Organising Idea – sustainability: Systems
- The biosphere is a dynamic system providing conditions that sustain life on Earth.
- All life forms, including human life, are connected through ecosystems on which they depend for their wellbeing and survival.
- Sustainable patterns of living rely on the interdependence of healthy social, economic and ecological systems (ACARA, 2024b).
General Capability – Critical and Creative Thinking: Generativing ideas, possibilities and actions.
- Consider alternatives
- Seek solutions and put ideas into action (ACARA, 2024c)
Lesson Overview
In small groups or pairs students will create an eco-friendly art installation using recycles and sustainable materials. Based off the works of Stephanie Kilgast and Guerra de la Paz, who use recycled or found objects for the basis of their work. This art project asks the students to plan, design, and construct an artwork, encouraging students to think critically about sustainable practice and their environment.
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will understand the importance of sustainable practices.
- Students will apply sustainable practices into their own work, developing planning skills and art making techniques.
- Students will develop their critical and creative thinking skills through the exploration of sustainable alternatives and reflection on art making processes.
Activity introduction:
- Introduces students to the concept of sustainability in art and the importance of eco-friendly practices.
- The class explores various artists who use sustainable materials in their art works and discuss the impact art can have to the environment and consider who artists can contribute to sustainability (Anthony, 2023).
Planning and designing:
- Students gather information about sustainable materials and techniques and consider how they can be applied to their own art making processes
- Students then develop sketches and plans for their eco-friendly art installation
- Critical thinking skills – students must brainstorm different design ideas and select the most suitable, evaluating their design choices based on sustainability criteria.
Construction, Presentation and Reflection
- Students develop and refine practical and technical skills in contrasting their installations, present their finished product, and reflect on their process and choices through an artist statement.
- In the artist statement students discuss what they have learned about sustainability and how their choices have impacted the environment. They also propose improvements for future projects and consider how sustainable practices can be incorporated in future art projects.
This process of developing this learning activity for a year 8 visual arts classroom has deepened my understanding of how sustainability can be ‘embedded in all learning areas’, particularly in Visual Arts (ACARA, 2010). An integral part of the designed learning activity is introducing students to the concept of sustainable practice in order to justify the learning experience (Anthony, 2023). This particular lesson plan focuses on one of the four key dimensions of the concept, natural (ecological) sustainability (UNESCO, 2010).
Being able to incorporate this cross-curriculum priority into a hands on learning experience supports the development of 21st century skills, collaboration, critical and creative thinking, communication (QCAA, 2024). It allows student to beginning to understand the impact our current life style has on the environment and consider how we can continue sustainable practices in the future (NSW, 2016).
Future-focused teaching and reinforcing and practicing the integration of sustainability into the classroom focusing on critical and creative thinking to best promote this interdisciplinary learning (Filippi, 2016).
