Emergency Preparedness in the Education Sector - A Qualitative Glance at the Primary School

Bacheloroppgave i beredskap og krisehåndteringBacheloroppgaven ser nærmere på beredskapen i utdanningssektoren, med fokus på barne- og ungdomsskoler. Vi valgte dette fordi vi gjennom tre år har hatt fag relatert til ledelse og organisasjon med innslag av fag relatert til beredskap og krisehåndtering. Landets barne- og ungdomsskoler er i høyeste grad en organisasjon, samtidig som sektoren i sin helhet kategoriseres som en kritisk samfunnsfunksjon av regjeringen. Dette er en sektor vi føler nærhet til siden vi har vært en del av den i mange, mange år. Som studenter, men også gjennom jobberfaring med fast ansettelse. Dataene som presenteres i oppgaven er samlet gjennom kvalitativ metode, intervjuer med utvalgte informanter. Intervjuene ble gjennomført semistrukturert for å ha mulighet til å forfølge interessante elementer i samtale med informantene. Informantene var svært imøtekommende under intervjuene og fortalte villig om sine erfaringer med beredskapsarbeidet på egen arbeidsplass, og i sektoren som helhet. Vi fant tegn på både vilje og iver etter å arbeide med beredskap hos mange i sektoren. Vi fant også et institusjonelt rammeverk som tilsynelatende gjør det krevende å gjennomføre arbeidet for ansatte med ansvar for beredskap. Flere utsagn skildrer hva vi må kunne kalle et rop om hjelp, et ønske om bistand i eget beredskapsarbeid. Samtidig fant vi også en kultur hvor åpenhet, vilje og evne til problemløsing og vilje til å lære, sto sterkt.Engelsk sammendrag (abstract) This Bachelor's thesis looks at preparedness in the education sector, focusing on the primary school level. The area of focus was chosen given its relevance to the management and organization issues within emergency, preparedness and crisis management covered within the course. The country's educational system is an organization. The sector as a whole is categorized as a critical social function by our government. This is a sector we feel close to, given that we been a part of the sector not only as students, but also later through work experience as employees. A qualitative methodology was utilized to gather data, primarily through interviews with selected informants. Interviews were semi-structured in order to be able to pursue interesting threads in conversation with the participants. The subjects were open and forthcoming during the interviews, sharing their experiences with emergency and preparedness work in their own workplaces and in the sector as a whole. There is a desire and eagerness to work with preparedness from many in the sector. However, the current institutional framework makes it difficult for staff responsible for emergency and preparedness to carry out their tasks. Several statements given depict what we may interpret to be a call for help. There is clearly a wish for assistance in their preparedness work, evident from their environment where the drive and ability for problem solving, willingness to learn, and openness are stron

Training For Crisis Using Games: Testing of Game Based Technology "In The Making"

Being prepared for crisis requires learning about crisis and training for handling crisis. Since the tragic event on July 22nd of 2011 where a man killed and injured men, woman and children in two separate terror strikes in Norway, the focus on learning about and training for handling crisis has contributed to a regulation ordering all municipalities to have a plan for handling crisis and crisis preparedness ((DSB), 2012). At Hedmark University College of Applied Sciences, Norway, it is possible to obtain a bachelor degree in crisis management. The degree offers courses that present theory and with practical examples that present different perspectives and that in total provide the students with a solid basis for handling crisis and being prepared for crisis. However, the need for expanding beyond theory and practical examples has been recognized. Simulations and realistic exercises are valuable, but may also represent huge costs resources to organize. With the emergence of video games other ways of simulating has been made possible. The digital games have also become more advanced and offer a user interface that is quite realistic. Games have been used for learning purposes for many years, and this has been subject for academic interest. This paper presents the work of testing a game “in the making”. The game is being developed by professional game developers and is based on a platform that games have been developed that have been used for educational purposes as well as having been sold as a commercial game. This is a part of a project at our campus called “Preparing for Future Crisis Management” (Skår, 2015)

