Strengthening student empathy in GeoCapabilities: Digital learning innovations and pedagogical strategies for disaster mitigation

Indonesia’s geographical positioning along the ‘Ring of Fire’ exposes it to frequent seismic activities, making effective disaster mitigation education crucial. Current educational strategies may not adequately foster the necessary empathy and understanding among students regarding the socio-environmental impacts of disasters. This study aims to develop and evaluate a digital learning platform designed to enhance GeoCapabilities in students, particularly focusing on the social-environmental empathy dimension. The objective is to improve students’ empathetic responses to disaster scenarios through integrated disaster mitigation pedagogy. Utilizing the design-based research method, this research involved a systematic blend of iterative development and evaluation phases to refine educational interventions. Data collection was achieved through a combination of qualitative feedback from students and quantitative pre-and post-test measures to assess empathy levels. Data analysis involved statistical testing to determine the effectiveness of the digital learning platform in enhancing empathetic capabilities among learners. The research reveals that the digital learning platform (D-Learning), significantly improves students’ empathy towards disaster impacts. Students demonstrated a deeper understanding and emotional engagement with the content, highlighting an increase in their ability to empathize with affected communities. The findings suggest that the scalability of D-Learning can be tailored to different regions, providing a valuable tool for enhancing disaster preparedness worldwide. The integration of technology and empathy-focused pedagogy in disaster education could serve as a model for developing similar educational programs globally, aiming to foster a more resilient and empathetic future generation.