The Hazard Education, Awareness, and Resilience Task Force (HEART Force) program engages rural Colorado middle and high school students, teachers, and communities in preparing for and responding to natural hazards. The program, which is led by the CIRES Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation (CEEE), includes place-based curriculum and scenario-based role-play games.

In a new study, CEEE educators and researchers used student and teacher feedback to analyze the impact of the HEART Force program. They found HEART Force improved students':

• Understanding of community resilience;
• Knowledge about things their communities can do to prepare and respond to natural hazards; and
• Confidence to engage with their community.

Teacher feedback emphasized the importance of place and community engagement in education about natural hazards. 

The team found that teachers could use the scenario-based role-play games to spark more student engagement with little program support. However, local community resilience projects required a higher level of support from the HEART Force program team.

Read the paper in the Journal of Geoscience Education.