Learning Systems Thinking by Using a Commercial Game

Systems thinking is one of Peter Senge’s five diciplines (Senge, Kleiner et al., 2011, Senge, 1992) To see how incidents are tied together, can be valuable not only in organizations, but also in for example crisis training. Two commercial games are being tested in order to see if it is possible to get a better understanding of systems thinking within the scope of crisis training. The games are called Emergency 2016 developed by Sixteen Tons Entertainment, published by Deep Silver, and “911: First Responders”® or “Emergency 4: Global Fighters For Life First Response”, also developed by Sixteen Tons Entertainment, and published by Atari. The paper will discuss the learning outcome regarding Systems Thinking from playing these games, and suggest how they may be integrated in education

Flipped Gaming: The Teachers Role When Using the Students as Content Providers

In order to activate students and make them active contributors in a class, the concept of “Flipped Classroom” has been used at several Universities, also at The Inland University of Applied Sciences Norway. Flipping the classroom and making the students contribute, and being active, has supported the students learning outcome. Generally, when using games for learning, the game scenario is either decided by the lecturer/teacher, or defined by the designers and/or producers of the game used. In this paper we will explore how the teachers/lecturers role changes when the scenarios to be played in the game environment are defined and developed by the students themselves. The methodological approach is mainly qualitative and the data are observations from gaming sessions, minutes from review processes and interviews with faculty staff responsible for the course. The paper will present how the lecturer/teacher changes role from being the center of attention and the provider of knowledge, to a facilitator that both empower the students and enables the students to contribute towards developing increased understanding and enhanced learning outcome. By enabling the students to contribute in such a way, the support towards the reflection processes described by Donald Schön in his work “The reflective practitioner” from 1991, is being supported in all stages. The reflection before action is when they discuss and agree on scenario, they need to reflect in action upon action, and they need to reflect on action when finished gaming. These reflection processes need to be facilitated in order to support the learning process and when flipping the gaming, this is one of the roles of the facilitator; the lecturer/teacher. The paper will present a project called “Seed corn 2017 – Pedagogical Use of Games in Crisis Management Education”, using a course at The Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Campus Rena, Norway, and the results from the research.publishedVersio

Beredskapsarbeid i utdanningssektoren - Et kvalitativt blikk på grunnskolen

Bacheloroppgaven ser nærmere på beredskapen i utdanningssektoren, med fokus på barne- og ungdomsskoler. Vi valgte dette fordi vi gjennom tre år har hatt fag relatert til ledelse og organisasjon med innslag av fag relatert til beredskap og krisehåndtering. Landets barne- og ungdomsskoler er i høyeste grad en organisasjon, samtidig som sektoren i sin helhet kategoriseres som en kritisk samfunnsfunksjon av regjeringen. Dette er en sektor vi føler nærhet til siden vi har vært en del av den i mange, mange år. Som studenter, men også gjennom jobberfaring med fast ansettelse. Dataene som presenteres i oppgaven er samlet gjennom kvalitativ metode, intervjuer med utvalgte informanter. Intervjuene ble gjennomført semistrukturert for å ha mulighet til å forfølge interessante elementer i samtale med informantene. Informantene var svært imøtekommende under intervjuene og fortalte villig om sine erfaringer med beredskapsarbeidet på egen arbeidsplass, og i sektoren som helhet. Vi fant tegn på både vilje og iver etter å arbeide med beredskap hos mange i sektoren. Vi fant også et institusjonelt rammeverk som tilsynelatende gjør det krevende å gjennomføre arbeidet for ansatte med ansvar for beredskap. Flere utsagn skildrer hva vi må kunne kalle et rop om hjelp, et ønske om bistand i eget beredskapsarbeid. Samtidig fant vi også en kultur hvor åpenhet, vilje og evne til problemløsing og vilje til å lære, sto sterkt

Emergency Preparedness in the Education Sector - A Qualitative Glance at the Primary School

