Using an Outdoor Mapping Activity to Understand Geographical Features from the Perspective of Disaster Prevention

Abstract

Preparing for natural disasters requires disaster awareness as well as disaster knowledge. An understanding of areal geographical features is necessary to prevent damage specific to a region. A study was conducted to examine the change in students’ awareness and understanding of local features through an activity of creating a disaster prevention map, a method commonly used in disaster prevention studies. The learners’ awareness of disaster prevention and understanding of local features was enhanced through the learning activity. The results revealed that proactive learning was effective in helping students understand the features of the region. The creation of a disaster prevention map with field observation activities showed that general knowledge was transformed into local knowledge. To investigate the effects of a disaster that had occurred before the study, we examined the change in disaster preparedness awareness among the learners. The results showed a change in disaster preparedness awareness among the groups less affected by the disaster.