Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Activating prior knowledge

25 minutes

Find Out: Reasons for mobile phone recycling

20 minutes

Take Action: Behaviour change

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions:

Students will...

discover the various materials that are used in mobile phones
understand the environmental impact of mining and disposing of certain materials
understand the importance of recycling toxic and non-renewable materials
understand the role emotion plays in human behaviour.

Success criteria:

Students can...

develop strategies for influencing human behaviour.

Tune In: Activating prior knowledge

Step 1

Begin this lesson by explaining to students that they will participate in a Stand On The Line activity around the concept of resources.

Stand on the Line

Using string, masking tape or chalk (this activity could be done outside), create a line on the floor/ground, long enough for all students to place themselves along. Explain to students that one end of the line means 'strongly agree' and the other end means 'strongly disagree', while the halfway point means 'neither agree nor disagree' (consider adding small signs with these titles along the line. Invite students to respond to a range of statements by positioning themselves along the line, according to whether they agree or disagree with the statement. With each statement, engage students in a brief discussion, highlighting some of the key points identified in each statement.

Read out the following statements one at a time. Suggested definitions and discussion points have been included:

I know what resources are.
- Suggested definition: A resource is anything that can be used to help or support someone or a group of people.
I know what natural resources are.
- Suggested definition: Natural resources are useful raw materials that we get from the Earth. They occur naturally, meaning humans cannot make them. Instead, humans can use and modify natural resources in ways that are beneficial to us. Some examples of natural resources are air, water, animals, minerals, plants, and sunlight.
I know what renewable resources are.
- Suggested definition: Any natural resource that can be replenished naturally over time. Examples of renewable resources include oxygen, fresh water, and wood from trees.
I know what non-renewable resources are.
- Suggested definition: Any natural resource from the Earth that exists in limited supply and cannot be readily replaced if it is used up, such as oil or coal.

You can briefly explain what is meant by 'readily replaced' as being renewed within our lifetime, for instance, coal takes millions of years to form so it is not renewable.

I know why we need to be careful about using non-renewable resources.
- Suggested discussion points: Non-renewable resources do not replenish themselves naturally over a short period of time (like water or sunshine), which means that once we've used them up there will be none left or they will take a very, very long time to replenish. Some of these non-renewable resources play a vital role in our lives and will continue to be a part of our future. Using them carefully is essential to ensuring that we still have access to these resources in the future.
I know actions we can take to use fewer non-renewable resources.
- Suggested discussion points: One of the best ways of managing our non-renewable resources sustainably is through recycling. By recycling products containing these resources (rather than just letting them go to waste or sending them to landfill), we can ensure that we are using fewer of these non-renewable resources in their raw state. In addition, we can think carefully about the things we buy and use, and ensure that when buying products that contain non-renewable resources that we ask ourselves; “Do I really need this?”

Step 2

Before moving on to the next activity, ensure that students understand that conserving resources requires us to:

Think carefully about the things we use and buy.
Make sure we recycle things where we can.

Explain to students that in this lesson they will be examining this second point in more detail by looking at mobile phone recycling.

Find Out: Reasons for mobile phone recycling

Step 1

Now invite students to consider the question:

"Why is recycling mobile phones important?"

Invite students to work as a class to suggest answers to this question and create a class mind-map to record ideas. You could create your mind-map on the board or use one of the following online mind-mapping tools: bubbl.us or mindmeister.

Step 2

Explain to students that they will now watch a clip about the resources that go into making a mobile phone and why it is important to recycle them. As they watch, invite students to record in their workbooks any ideas that they might be able to add to the mind-map following the clip:

What’s A Smartphone Made Of? - Kim Preshoff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIdJ22AfsO8)

Step 3

Once complete, engage students in a class discussion around this clip. Consider the following prompts in your discussion:

Renewable and non-renewable resources
Environmental costs of sourcing materials
Social costs of sourcing materials
Phone recycling
E-waste
Social and environmental costs of phone recycling

Students might like to explore one (or more) of these issues in their film for the MobileMuster Film Competition.

As you discuss these prompts and the concepts raised in the clip add new ideas to the class mind-map to create a big picture of mobile phone recycling.

Step 4

Distribute a copy of the Student Worksheet to each student. Share the following information with students (also available on the Student Worksheet):

According to the United Nations all the countries in the world combined generated a staggering 44.7 million tonnes or an equivalent of 6.1 kilogram per inhabitant of e-waste annually. Only 20% of e-waste is reported to be collected and recycled globally.
Mobile phone recycling is free and easy with over 3,500 public drop off locations across Australia.
Over 99% of the resources in mobile phones can be recovered and returned to the supply chain to go back into making new products.
Recycling 50,000 mobiles saves 99 tonnes of mineral resources and 19 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
There are approximately over 25 million unused mobile phones hidden in our drawers and cupboards across Australia. Of those 5 million are broken and no longer working.
Only one in three Australians have ever recycled a mobile phone.

