Activities

• Suggested duration: 60 minutes
• Technique used: Report writing
• Materials required: Paper and pen or a computer 
• Aim of activity: Change behavior by writing this report.
• Underpinning components: UC8.1a; UC8.1b; UC8.2; UC8.3
• Connection with other competences: Criticality; Decisiveness; Systems

Short description

The students write an I-report in 60 minutes. Subject: How do I accept personal responsibility and accountability towards others and how do I act transparently by reporting to others in appropriate ways.

Task one:

• Describe daily life from this perspective
• Give as many examples as possible

Task two:

• Ask two of your peers to reflect on your report and add their reflection to your report. 

Task three:

• reflect your report: describe what you can change in order to become (even) more responsible and accountable.

• Suggested duration: 20 minutes
• Technique used: Discussion on management techniques (for heating, paper management, food management, waste management in the class room).
• Materials required: Heating controls, paper bins
• Aim of activity: Realise own responsibility and possibly change behavior by doing this together.
• Underpinning components: UC8.1a; UC8.1b; UC8.2; UC8.3
• Connection with other competences: Criticality; Decisiveness; Systems

Short description

The educator and students carefully manage the indoor-climate, food, waste, materials. This becomes visible in:

• heating and cooling only when needed
• constant proper ventilation (always fresh air and proper humidity level)
• no waste of materials and energy by working according to this principle
• conscious choice of materials, for example led-lightning, fair trade products, healthy food, recycled materials
• diminish waste production, recycle whatever is possible to recycle

To put it in an activity, the students investigate the possibilities to accomplish the above.

• Suggested duration: 20 mins
• Technique used: Lecture
• Materials required: Slides
• Aim of activity: To raise awareness of the need for transparency, responsibility, accountability and reflective practice
• Underpinning components: UC8.2; UC8.3 
• Connection with other competences: Action; Decisiveness

Short description

Give a short lecture with discussions on the need for

• Transparency
• Responsibility and accountability
• Reflective practice
• Action research
• Lifelong learning
• Target setting

• Suggested duration: 10 mins
• Technique used: Individual reflection 
• Materials required: none
• Aim of activity: To encourage learners to reflect on their life and consequences of some actions they took
• Underpinning components: UC8.1b; UC8.2
• Connection with other competences: Decisiveness

Short description

Individually reflect on their lives and to consider any memorable dilemmas they had and whether they made well judged, or misjudged decisions.
Share some if they would like to.

• Suggested duration: 30 mins
• Technique used: Small group role play
• Materials required: PTT with details of scenario
• Aim of activity: To encourage learners to think about how context and bakground can sometimes influence decisions made and the potential impact of that
• Underpinning components: UC8.1b
• Connection with other competences: Attentiveness

Short description

Prepare scenario from which different outcomes are possible depending on position, values etc.
Small groups. Allocate roles e.g. New head, old deputy head, new geography teacher, old school bursar, head of religious education
Conduct meeting where the scenario and resulting dilemma are discussed
Plenary – share and outcomes
Small groups. Discuss the consequences of the various outcomes presented
Plenary – share and discuss consequences
Small groups. Consider different options and potential consequences and decide whether you now like to change your group’s outcome.

Role play scenario used with Level 5 students in UK:

• The school is in a remote rural location away from the mains sewerage system
• The recently appointed head has been sorting through archived papers and has come across an old report 
• The report was written by a surveyor who had come to check the land for a car park extension four years ago
• It identified that the school’s septic tank was leaking and seeping raw sewage into the land near the school field
• It stated that the tank needed to be dug out, the land around it decontaminated and a replacement water treatment facility installed at a cost of some £200,000
• It is clear that the work has not been done and the car park was extended in a different direction 
• The head went for a walk earlier and there was no sign of the leaking sewage
• Money is extremely tight, staff jobs are on the line
• The head has called a Senior Management Team meeting to discuss what to do (if anything) about the broken septic tank.