Bacheloroppgave i beredskap og krisehåndteringBacheloroppgaven ser nærmere på beredskapen i utdanningssektoren, med fokus på barne- og ungdomsskoler. Vi valgte dette fordi vi gjennom tre år har hatt fag relatert til ledelse og organisasjon med innslag av fag relatert til beredskap og krisehåndtering. Landets barne- og ungdomsskoler er i høyeste grad en organisasjon, samtidig som sektoren i sin helhet kategoriseres som en kritisk samfunnsfunksjon av regjeringen. Dette er en sektor vi føler nærhet til siden vi har vært en del av den i mange, mange år. Som studenter, men også gjennom jobberfaring med fast ansettelse. Dataene som presenteres i oppgaven er samlet gjennom kvalitativ metode, intervjuer med utvalgte informanter. Intervjuene ble gjennomført semistrukturert for å ha mulighet til å forfølge interessante elementer i samtale med informantene. Informantene var svært imøtekommende under intervjuene og fortalte villig om sine erfaringer med beredskapsarbeidet på egen arbeidsplass, og i sektoren som helhet. Vi fant tegn på både vilje og iver etter å arbeide med beredskap hos mange i sektoren. Vi fant også et institusjonelt rammeverk som tilsynelatende gjør det krevende å gjennomføre arbeidet for ansatte med ansvar for beredskap. Flere utsagn skildrer hva vi må kunne kalle et rop om hjelp, et ønske om bistand i eget beredskapsarbeid. Samtidig fant vi også en kultur hvor åpenhet, vilje og evne til problemløsing og vilje til å lære, sto sterkt.Engelsk sammendrag (abstract) This Bachelor's thesis looks at preparedness in the education sector, focusing on the primary school level. The area of focus was chosen given its relevance to the management and organization issues within emergency, preparedness and crisis management covered within the course. The country's educational system is an organization. The sector as a whole is categorized as a critical social function by our government. This is a sector we feel close to, given that we been a part of the sector not only as students, but also later through work experience as employees. A qualitative methodology was utilized to gather data, primarily through interviews with selected informants. Interviews were semi-structured in order to be able to pursue interesting threads in conversation with the participants. The subjects were open and forthcoming during the interviews, sharing their experiences with emergency and preparedness work in their own workplaces and in the sector as a whole. There is a desire and eagerness to work with preparedness from many in the sector. However, the current institutional framework makes it difficult for staff responsible for emergency and preparedness to carry out their tasks. Several statements given depict what we may interpret to be a call for help. There is clearly a wish for assistance in their preparedness work, evident from their environment where the drive and ability for problem solving, willingness to learn, and openness are stron

Training For Crisis Using Games: Testing of Game Based Technology "In The Making"

Being prepared for crisis requires learning about crisis and training for handling crisis. Since the tragic event on July 22nd of 2011 where a man killed and injured men, woman and children in two separate terror strikes in Norway, the focus on learning about and training for handling crisis has contributed to a regulation ordering all municipalities to have a plan for handling crisis and crisis preparedness ((DSB), 2012). At Hedmark University College of Applied Sciences, Norway, it is possible to obtain a bachelor degree in crisis management. The degree offers courses that present theory and with practical examples that present different perspectives and that in total provide the students with a solid basis for handling crisis and being prepared for crisis. However, the need for expanding beyond theory and practical examples has been recognized. Simulations and realistic exercises are valuable, but may also represent huge costs resources to organize. With the emergence of video games other ways of simulating has been made possible. The digital games have also become more advanced and offer a user interface that is quite realistic. Games have been used for learning purposes for many years, and this has been subject for academic interest. This paper presents the work of testing a game “in the making”. The game is being developed by professional game developers and is based on a platform that games have been developed that have been used for educational purposes as well as having been sold as a commercial game. This is a part of a project at our campus called “Preparing for Future Crisis Management” (Skår, 2015)

Learning Systems Thinking by Using a Commercial Game

Systems thinking is one of Peter Senge’s five diciplines (Senge, Kleiner et al., 2011, Senge, 1992) To see how incidents are tied together, can be valuable not only in organizations, but also in for example crisis training. Two commercial games are being tested in order to see if it is possible to get a better understanding of systems thinking within the scope of crisis training. The games are called Emergency 2016 developed by Sixteen Tons Entertainment, published by Deep Silver, and “911: First Responders”® or “Emergency 4: Global Fighters For Life First Response”, also developed by Sixteen Tons Entertainment, and published by Atari. The paper will discuss the learning outcome regarding Systems Thinking from playing these games, and suggest how they may be integrated in education