Reference: www.mobilemuster.com.au

Students might like to refer to some of these statistics in their film for the MobileMuster Film Competition.

Step 5

Invite students to take a moment to read and share their thoughts about these facts:

What is surprising?
What is interesting?
What do you want to know more about?

Step 6

Now, explain to students that many people want to do the right thing but have a range of reasons for not recycling their phones. Share the following list of reasons with students, explaining that these reasons come from MobileMuster who undertook research into why people weren’t recycling their phones (also available on the Student Worksheet):

Mobile phones aren’t recycled because people ...

are keeping old phones as spares for backup in case current phones stop working or get broken
haven't got around to recycling them yet
might have old phones that are still working or might information on them that people still need
aren’t sure what to do with them
are concerned someone might access the data

Clarify the meaning of data with students. Suggested definition: Data is information about yourself or other people that is stored on your phone. It includes things like your or other people's names, phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, bank details and photos.

don't know where to recycle them
didn't think of recycling their phone or they forgot about it
didn't know you could recycle mobile phones
want to give it to their friends or family
are keeping the phone for their kids.

Step 7

Invite students to work in pairs to read through and discuss these reasons, using the following questions to guide their discussion (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What do you think about these reasons?
What emotions would you attribute to these reasons? (E.g. If you’re concerned about someone accessing your data, maybe you are afraid). Select one reason to analyse.
How would you encourage someone with one of these reasons to recycle their phone? Select two or three reasons and discuss with your partner.

Allow students time to discuss their ideas.

Step 8

Explain to students that people generally like to do the right thing but can find it hard because changing our behaviour is hard. Have you ever tried to break a habit or start a new one? It can be tough and can take a lot of effort.

Explain to students that there is a whole field of study devoted to how to influence or change human behaviour. In the next part of this lesson, students will look at some behaviour change theories and think about how they can be applied to mobile phone recycling and maybe even used in their film entry.

Take Action: Behaviour change

Step 1

Students will now explore a behaviour change model known as The Elephant And The Rider. This theory is explained in the following clip which you can share with students:

The Elephant, The Rider And The Path - A Tale Of Behavior Change (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9KP8uiGZTs)

Once complete, clarify the concepts raised in this clip, including:

The rider is our rational, thinking side.
The elephant is our emotional side.
The rider can tell us where we want to go but our emotions don’t always let us go that way; our emotions often dominate us.
This is why even when we know we should be doing something (like recycling mobile phones) our emotions stop us.
You can help someone change their behaviour using the following steps:
- Give the rider (the brain) clear directions.
- Motivate the elephant (by tapping into our emotions).
- Shape the path – show the way to change.

Step 2

Explain to students that they will apply this behaviour change model to mobile phone recycling. You might like to provide them with a printout of The Elephant And The Rider Factsheet so they can refer to it during the following task.

Break the class into groups of 4-5 students and ask each student to get out their Student Worksheet and ensure that each group has access to a web-enabled device.

Tell students that, in this activity, they need to work together to think about how they would encourage more people to recycle their mobile phones using The Elephant And The Rider model of behaviour change. The steps on the Student Worksheet will help them in this process. Students will need to use the MobileMuster website to source the information needed for this activity and answer the following questions:

What directions will you give the ‘rider’? (E.g. what information can you find about HOW to recycle mobile phones?)
How will you motivate the ‘elephant’? (E.g. how will you use emotion to motivate people to recycle their phones?)
Can you shape the path? (E.g. how can you lead the way or show people how easily recycling mobile phones can be?)

Invite groups to complete this task.

Step 3

Once complete, allow students 5 minutes to rehearse a presentation of their ideas, using the Elevator Pitch Factsheet.

Provide time for each group to 'perform' their pitch. You could have students rate the pitch using a 'clap-o-meter' (download an app, or draw one up on the white board and use your arm as the dial). Or they could use the following feedback stems:

I really liked ...
I noticed how you ...
Maybe next time ...

Learning support: Some students may not feel comfortable developing or performing an Elevator Pitch in such a short timeframe. Allow these students the opportunity to take longer, or write and/or record their pitch instead. Alternatively, they could act as a coach or director for their group.

Before moving onto the follow up lesson, Designing for Film - Years 3-6, keep a record of student ideas (i.e. encourage students to keep their work and take a photo of notes on the board).

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to think about what they looked at in this lesson and complete the following:

I learned that mobile phones …
I learned that people ...
I enjoyed ...
I found it challenging to ...

Changing Behaviour

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Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can...

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Info

Related Professional Learning

In this lesson