a body of water that builds up the water elevation. The vocabulary is also not very clear. The authors also suggest (optionally) giving the Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) as a reading assignment. It is 418 pages, which seems far too much. The final objective where students comb through these resources to try to assemble that information feels overwhelming and confusing. It's a very cool idea, but I would find this activity very challenging to teach.

About the Pedagogy

• The unit provides clear learning goals, materials to achieve those goals, and assessments to evaluate if the learning goals were met.
• Both required and supplemental readings (e.g., government reports) are provided to support the learning activities. The materials and activities can be adapted and modified as necessary for geoscience courses, as well as use in non-science courses such as emergency management or urban planning.
• Students without background knowledge or familiarity with the relevant vocabulary, HVAs, and HMPs would benefit from additional instruction to introduce these concepts.
• Instructors should be familiar with systems thinking and using concept maps. Additional resources for these topics are suggested.

Technical Details/Ease of Use

• Instructors should be aware that there are currently several broken links (e.g., Hazard Mitigation Plan for the City of New Orleans, Word version of some documents) and that some materials (e.g., pre-survey, rubric) are only available by request.

Related URLs These related sites were noted by our reviewers but have not been reviewed by CLEAN