Unit 1: Earthquake!

Vince Cronin, Baylor University (Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu)
Phil Resor, Wesleyan University (presor@wesleyan.edu)

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Initial Publication Date: December 9, 2016 | Fix Links: August 15, 2024 (see revision history: 6 events)

First Publication: December 9, 2016
Reviewed: February 17, 2017 -- Reviewed by the GETSI Materials Review Process
Reviewed: May 10, 2019 -- Reviewed by the On the Cutting Edge Activity Review Process
File/Data Set Update: July 17, 2024 -- Updated file: 'Unit 1 Slides for Think-Pair-Share - with more instructor notes and some answer suggestions' Updated broken links and some figures
File/Data Set Update: July 17, 2024 -- Updated file: 'Unit 1 Slides for Think-Pair-Share activity' Updated broken links and in some figures
Fix Links: August 15, 2024 -- Repaired many broken links. Replaced links to videos with new examples that we hope will remain stable in the future as they are hosted on government and news media pages. Updated references from UNAVCO to EarthScope consortium. Updated some images to match current USGS output.

Summary

In this opening unit, students develop the societal context for understanding earthquake hazards using as a case study the 2011 Tohoku, Japan, earthquake. It starts with a short homework "scavenger hunt" in which students find a compelling video and information about the earthquake. In class, they share some of what they have found and then engage in a series of think-pair-share exercises to investigate both the societal and scientific data about the earthquake.

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Physical, Geospatial, Human/Cultural, Geodesy, Geodynamics, ...(more) | College Upper (15-16) | Online Adaptable | Public Policy and STEM

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Topics

Physical, Geospatial, Human/Cultural, Geodesy, Geodynamics, Seismology, Stress/Strain/Strain Analysis, Regional Structural/Tectonic Activity, Geophysics and Structural Geology, Tectonics, Environmental Geology, Physical , Marine Geology and Geophysics, Marine Hazards, Nuclear Energy, Energy Infrastructure, Earthquakes, Tsunami, Environmental Economics

Grade Level

College Upper (15-16)

Readiness for Online Use

Online Adaptable

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice

Public Policy and STEM: STEM disciplines can strengthen data-based decision making in the public sphere.

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These materials have been reviewed for their alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards as detailed below.

Overview

Students analyze and interpret data from the 2011 Tohoku, Japan, earthquake and tsunami to assess cause and effect relationships and the impact on society.

Science and Engineering Practices

Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information: Critically read scientific literature adapted for classroom use to determine the central ideas or conclusions and/or to obtain scientific and/or technical information to summarize complex evidence, concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms. HS-P8.1:

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions: Make a quantitative and/or qualitative claim regarding the relationship between dependent and independent variables. HS-P6.1:

Analyzing and Interpreting Data: Compare and contrast various types of data sets (e.g., self-generated, archival) to examine consistency of measurements and observations. HS-P4.4:

Cross Cutting Concepts

Stability and Change: Stability might be disturbed either by sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time. MS-C7.3:

Cause and effect: Changes in systems may have various causes that may not have equal effects. HS-C2.4:

Disciplinary Core Ideas

Natural Hazards: Natural hazards and other geologic events have shaped the course of human history; [they] have significantly altered the sizes of human populations and have driven human migrations. HS-ESS3.B1:

Information Technologies and Instrumentation: Multiple technologies based on the understanding of waves and their interactions with matter are part of everyday experiences in the modern world (e.g., medical imaging, communications, scanners) and in scientific research. They are essential tools for producing, transmitting, and capturing signals and for storing and interpreting the information contained in them HS-PS4.C1:

Performance Expectations

Earth and Human Activity: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity. HS-ESS3-1:

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Learning Goals

Unit 1 Learning Outcomes

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Show caption

Aftermath of Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which is used as a case study in this introductory unit. Buddhist painting and signposts of prayer and wishes at the top of Mt. Hiyoriyama, a 6.3m high man-made hill in Natori, Miyagi where the tsunamis attacked. By ChiefHira (from Wikipedia).
Provenance: By ChiefHira (Own work) GFDL http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html or CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Reuse: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASignpost_of_prayer_and_wish.JPG

Students will be able to describe human impacts from the 2011 Tohoku, Japan, earthquake
Students will be able to interpret a variety of images related to the science and human impact of earthquakes

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Unit 1 Teaching Objectives

Affective: Provide students with the opportunity to analyze the human impact from an earthquake.
Cognitive: Facilitate students' ability to interpret a range of data images related to earthquakes.

