A gaming approach to disaster preparedness learning: An action research at a senior high school

Abstract

We conducted action research at a senior high school in Wakayama Prefecture, in order to boost and maintain the preparedness of the local people toward a major earthquake. When planning to deal with disaster events in the long term, with a return period of over 100 years, building a community-based learning system is more important than simply developing the knowledge and skills of individuals. Thus, we developed a concrete, practical, model for creating a participative and lasting “community of practice” (Lave and Wenger, 1991), rather than conducting temporary, unidirectional, learning activities. In this study, gaming served as a key tool for activating collaborative learning in minimizing earthquake victimization for various stakeholders, such as high school students, local government officers, disaster relief NGO members, and disaster management experts. The results are discussed from the perspective of gaming and disaster reduction theory and practice.View full abstract