Accidental Fragments of Self-Study Emerging and Serving the Emergency Management Academic Discipline

• In Event: How Can We Extend Self-Study Scholarship (and Why Might We Want To)?

Abstract

Purpose
Emergency management scholars have been purposefully reflecting and expanding their scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) practice and research to improve teaching. Self-study method has begun to emerge as a viable way for emergency management teachers to reflect, share and improve teaching. The purpose of this presentation is to share current efforts of the emergency management academic community and explore the opportunities to more precisely apply self-study methodology. Like education, the emergency management academic discipline is directly connected to preparing a workforce for a professional “practice of care.” A practice of care contributes to human betterment through the building of caring relationships, the development of knowledge and the support of competency development (Session Author, 2019; Polkinghorne 2004).

Perspectives
In my role as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Higher Education Program Manager, I provide space and support to the emergency management higher education academic discipline development. Since 2015, I have observed the passion and energy of the emergency management teaching community to engage in continuous improvement of their teaching and preparation of the emergency management and homeland security workforce.

Modes of inquiry and data sources
Over the past three years this FEMA program has supported a total of twenty-seven emergency management and homeland security scholars to attend the AERA annual meeting. A focus group occurs on the final day for participants to discuss the sessions, learning and the value of this meeting to support the advancement of the emergency management discipline. Each year the focus group collectively creates a report on the experience and themes revealed (FEMA 2017, 2018, 2019).
The community has begun to leverage graphic harvesting to augment collective learning. This has been applied in focus groups to examine building cultures of preparedness, and design thinking applied in teaching, as well as at our annual conference to depicting plenary content in murals, and collectively creating a “singing tree” mural (Marshall, 2016). This collective visual augmentation may serve as a potential self-study research opportunity.
There are many fragments emerging that could form into a more robust use of self-study method improving our teaching practice. Specifically, leveraging critical friends and engaging in transdisciplinary polyvocal self-study opportunities (Session Authors, 2015).

Substantiated conclusions
Self-study methodology emerged organically in the emergency management academic discipline within SoTL efforts. Over four years, there has been a growing SoTL interest resulting in a standing SoTL symposium track and workshop at the annual FEMA Symposium, a strong SoTL SIG, an annual SoTL award and a new journal to publish SoTL research- the International Journal of Security, Preparedness and Resilience Education (IJSPRE).

Scholarly significance

There are great opportunities for the emergency management and homeland security academic disciplines to learn from polyvocal self-study opportunities. Self-study will improve how we reflect on our teaching, support professional growth and better prepare and develop future emergency management and homeland security teachers.

Author

• Wendy D. Walsh, United States Air Force