11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
[G01-P02] Utilizing a Narrative Approach in Disaster Science Communication
Keywords:Disaster Science Communication, Science Education, Disaster Prevention Education, Narrative, Earth Systems, Relationships between Earth and Self
The purpose of this study is to identify better ways of communicating and positioning scientific knowledge so that people can connect the acquired knowledge of disaster science to disaster prevention actions. The background of this study is the gap between the acquisition of knowledge of disaster science and the practice of disaster prevention. Although most Japanese people know that plate subduction is the cause of earthquakes and heavy rainfall is the cause of floods, such knowledge is not always translated into action to cope with disasters. The cause of this problem is probably two characteristics of the conventional science communication (science education): 1) the orientation toward the correct understanding of "correct knowledge" about natural phenomena in an objective and decontextualized manner, and 2) the fragmented explanation of things and phenomena that are part of the activities of the entire earth. Therefore, we attempted a different approach and conducted two science classes in which we conveyed knowledge of disaster science (1) in the context of "how it relates to themselves" and (2) in the context of the big earth (system) as a whole. These lessons were conducted in August 2019 and December 2021 at an elementary school in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, which is a priority school for disaster prevention education. The first lesson was on earthquake disaster and the Earth's internal structure, and the second on heavy rain disaster and the Earth's water cycle. A total of 71 students from grades 1-6 and their siblings participated in the science class on earthquakes, and 100 students, almost all of whom were in grade 6, participated in the class on water.
In two science classes, "narratives" were used to realize the aforementioned (1) and (2). Narrative means "telling a story" or "a story," and it is one of the ways in which people understand reality. In this study, it is defined as "something that connects multiple events and/or knowledge to create a plot and give (or generate) new meaning (context). The two science classes are characterized by the fact that the knowledge of disaster science and earth science, such as the mechanism of earthquakes and rain, was conveyed through narratives while making the students actively aware of the "earth system" and the "relationship between themselves and the earth."
The data to be analyzed are mainly the contents of the questionnaires given to the participants before and after the class, their words and actions on the day of the class, the questionnaires given to the parents four months later, and the interviews with the homeroom teachers. Based on the above, we discussed how the content of the class was understood and interpreted by the individuals and how their perceptions of earthquakes and rain (floods) changed.
As a result of the two practices, it was found that the participants did not simply understand the mechanisms of earthquakes and rains as "easy to understand" objective knowledge, but also made various subjective interpretations and placed them in the context of the unique world in which they lived. They also tended to reevaluate with a sense of reality the relationship that we live on the earth, which operates as a grand system with no room for human intervention. Furthermore, by understanding earthquakes and rainfall based on the overall picture of the earth, the students were able to give new meaning to the phenomena as "something that inevitably happens (as part of the earth system)" and accept them with deep conviction, which also led to a positive attitude toward disasters.
Through these results, it is concluded that the way to position knowledge of disaster science so that it can contribute to disaster prevention actions is to form a humble attitude toward disasters and the earth.
In two science classes, "narratives" were used to realize the aforementioned (1) and (2). Narrative means "telling a story" or "a story," and it is one of the ways in which people understand reality. In this study, it is defined as "something that connects multiple events and/or knowledge to create a plot and give (or generate) new meaning (context). The two science classes are characterized by the fact that the knowledge of disaster science and earth science, such as the mechanism of earthquakes and rain, was conveyed through narratives while making the students actively aware of the "earth system" and the "relationship between themselves and the earth."
The data to be analyzed are mainly the contents of the questionnaires given to the participants before and after the class, their words and actions on the day of the class, the questionnaires given to the parents four months later, and the interviews with the homeroom teachers. Based on the above, we discussed how the content of the class was understood and interpreted by the individuals and how their perceptions of earthquakes and rain (floods) changed.
As a result of the two practices, it was found that the participants did not simply understand the mechanisms of earthquakes and rains as "easy to understand" objective knowledge, but also made various subjective interpretations and placed them in the context of the unique world in which they lived. They also tended to reevaluate with a sense of reality the relationship that we live on the earth, which operates as a grand system with no room for human intervention. Furthermore, by understanding earthquakes and rainfall based on the overall picture of the earth, the students were able to give new meaning to the phenomena as "something that inevitably happens (as part of the earth system)" and accept them with deep conviction, which also led to a positive attitude toward disasters.
Through these results, it is concluded that the way to position knowledge of disaster science so that it can contribute to disaster prevention actions is to form a humble attitude toward disasters and the earth.