InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Living on the Edge: Building resilient societies on active plate margins
 Earth-focused Modules and Courses for the Undergraduate Classroom
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The materials are free and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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Summary

This module, intended to take two weeks in an introductory-level class, is divided into three units that focus on geologic hazards and associated risks at representative plate boundary settings: transform, divergent and convergent. Students are assumed to be familiar with the basics of plate tectonics, including the general characteristics of plate boundaries.

Although designed to be used in the sequence transform → divergent → convergent, each plate boundary unit is adaptable for use on its own. Each plate boundary unit is designed to be equivalent to two one-hour class sessions and includes: a) accounts of historically important earthquakes and/or volcanic eruptions that have occurred in that setting, b) exploration and interpretation of scientific data related to the geologic processes responsible for the geologic hazard(s), c) analysis of the effects on and risks to human populations, and d) development of strategies to mitigate risks. At the end of each unit, student learning is assessed by their application of unit content to a new location in a similar plate boundary setting.

Strengths of the Module

Geological monitoring can greatly improve our planning for and response to catastrophic events such as earthquakes and volcanoes. In this module, students use real earthquake and volcano monitoring data to draw conclusions about risks to plate boundary communities, and to communicate and plan for those risks. In doing so, students integrate scientific data with societal scenarios, making use of authentic data, funded by government agencies to mitigate issues faced by communities.

This module engages students in simulation and role-playing. Students do not need to live near plate boundaries to develop first-hand experience with seismic and volcanic risks. By personalizing their role in response to simulations of active geologic processes, students gain experience interpreting evolving data sets, which in some cases are incomplete or otherwise realistically inadequate, but are forced to make interpretations due to time constraints.

Each unit of this module includes scaffolded activities that introduce the collection and interpretation of hazards data. Students use data to formulate risk assessments and community vulnerabilities. In doing so, students personally experience that geoscience is a complex, interdisciplinary effort with real-world implications for the availability of complex data sets that are interpreted accurately, but that are modified through time as geologic events evolve.

The concepts of risk and vulnerability analysis introduced in this module are useful ideas in systems thinking, and are important in particular in understanding coupled natural-human systems (see e.g. Turner et al. 2003). While this module itself does not explicitly address Earth systems, the module's focus on these systems-related analyses makes it well suited to fit in a course that takes a systems approach to Earth or environmental science.

A great fit for courses in:

  • Physical Geology
  • Environmental Geology
  • Geohazards
  • Environmental Science
  • Physical Geography


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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »