Educational Resources Planning and Evaluation

(All evaluations of whether I carried this out and reflections are indicated in bold)

I have done some research into the educational resources used within school that I have felt are appropriate for use with sixth form aged students and as a sixth form student I have used my own judgement and the response of my peers to resources/activities that could be adapted for my project.

During form the other week we used a large sheet of paper and felt pens to write the first things that we think of when a word was given to us. This was a well received activity within the form group and I would like to use this in the production of my educational resources- possibly asking the students to write down everything they think of when they see the word "PLASTIC".
This was an activity I used and I believe will be easy to carry out and get people thinking. I chose this activity because I know that teachers do not have the time or the access to resources which may have been needed for other activities and paper and pens are available in all classrooms to all teachers- making the activities within the PowerPoint easier to carry out and therefore more likely to be used in the future.

Something another teacher pointed out to me was that I should adapt my resources to fit certain school requirements for form which include the use of literacy and numeracy skills so my second activity within the PowerPoint will be focused around this- possibly getting people to calculate their carbon footprint and then link this to the plastic problem. I am currently unsure of how I will achieve this.
This was another point that I achieved as numeracy skills were added to the resources. I created an activity which gave the students statistics of how long different plastic items took to break down and then asked them to calculate how long their weekly plastic output would take to break down. This not only gets students using maths skills but it also gets them to see the amount of time that their behaviors impact upon the planet. This also shows that their actions have huge consequences and that they also have the possibility to reverse this effect and have a huge positive effect by reducing plastic consumption.

I plan to add a quiz to my resources as this can easily be incorporated into the weekly form activities which already have a quiz that is done every Wednesday. This is something that my peers and I find very engaging and take part in every week so I know that it will be effective in communicating the scale of the plastic problem.
The quiz was added to the end of my PowerPoint slides because it then means that the person in charge of the distribution of my resources when I leave will have easy access to all of the resources that I have created.

Creating these resources was difficult as I had to monitor my own bias because my opinions don't matter because the resources had to be based on fact. This was successful but my strong feelings towards the environmental damage plastic causes had to be monitored because my resources had to be informative and not upsetting to any students. This is a valuable skill I have learnt and as somebody wishing to go into research I think that I now understand the importance of professionalism within a resource or paper that I create.

Nudge Theory

What is Nudge Theory?

“The concept is a relatively subtle policy shift that encourages people to make decisions that are in their broad self-interest. It’s not about penalising people financially if they don’t act in certain way. It’s about making it easier for them to make a certain decision.”[1] The theory is that this creates a longer lasting change because people don’t feel pressured to make a change to their life and they feel as though it is their choice, therefore making it something they want for themselves instead of something they feel is imposed upon them.

This principle has been proved to be effective. For example:

“Organ donation... nudge policy is seen to have worked. Spain operates an opt-out system, whereby all citizens are automatically registered for organ donation unless they choose to state otherwise. This is different from the UK where donors have to opt in. The Spanish opt-out system is one of the reasons Spain is a world leader in organ donation.”[2]

How I plan to use this

I believe that the issue of plastic pollution and the detrimental effects of it speak for themselves. If I create a platform for the facts and figures to be shared such as a poster campaign and an educational PowerPoint then people will be compelled to act. I plan to show people that our generation can do something and that small changes do make a difference which should nudge people towards making small lifestyle changes that they choose, such as using reusable water bottles and not using disposable plastic cutlery because they already have the choice, it’s just about making the correct one. The school provides both plastic and metal cutlery and both plastic cups to fill up or the ability to fill up a water bottle, I hope that my project can successfully nudge people to make more environmentally friendly choices instead of choices based on convenience. 

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[1] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/nudge-theory-richard-thaler-meaning-explanation-what-is-it-nobel-economics-prize-winner-2017-a7990461.html (accessed 05/03/19)

[2] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/nudge-theory-richard-thaler-meaning-explanation-what-is-it-nobel-economics-prize-winner-2017-a7990461.html (accessed 05/03/19)

Research- Plastic Pollution Coalition

In order to raise awareness of plastic pollution and the associated environmental degradation I need information on how to talk to young people about the issue. This is because the subject is very sensitive and it could be distressing to some young people to see the effects of their actions. Therefore I have looked for resources that successfully raise awareness in children. The Plastic Pollution Coalition have multiple resources on their website such as links to National Geographic and TED-ED YouTube videos. These are possible resources I may use in my PowerPoint or take inspiration from.The Plastic Pollution Coalition is a valuable and reliable resource as it is composed of scientists, businesses and policy makers who use their combined knowledge to develop resources for big businesses, schools and individuals. Their research is carried out by notable scientists such as Professor Theodora Colborn who was a Professor Emerita of Zoology at the University of Florida and is the author of Our Stolen Future.
https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/pft/2018/5/3/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-plastic-pollution-cartoons-books-and-activities-to-involve-the-whole-family

Mid Project Review

05/03/2019

I have met with my mentor to discuss my project so far and the next steps I need to take and I have added all of the details of this meeting in my Mid-Project Review on the PPR.