Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes	Part A: What is upcycling and the challenge of timber in landfill?
25 minutes	Part B: The design process
10 minutes	Reflection

Part A: What is upcycling and the challenge of timber in landfill?

Step 1.

As a class, define:

What is 'upcycling?'

You might like to break this word into its component parts: up and (re)cycling.

One definition might be:

Upcycling is the creative reuse of existing materials to form something new. Unlike recycling, upcycling does not break the product down to its raw materials for repurposing. Instead, it transforms the existing materials into something else.

Note that the association with recycling can be a little confusing for us. We're more reusing the same materials in a new project.

Step 2.

Discuss:

What might be the benefits of reusing materials in this way?

The benefits of upcycling can include:

reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill
conserving resources and reducing pollution
reducing production costs
encouraging creativity.

Step 3.

Watch this video:

From Waste to Wonder | Reclaimed Timber Traders: Rescuing and Giving New Life to Precious Resources (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-sgjVJoxig)

Extension: Watch this video, starting at 00:34, to show students how construction waste can be recovered once it is no longer usable: vimeo.com/758963328/229b37652a

Step 4.

Explain:

Across this lesson, students will look for artificial timber around their school to upcycle. Upcycling timber has two benefits:

to save it from landfill, and
to benefit the school and community in some way.

an image of a document showing the benefits of recycling timber

But before we start designing, or even thinking about what we might design, we must

understand the audience we are designing for. Meeting the audience's needs is an essential part of an effective design.

A great example of the benefits of timber recycling is from the waste company BINGO Industries. Show students the following fact sheet (available as a PDF). This factsheet shows the environmental benefits of recovering timber and diverting it from landfill. It is a great way to show the opportunity, when considering building materials, to consider the ones that have been recovered from other construction projects instead of buying new ones.

Part B: The Design Process

Step 1.

Empathise Phase
First, students will need to understand the needs of the people who will be using their upcycled design.

These people will probably be fellow students but might also include teachers and maybe even parents who visit the school.

Using the Student Design Workbook, students create simple, fictional biography of their user(s).

It should be pretty easy to empathise with this person, as they're probably very similar to the student themselves!

The biography should include:

What does this user like? This could include weird art, climbing trees, playing hide and seek, things that don't break easily, or are made from sustainable materials.
What doesn't this user like? This could also include weird art, but might include things such as falling over and getting hurt in the playground.

Finally, students can draw a picture of their user and give them a name.

Step 2.

Define Phase

Now that we have a good understanding of our users, let's think about some of their challenges, and we could design a solution for them. This will help students focus their creativity in the next lesson.

If the problem isn't understood regarding how it works or affects people, then the solutions students develop will not adequately address the needs of the people they are trying to help.

Step 3.

The main purpose of the problem statement is to identify and explain the problem concisely but in clear detail. , including where the problem occurs, who is impacted and what impact it has on them.

Using the Student Design Workbook, students define these points.

Who: Who is this problem affecting? (This is the user we have just defined above.)
Where: Where is the problem occurring?
What is the impact: What happens to the user when encountering this problem?

As we're focusing on sustainability, and because our users will someday move on to high school, it is also important for students to design something that will satisfy needs beyond the time of the user they are designing for.

Along with who, where, and what, students should consider:

Can their design be used beyond the school year?
How many generations of students should be able to use it?
Once the object is no longer useful, what can be done with the materials? Single-material objects, i.e., made out of timber only, are much easier to recycle or recover than objects made of multiple materials.

Step 4.

Students will then write the information in this table into a full-sentence problem statement.

For example:

students in the yard don't have anywhere to sit down and are getting tired
students in the playground are getting in trouble for climbing trees.

Students will create three problem statements. Even if they have a pretty clear idea of where they want to focus their design, expanding our horizons and seeing if inspiration strikes us in a different area is still useful.

Extension: Consider allowing students to visit other classes in small groups and run a qualitative survey to gather data about their audience. This will also satisfy the numeracy general capability for this lesson.

Step 5.

Research Phase

In this phase, students investigate the theories and thinking that experts in this space are currently investigating or already implementing. This:

inspires student thinking and guides their investigation towards helpful ideas
develops in students a thorough understanding of how concepts and pre-existing solutions in this space function and how to implement them effectively
informs students of the known problems, challenges and constraints posed by and inherent in these solutions.

By the end of this stage, students will have a clear picture of what works and what doesn't to overcome the challenges presented by the problem statement from the define phase.

Step 6.

Ideation and prototype phase

Guided by the Student Design Workbook, students create a labelled technical drawing of their design, including a written explanation of what the design is made of and how it fulfils the sustainability goals of this project (i.e., it uses upcycled timber.)

Step 7.

Students will then use the ice cream sticks and blue-tak to create a scale model of their design.

Extension: If students have access to the individual devices, they could photograph their model and label it using various programs. This will satisfy the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability general capability for this lesson.

If time allows, you can find a printable recycling truck into which students can place their materials in this activity from BINGO.

Reflection

Evaluation phase

Students swap their Design Workbook with a partner and fill out the feedback rubric for their partner's design.

Differentiated Learning

Extension

There are several extension points throughout this lesson. See the call-out boxes above for these points in context with the lesson.

Provisions for Learning Support

Some students may need support throughout the design process. Consider giving these students additional time to plan out their design. Students with motor impairments may require support in constructing their designs. As each student will have unique requirements, be sure to review these requirements and consider strategies for support in line with any individual support plan that is in place.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn’t work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

National Recycling Week - Upcycling Timber

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Summary

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