EDUC1231: ESTE Rebecca Ffoulkes- 20170800

Cross Curriculum Priority of Sustainability Consideration

The Technologies curriculum has the potential to educate and inspire students to

critically and creatively consider how they can contribute to creating preferred

futures. The cross-curriculum priority of Sustainability, and in particular the key idea

of ‘Futures’, is embedded throughout both the lesson plan and design brief. ACARA

emphasises the need for sustainability education to “develop the knowledge, skills,

values and world views necessary for people to act in ways that contribute to more

sustainable patterns of living” (ACARA, n.d.). The problem-based approach

whereby students research, design and generate a worm farm which will be used in

the school provides a relevant and meaningful context for students. Rather than

sustainability being an abstract and broad concept, students develop an

understanding of specific sustainable practices, and the skills needed to implement

these practices in their everyday life.

This project aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals, in

particular Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. A 2020 target within

this goal is to “substantially reduce waste generation” through recycling and reuse

(United Nations, 2019). Students are challenged to design a product that composts

food scraps and collects the by-product to use as a garden fertilizer, implementing

this goal at a local level. The Manitoba Council for International Cooperation

suggests that reducing our waste and educating the public are both ways we can

improve our consumption and production, and the worm farm project provides an

opportunity for students to do both (MCIC, 2018, p.12.2). ACARA emphasises that

we must “understand environments” and make balanced judgements on past

practices and future impacts (ACARA, n.d., OI7&8), and students achieve this

through careful research and design.