Seismicity and Relative Risk, the IBI Prize–winning module, utilizes freely available earthquake data to help students apply their knowledge to risk-related decision-making. The topic of earthquakes appears in virtually all introductory undergraduate geoscience courses. Most students entering these courses already have some knowledge of earthquakes and why they occur, but that knowledge often derives from the most recent event in the news and can therefore be biased toward the most destructive earthquakes (1). In addition, students arrive at college with misconceptions (2, 3), perhaps picked up from erroneous or poorly presented media coverage. These misconceptions can go unchecked or even be reinforced by introductory textbooks, most of which contain errors and oversimplifications about earthquake processes (3, 4).
[1]
J. Libarkin,et al.
Assessment of Learning in Entry-Level Geoscience Courses: Results from the Geoscience Concept Inventory
,
2005
.
[2]
David N. Steer,et al.
How Students Think: Implications for Learning in Introductory Geoscience Courses
,
2005
.
[3]
C. King.
An Analysis of Misconceptions in Science Textbooks: Earth science in England and Wales
,
2010
.
[4]
Kim A. Kastens,et al.
Student interpretation of a global elevation map: What it is, how it was made, and what it is useful for
,
2011
.
[5]
S. Hidi,et al.
Interest, Learning, and the Psychological Processes That Mediate Their Relationship.
,
2002
.