This inquiry project can create curiosity among the students around plastics they use in their daily life, investigating about the effect of plastic use on environment and wildlife, understand the challenges like designing alternative ways to reduce plastic use, and connecting with decision makers to ask for change.

Plastics theme engages students to develop knowledge about plastic pollution and according to BC curriculum, the learners will develop the following core competencies after this educational activity:

(Curriculum | Building Student Success – B.C. Curriculum, n.d.)

We all agree to the fact that plastics have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. They have gained popularity not only due to its low production cost, but also due to its characteristics like light weight, resistance to heat/acids, and flexibility. However, plastic pollution is amongst the most alarming environmental issues in the world. As per the news release from Government of Canada- “Every year, Canadians throw away 3 million tons of plastic waste, only 9% of which is recycled, which means majority of the plastic ends up in landfills and about 29,000 tons finds its way into our natural environment.” (canada.ca, 2020, October 7). Plastic production, consumption and disposal-all release excessive amount of greenhouse gases. Hence, there is a lot of scope of inquiry in this topic which interests me for further research and with this inquiry based approach, students can become informed about the problem and devise resolutions for conserving the environment.

After my preliminary research on plastic abuse, I found out that, we have been using plastic all over these years considering its economical use for our daily chores, however, plastics have surprisingly carbon-intense life cycles. As per the article from Science Daily, “Dumping, incinerating, recycling and composting release carbon dioxide and the emissions from plastics in 2015 were equivalent to nearly 1.8 billion metric tons of CO2.” ( Science Daily: University of California – Santa Barbara, 2019).  When we look at this issue from a broader perspective; the disposal and decomposition of plastics is a major concern where landfills are overflowed, oceans are covered leading to destruction of habitat and wildlife. “As of 2015, approximately 6300 Mt of plastic waste had been generated, around 9% of which had been recycled, 12% was incinerated, and 79% was accumulated in landfills or the natural environment. If current production and waste management trends continue, roughly 12,000 Mt of plastic waste will be in landfills or in the natural environment by 2050.” (Geyer et al., 2017) After looking at these alarming numbers, one cannot predict the adverse impact this problem will have on our future generations. Hence, it is our responsibility as educators to make learners aware of the current situation.

The main learning outcome of this topic is that students will develop their knowledge about plastic pollution and through inquiry based approach they will develop the skills of brainstorming, investigating, analyzing, creating and reflecting upon their ideas, experiences and bring innovative solutions to create change in the society. To achieve this goal, I’m going to start with the previous knowledge of students with the help of a mind map and brainstorming session to gather their ideas and understanding on plastic pollution. Thereafter, with the help of audio visual aids, the teacher will discuss how the plastics are produced and effects of disposal and incineration on our environment. Further open ended discussions can be put forward with article readings or resources where students can reflect upon the same and come up with new avenues for learning and help them devise ways to reduce this problem.

Arora, D(2021). Plastic Pollution: Ask [Slide1]

To broaden the horizons of research on the given topic, many unanswered questions like- can this product be replaced with eco friendly alternatives? How can we create awareness at individual as well as societal level to reduce the plastic use and what will be pros and cons of replacing this fast growing and economical product with any other material? will be resolved.

Lastly, the best way to bringing this approach into action will be hands on activities to encourage students to ask, investigate, evaluate and create innovative ways to develop an understanding on 3Rs- Reduce, Recycle and Reuse by consolidate and collaborative learning where they reflect and build collective understanding about single use plastics, their harmful effects on environment and their alternatives. The teacher will build connections with the topic and invite the students to share the ideas, questions, inferences to achieve the learning outcomes of this useful educational activity. This inquiry project will give multiple learning opportunities to connect with the scientific content as well as learning at their own pace with various learning materials like articles, expert talks, relevant videos, etc. Therefore, it will allow the learners to learn and spread awareness about the real world issues out of the school environment.