Context for Use

This module was designed for structural geology courses but may also be successfully used in geophysics, tectonics, or geohazards courses, or possibly even a physics or engineering course seeking practical applications. However, Unit 1 could really be used in nearly any nonintroductory course in which students are learning about earthquakes. The module assumes that students have had a basic physical geology introduction to plate tectonics, faults, earthquakes, and earthquake magnitude/intensity scales. Although the rest of the module could be done without Unit 1, this short unit really does provide an important societal context for learning about earthquakes and gives students an opportunity to practice interpreting a variety of earthquake data images.

Description and Teaching Materials

Part 1:

Prior to the first day of the module, give students a small homework assignment. Before the start of class (something like 2–24 hours before—whatever works for your particular teaching situation), they are to send you an interesting video that includes human impacts from the 2011 Tohoku, Japan, Mag 9.1 Earthquake and two facts: one related to the human impact from the event and one related to something Japan has done to mitigate against earthquake risk. Tell them you will share some of the best examples with the class. This assignment has the effect of getting students to actually read more facts and look at more videos than they actually turn in to you. (Remind them to cite their sources.)

Part 2:

Prior to class, quickly review the videos and facts that students have turned in. Select one or two videos to show the whole class. Invite students to volunteer societal impacts, summarize them on the board, and contribute additional ones you think are important. Then cycle through the rest of the PowerPoint slides as a series of think-pair-share exercises. Potential questions to pose are listed in the Notes section of the presentation. The final slide includes two questions to help students reflect on their learning. The inclusion of reflection (or metacognition) is an essential component of learning. If you have your students do Minute Papers or "muddiest point" cards at the end of class, the same basic purpose is served.

Unit 1 Slides for Think-Pair-Share activity (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 14.9MB Aug15 24)

Unit 1 Slides for Think-Pair-Share - with more instructor notes and some answer suggestions -- private instructor-only file

Unit 1 Slides for Think-Pair-Share - with more instructor notes and some answer suggestions

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Also consider showing the EarthScope animation
Youtube: What can GPS tell us about future earthquakes?
MP4 file: What can GPS tell us about future earthquakes? (MP4 Video 11MB Sep17 15)
This animation can serve the dual purpose of introducing students to: (1) the similarities between Japan and the US Pacific Northwest and (2) what GPS can show about strain build up.

Teaching Notes and Tips

Adding links to selected videos sent by the students at the bottom of slide 4 can help animate the discussion of hazard and risk by making it all much more real.
The nuclear disaster slide (slide 7) and the tsunami slide (slide 9) have relatively complicated graphics with some small text. You may want to print color copies of these slides for your students so that they can read and interpret these details.
While students are learning about earthquakes, you may consider taking the opportunity to have the students do a basic earthquake drill of Drop-Cover-HoldOn. It is a prime time to make sure they know what to do to be safe if they are ever in an earthquake. Earthquake Country Alliance has great resources on basic earthquake safety. More resources are available from The Great ShakeOut international earthquake drill, Redwood Coast Tsunami Workgroup for coastal areas with tsunami threat, and of course FEMA and Red Cross.

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Assessment

Formative assessment:

This is the introductory unit to the module, so as such there is no summative assessment. Formative assessment is done by the instructor in the form of group and individual student discussions. For the grading of the small homework assignment it would be appropriate to give credit if the assignment is completed and appropriate and no credit if undone or off target. Some instructors may choose to offer the homework as extra credit or offer an extra credit incentive for a student whose video is selected.