Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Design decisions can create or reduce risk

20 minutes

Find Out: Designing safe and sustainable solutions

25 minutes

Take Action: Design a battery collection or disposal solution

5 minutes

Reflection: Designs in the real world

Learning intentions

Students will:

explain how the properties of materials and the design of systems influence the safety, sustainability and usability of battery-related collection and disposal solutions.

Success criteria

Students can:

explain material choices, system design, and how competing factors such as safety, durability, usability and sustainability are balanced
design and justify a conceptual battery management solution for collection or disposal.

Tune In: Design decisions can create or reduce risk

Step 1

Show the class a variety of damaged or poorly-designed objects. Examples could include a wobbly chair or table, a dried-out glue stick, a broken toy, a broken bag strap, a leaky drink bottle, a pencil sharpener that jams or breaks pencils, an eraser that breaks easily, or a drawer that gets stuck.

Divide your students into groups of 3 or 4 and allocate 1 of the damaged or poorly-designed objects to each group. Model identifying the design flaws of 1 object, before asking students to look closely at their allocated object and discussing its design flaws. Direct students to record their observations in the first section of their Student Worksheet.

Learning extension: Invite students to turn and talk about whether they have noticed any other poorly-designed objects that they use at school or at home. Encourage students to discuss what makes them poorly designed. Do these poorly-designed objects have anything in common (eg unsuitable materials)?

Step 2

Explain that design decisions can create or reduce risk. Explain that risk can include products failing to work as they should (not just safety risks). Introduce the concept that good design anticipates failure and prioritises user safety.

Discuss these concepts as a class by asking each group to:

share 1 design flaw they recorded for their object
suggest how this design flaw could create risk
suggest how the design could be improved to reduce this risk.

Identify as a class whether any of these poorly designed objects have anything in common (eg unsuitable materials).

Find Out: Designing safe and sustainable solutions

Step 1

Explain to students that the materials used to make objects are part of their design, and affect how well they function and how easy they are to use. Show this video that explains different properties of materials, and how they allow products to perform their intended function and be used safely and sustainably:

Properties of Materials in Design –(clickview.net/primary/videos/32102467/properties-of-materials-in-design).

After watching the video, ask students to:

identify a material in the poorly-designed object that they examined at the start of the lesson
describe 2 properties of this material (eg flexible, durable, heat-resistant, flammable, waterproof, sustainable).

Step 2

Explain that it’s not just objects that are designed – systems are, too. Explain that a system is a set of things (objects or people) that work together for a purpose. We rely on many well-designed systems every day. Examples of systems we use in our community include waste collection services, water treatment plants, libraries and electricity networks.

Invite students to turn and discuss any other systems that we use (for example, farms, public transport, schools, supermarkets, renewable energy networks, internet networks, phone networks, local government, postal/mail services, hospitals, banks, etc).

Explain that for things we no longer use, no longer work, or are broken (ie waste), such as batteries, systems have been designed to manage their collection and disposal.

Outline that a battery collection system is where batteries are collected (eg a battery bin or collection container at a supermarket), and a battery disposal system is where batteries are sorted and the materials repurposed or disposed of (eg the battery disposal location seen in the video above).

Highlight that the purpose of these systems is to safely handle the chemicals and metals in batteries, protecting people and the environment. These services prevent chemicals from leaking from batteries into the environment, where they can cause fires and pollution, and potentially harm people. Battery management services can also repurpose some battery materials to make new batteries and other products.

These battery management systems are specially designed to:

contain batteries to prevent fires and chemicals from leaking into the environment
separate different types of batteries based on the materials they are made from
communicate the risks of batteries, and the importance of their proper disposal to waste and recycling management staff, and the community.

Ask students to think-pair-share any other waste collection and disposal services they know of, or that their household uses (eg hard rubbish, soft plastics, green waste/composting, other plastics and paper, etc).

Highlight that the materials that waste is made from can influence not only the design of the relevant collection and disposal system, but also how and what the waste is potentially turned into.

Step 3

Show students this video that explains how battery management systems safely handle and repurpose the materials in batteries to keep people and the environment safe:

Battery Recycling – (clickview.net/primary/videos/49092505/battery-recycling)

Note: this video uses the term ‘recycling’

Pause the video at 01:47 and point out the battery management system's design features, including the conveyor belt, battery sorting bins, and the personal protective equipment (PPE) the workers are wearing. Ask students to take notice of other features of the battery management system as they watch the video (eg the battery collection bins at 02:58 and 03:01).

