Disaster Pedagogy for Higher Education: Research, Criticism, and Reflection

Review
Disaster Pedagogy for Higher Education is a must-read for improved understanding of the multi-dimensional, reverberating impact of natural and manufactured disasters. While intended for those who teach, learn and support in post-secondary settings, the revelatory honesty of the authors regarding lessons learned about self, others, the environment, resource needs, survivorship, and resilience is adaptable to life-altering emergencies in other settings. Leveraging academic content, personal narrative, relevant research and literature, accommodative and innovative pedagogies, and equitable care, the authors’ weaving of competing real-world variables demonstrates the need for intentionality in resolving any disruptive event and proactive responsiveness to its ongoing impact on self, others and our world. I consider Disaster Pedagogy a critical reference for any future emergency management effort I undertake.
-- Ira K. Blake, PhD, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for University of Houston System Initiatives
Disaster Pedagogy for Higher Education is an essential resource for university educators in a time when disruptions are occurring more and more frequently. The editors have put together a comprehensive collection that contains original research, best practices, and personal reflections and delves into some of the most relevant aspects of higher education. As the Provost of the #1 ranked university for excellence in undergraduate teaching and the only college ranked in the top-20 in all eight categories of U. S. News and World Report “Focus of Student Success” high-impact academic programs, I can say that I wish I had this text to share with faculty before the COVID pandemic; moreover, I will be sharing it for years to come.
-- Aswani K. Volety, PhD, Provost, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Professor of Biology, Elon University
This is an indispensable book for higher education professionals in an era marked by disasters driven by climate change, viruses, and racism among other forces. Regardless of the institutional positions that readers inhabit, everyone involved in higher education will learn from reading and reflecting on the research and insights that Malo-Juvera, Laudadio and their colleagues have collected in this volume.
-- Martha Kalnin Diede, PhD, Director, Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, Syracuse University
Disaster Pedagogy for Higher Education serves as an all-purpose, contextually grounded, and multi-modal introduction to teaching in higher education during times of crisis and disaster. The text covers a wide variety of topics such as classroom pedagogy, emergency management, and study abroad, from a variety of contributors including professors, administrators, adjunct faculty, and students. It is organized into the three sections: Research and Criticism, which contains three essays that highlight original research and scholarly critique of topics related to higher education during disaster; Explorations and Examinations, consisting of five essays that focus on best practices of a specific aspect of higher education during disaster; and Personal and Professional Reflections, made up of six essays that provide a more personal look into how disasters have impacted faculty, administration, and students in the academy.