Enhancing the Earthquake Coping Capacity of School Students Using Gaming Simulations in Malaysia

Abstract

This study sought to enhance the earthquake coping capacities of Malaysian students using gaming simulations. Although theoretical and practical evidence has found that coping capacities are vital for community disaster risk reduction, the incorporation of this important factor into disaster-related gaming simulations remains unexplored. As gaming simulations have been found to potentially increase coping capacities, this study integrated earthquake coping capacity requirements with gaming simulations to increase learner coping capacity knowledge, skills, and motivations. In particular, a gaming simulation called Earthquake Evacuation Gaming Simulation was developed as a disaster education tool in which the learners experience an earthquake evacuation. This research evaluated the learners’ cognitive and affective coping capacity learning outcomes by comparing the achievement and retention of the learning outcomes with conventional disaster education lecture methods. It was found that the gaming simulation was effective in developing the students’ cognitive and affective coping capacities and long-term retention of learning outcomes.