VOLCANIC HAZARDS SIMULATION: A COLLABORATIVE ROLE-PLAY EXERCISE USING MULTIPLE, SYNCHRONOUS TIME SERIES DATASETS TO PERFORM VOLCANIC FORECASTING AND HAZARD MANAGEMENT
As part of the evaluation of the simulation, we interviewed volcanologists and volcanic hazard management professionals in order to identify their skills and their experiences with volcanic crises. Professionals identified that general communication and role specific decision making skills are critical when dealing with a volcanic crisis. The scenario was adapted with this in mind and students were assigned specific roles, but work collaboratively in two distinct teams. The Geology team focused on synthesizing, modeling, and forecasting the real-time volcano monitoring data, while the Emergency Management team reacts and manages volcanic effects and impacts. Instructors and invited volcanology professionals act as our ‘experts’, who guide and challenge the students during the simulation. The time series monitoring data streams (e.g. seismicity) were derived from the Mt. Pinatubo events of 1995 in New Zealand.
Two iterations of the simulation have been run with upper-year undergraduate and first year Masters level students. We have collected observation data and interview data with the purpose of exploring student engagement, decision-making, group dynamics, and effective curriculum design. Based on both data sets, several pedagogical factors have been identified as impacting student engagement and motivation: a. pace and run-time of the simulation, b. homework, reports and assessment of the simulation, c. level of interaction from experts, d. volcano data ambiguity, e. depth and authenticity of student roles.
These results and further investigation of interviews with students and professionals will be used to optimize future iterations of the volcanic hazard simulation. The eventual goal of the project is to adapt into a virtual learning environment.