Step 4

After watching the video, discuss the following question as a class: When designing a battery management system for collection and/or disposal, how would the designers balance competing factors such as safety, sustainability, durability, cost (affordability) and usability?

Learning support: Explain the meaning of each factor with examples and synonyms.

Write the headings ‘safety’, ‘sustainability’, ‘durability’, ‘affordability’ and ‘usability’ on the board. Discuss and write notes about each, using battery management systems as an example.

Prompt students to consider the following design choices during the discussion:

the materials used, and their properties (eg the containers for storing batteries should be non-flammable, heatproof and durable)
the procedures for sorting and separating batteries (eg clear procedures that ensure batteries are sorted into their correct containers; a conveyor belt that can hold the required volume of batteries and move at a speed that workers can keep up with)
the safety of users (eg workers should wear protective clothing, such as gloves, and be trained to safely handle batteries)
the communication of information and risks (eg labels on containers should be clear and easy to understand; colour-coding would help workers easily distinguish sorting containers)

Take Action: Design a battery collection or disposal solution

Step 1

Introduce your students to some of the principles that can guide the design of a battery collection or disposal system. Refer to the Safety Design Principles Factsheet to explain how to minimise risk and prevent harm for all users, and the environment, throughout the life of a product or system.

Share the following websites with your students. Discuss the features and design of the different collection systems and eco-design to get them thinking about the real world applications.

Eco-Batt (ecobatt.com.au/battery-collection-for-recycling)
Close the Loop (closetheloop.com.au/circular-solutions/battery-recycling-box)
Batribox (Eco-design) (batribox.fr/en/eco-design-sustainable-solutions-battery-recycling)

Learning extension: Show students this video (youtube.com/watch?v=3NLh1kSKQIs) about ‘Extended Producer Responsibility’ (EPR) to highlight how manufacturers are responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products, including when these products become waste.

Step 2

Explain that students will work individually to design a battery collection or disposal system for their school or another location in their community. The designs will be conceptual only—no real batteries will be handled or collected.

Remind students that a battery collection system is where batteries are collected (eg a battery bin or collection container at a supermarket) and a battery disposal system is where batteries are sorted and the materials are repurposed or disposed of (eg the battery disposal location seen in the previously-shown video).

Explain that students will plan, sketch and reflect on their designs in the space provided in their Student Worksheet.

Step 3

Ask students to select 1 system (a battery collection system or a battery disposal system) and decide where it will be placed (at the school or another location in their community).

Guide your students to think about what their battery management system needs to be safe, sustainable, durable, affordable and usable. Encourage students to refer to the notes on the board for support as they plan their design.

Explain that students’ design concepts should include short explanations of:

the materials
the properties of their chosen materials, and why these are suitable for the design of their system solution
how their design works as part of a larger system (eg waste collection and management in their community)
how their solution balances competing factors such as safety, sustainability and durability.

Ask students to sketch their design and add labels to describe and explain its features.

Prompt students to consider the features of the battery management system that they observed in the video earlier in the lesson (containers for collection and sorting, labels to communicate information and risks). Challenge them to find ways to make their design a safer, more sustainable battery management solution.

Step 4

Ask students to present their final design concept in small groups or as a gallery walk, showing their labelled sketches and using their short explanations to justify their design choices.

Ask students where their design is intended to be used, and how their design choices reduce risks to people who will use it, and to the environment.

Reflection: Designs in the real world

Ask your students to turn to a partner and discuss the following questions:

Which design decisions did you find most challenging and why?
How does considering material choices, system design and sustainability improve safety in real-world designs?

Suggested response: It ensures that materials and designs are carefully selected with the purpose of the object or system in mind. This makes objects and systems safe, usable and long-lasting (durable), improving user experience and sustainability.

Battery Safety Solutions

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Summary

Learning intentions

Success criteria

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills Required

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Information

Related Professional Learning

In this lesson

Battery Safety Solutions

Go to

Summary

Learning intentions

Success criteria

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills Required

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Information

Related Professional Learning

In this lesson