Computational earthquake management: An educational perspective

Abstract

This article presents an educational undertaking to integrate earthquake management subjects into the curriculum, specifically in a master’ s-level design studio course within an architecture faculty. The course explores the employment of challenge-based learning (CBL) and self-directed learning (SDL) principles, emphasizing computation for earthquake resilience and recovery. It is taught with a teaching team with diverse expertise, and it is formulated as an interdisciplinary learning environment that leads to the development of projects that explore know-how beyond the typical disciplinary boundaries of the students’ backgrounds. The article suggests that employing the principles of CBL and SDL, emphasizing computational thinking as a transversal competence, and introducing digital technologies into the course content and teaching methods can lead to an effective interdisciplinary learning environment that improves students’ motivation and agency. They can allow the students to take the initiative in extending their disciplinary knowledge and encourage their self-positioning as problem solvers. The projects formulated and developed by the students address all four phases of earthquake management through computational methods and digital technologies. Accordingly, it is suggested that computational earthquake management can be studied as an interdisciplinary research field that can address all phases of earthquake management, influencing both educational and professional domains. This article presents this course’s pedagogical approach, learning methods, and outcomes. It is concluded with an evaluation of this experience, highlighting directions towards future research. It is suggested that it can give insights into the effective integration of this subject into education and influence future research and professional explorations at the intersection of computation and earthquake management within interdisciplinary learning environments.

Keywords

• architecture and built environment education
• challenge-based learning
• self-directed learning
• interdisciplinary learning
• computation
• earthquake management