Have you ever wondered why so many electronic devices end up on landfill? It's time to raise awareness and take responsibility for our handling of these precious devices. Discover 'Make it work!' a teaching pack in collaboration with European project Sharepair that has been specially designed to inspire and sensitize pupils about the importance of repairing electrical and electronic devices.
The teaching pack contains both general background information and specific lessons that help students to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Also, it fosters concrete research and action skills. Engage your students in a dialogue about the circular economy and repair of electrical and electronic devices.
Ideally, the teaching pack is combined with other lessons and activities on sustainability, technology and reducing consumption, such as a campaign to collect discarded mobile phones and other electronic devices, a project to raise awareness on waste or the organizing of a Repair Café at school.
“Restore old smartphones instead of throwing them away? I think that's a good idea, because the environment is important. And it costs less money to repair an old smartphone than to buy a new one.”
Would you rather get started with the separate lessons and activities? You can download them one by one.
Background information: This document with subject-specific and didactic background information gives you as a teacher the what, why and how to help you get started with these lessons and familiarize yourself with the basic principles that underlie the repair of electrical and electronic devices.
Module 1- Stimulus and awareness: during this lesson, students are stimulated to think about design choices for electrical and electronic devices, and they explore the model of the circular economy and the R strategies. They explore why repairing electrical and electronic devices is an important step towards creating a circular economy and how their choices can contribute to this.
Module 2 – Perspectives, opinions and emotions: During this lesson, the students explore their own and other people’s opinions, perspectives and emotions with regard to the production, consumption and repair of electrical and electronic devices, as well as the impact that their own choices have.
Module 3 - Research skills: During this lesson, the students investigate the repair options, lifespan, consumption etc. of electrical and electronic devices on the basis of a research question they choose themselves.
Module 4 - Underlying causes and leverage points: During this lesson, the students process the results of their own research, or of a popular-science study that is provided to them, by identifying the underlying causes and reflecting on what they themselves could and would be willing to do.
Module 5- Possible action: During this lesson, the students explore their motivation to take action themselves on the production, consumption and repair of electrical and electronic devices. Using examples and self-selected criteria, they think of ideas and possibilities to take action themselves and commit to developing and carrying out a particular activity.
The Make it Work pack has been developed for both Belgium and the Netherlands and for primary and secondary education and are available in 2 additional languages: French and English.
Hoe Educatie voor Duurzaam Onderwijs bijdraagt aan kwaliteitsvol onderwijs.
Comment l’Education au Développement Durable contribue-t-elle à la qualité de l’enseignement ?