Local Nature-Focused Inquiry Learning for Sustainable Development After an Earthquake Disaster in Japan

In recent years, large-scale earthquakes have frequently occurred in Japan. In April 2016, Kumamoto city was struck by two earthquakes with seismic intensity 7. Disaster prevention is one of the themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), but education for the affected students is also important for post-disaster recovery. The purpose of this study was to develop inquiry learning materials and practice lessons for junior high school students to understand natural disasters from a multifaceted and holistic perspective. We investigated the geological environment around the target school and used the results to develop various types of teaching materials. In addition, we extracted four themes for inquiry learning related to the geological environment of the region. At the end of unit study, we conducted inquiry learning with experiments and survey on the issues selected from the four themes and carried out activities for exchanging students’ opinions and for presenting their results and discussions to refine their inquiry. As a result of practical study, the following were obtained: (1) Students used their knowledge acquired through learning based on the existing curriculum to analyze the experimental results and materials in inquiry. (2) Many students are able to explain the formation of the local earth from a historical perspective. (3) Through inquiry learning, some students had a point of view in which the earthquake is associated with other geological phenomena and considered from a historical perspective. (4) The results of questionnaire survey showed that 76% of the students have changed their views on the earthquake.