• Identify opportunities within personal, or working life where it might be possible to create space to encourage sustainability

• Suggested duration: 45-120 mins
• Technique used: Transect walk; walk across the school site, better still across the local neighbourhood.
• Materials required: None
• Aim of activity: To introduce the concept of ‘new value’ and see how innovation can bring social, environmental and economic benefits.
• Underpinning components: UC 7.1; UC 7.3
• Connection with other competences: Action; Futures

Short description

Draw a line (a transect) across a map of the local area between two safe and accessible points – the length of line will depend on the amount of time available. This is the route of your walk. Now plan the walk taking care to avoid hazards and private property while staying as close to the straight line as possible.

Take the class on the walk along the route you have planned together and look for examples or evidence of situations where an improvement might be made. After the walk, ask the class to work in small groups and think of as many ideas as possible for adding new value to their locality.

A more random version would be to ask students to explore an area and take photographs using a smartphone to show their evidence. This puts them in charge but can also reduce the level of creativity required to come up with ideas.

• Suggested duration: 30 mins
• Technique used: Lecture and discussion
• Materials required: Slides
• Aim of activity: To explore and discuss rationale behind need for creativity, use of real-world contexts and building on experience
• Underpinning components: UC 7.2
• Connection with other competences: 

Short description

Need for:

• Different form of education e.g. Chamberlin, Freire, Orr, Hicks
• Reflective learning e.g. Kolb, Gibbs
• Social learning e.g. Bruner, Vygotsky
• Experiential learning e.g. Piaget, Rogers
• Thoughts about sustainability e.g. Thiele

• Suggested duration: 1 hour
• Technique used: Group discussion
• Materials required: Flipchart paper and pens
• Aim of activity: To encourage students to think about creative ways of teaching something
• Underpinning components: UC7.1
• Connection with other competences: Attentiveness

Short description

• Whole group: Decide on an issue to do with sustainability e.g. use of plastic, trophy hunting, over fishing, waste
• Small groups: Brainstorm at least 15 ways that this could be taught to a given age range
• Whole group: Share and discuss ideas and approaches

Note how creative we become after the first five ‘usual ideas’ have been suggested!

• Suggested duration: 25 mins
• Technique used: Debate 
• Materials required: None
• Aim of activity:
• Underpinning components: UC 6.1, UC 6.2, UC 6.3
• Connection with other competences: Attentiveness; Transdisciplinarity

Short description

Group activity. Allocate the following roles:

• Problem Presenter (focus person)
• Process Facilitator (team manager, time keeper) 
• Recorder
• Amazingly creative Brainstorm Team 

Step 1

• Problem presenter: outline the problem (something related to sustainability that may have an impact on the group) in 4 uninterrupted minutes
• Process facilitator: keep time and make sure no one interrupts
• Recorder: take notes. 
• Everyone else (the brainstormers): listen. 

(If the problem presenter stops talking before the 4 minutes elapses, everyone else stays silent until the 4 minutes pass. This is key! The problem presenter gets 4 uninterrupted minutes.)

Step 2 (4 minutes)

• Brainstormers: provide creative solutions to what you have just heard. Everyone gets a chance to give their brilliant ideas. No one must be allowed to dominate. (It is not a time to clarify the problem or to ask questions. It is not a time to give speeches, lectures or advice. )
• Process facilitator: make sure this is a brainstorm
• Problem presenter: listen – without interrupting. Don’t talk or respond. 
• Recorder: take notes

Step 3 (4 minutes)

• Problem presenter: Discuss the issue and suggestions 
• Process facilitator: keep time
• Recorder: take notes

This is time to explore and clarify the problem. Focus on the positive points only and not what can’t be done.

Step 4 (4 minutes)

The First Step.

• Problem presenter and the group decide on first steps that are doable within the next 3 days. At least ONE step should be initiated within 24 hours. (This is critical. Research shows that unless a first step is taken almost immediately, people do not get out of their ruts.) 
• Recorder: take notes

A coach from the group volunteers to phone or see the person within 3 days to check if they took their first step.