Cultivating Sustainable Mindsets

GRADE 8 DESIGN CHALLENGE:

BY NANCY ESSEBAG-CHRISTIE , COMMUNICATIONS & DIGITAL MARKETING SPECIALIST

LCC’s annual grade 8 design challenge combines lessons in history with concepts of sustainability and the circular economy in a creative maker space.

WIRE AND CARDBOARD WERE USED TO CREATE A GAME THAT CAN BE DISASSEMBLED

This year Alec Mathewson ’95, design curriculum lead and Centre for Discovery coordinator, and Alexandra Mazzella ’04, Middle School English teacher, designed a project that would encourage students to communicate, collaborate and create outside of the conventional classroom setting.

In keeping with the school’s strategic plan pillar on environmental action, and its value of global engagement, the grade 8 design challenge focused on The Great Depression, an important time in history when products were scarce, and repurposing and reusing items were necessary.

A JUMP ROPE FOR KIDS THAT CAN BE REUSED AS A FITNESS TOOL OR TO FACILITATE CARRYING HEAVY LOADS

“Oftentimes, we overlook or don’t understand what someone in a different time may have gone through; this project tried to get students thinking about how having extra was not a reality for those who lived through the 1930s,” explains Ms. Mazzella.

A BAG FOR AN ENTREPRENEUR TO CARRY THEIR ITEMS

Students worked in small groups in the Centre for Discovery. They were given a profile of an individual and, in keeping with the scarcity that defined the era, were tasked with designing a prototype of an item of their choice for that person. They also had to adhere to the following:

1

Use one material which was assigned to them by a random generator coded by Mr. Mathewson. They could choose freely from the creative reuse station for other materials.

2

All that was designed was meant to be disassembled, encouraging creative ways to reuse and connect materials together.

3

Teams were allotted one piece of cardboard and one glue stick and were encouraged to use a small amount of glue since it is not recyclable. To gamify the challenge, student bins were weighed before and after to measure how much new material was used.

“Students had to consider sustainable alternatives in the design process that required them to reflect on their design choices. This approach is part of an initiative in LCC’s design program to expose students to the concept of circular design thinking and the circular economy,” explains Mr. Mathewson. “It’s about mindsets, not skills.”

One of the greatest takeaways of the challenge is the lesson of cultivating sustainable mindsets in our future generation of thinkers, tinkerers and change-makers. The more we think before we act and think outside of the box, the faster sustainable habits will become second nature in our daily lives. The challenge checked all the right boxes including student satisfaction. The students can’t wait for the next collaborative design thinking activity in the Centre for Discovery!

The grade 11 students are leaders in the school, and the more they initiate activities around sustainability and talk about them with others, the better we are as a school and as a community.”