In this activity, students develop awareness of their own resource use by tracking, visualising, and reflecting on their daily choices. By examining how they use time, energy, materials, and services, they gain insight into patterns that often go unnoticed. This helps students reflect on their impact and identify concrete actions to use resources more consciously.
- Activity goal
- Reflect
- When
- In class | Post class
- Where
- Offline
- Duration
- > 60 minutes
- Group size
- Small | Medium
Step-by-step plan
Step 1: Introduction
Explain to students what is meant by resource awareness. Clarify that resources include time, energy, materials and services, and that the way we use them influences sustainability. Tell students they will gain insight into their own resource use and reflect on how they can make more conscious choices.
Step 2: Individual resource tracking
Ask students to track their personal use of resources for one week. Instruct them to pay attention to:
- What and how much they consume
- Where and how they shop
- Use of delivery services
- Modes of transport
- Time and energy use
Optionally, invite students to calculate their footprint using an online tool (e.g. a consumer footprint calculator).
Step 3: Visual representation
Ask students to create a physical or digital poster that represents their resource use. Instruct them to include key data, patterns, and anything that stood out during the tracking.
Invite students to share their posters in class. Encourage honesty and emphasize that differences in resource use are normal. Model openness by sharing your own example if possible.
Step 4: Group reflection
Discuss the results in small groups or plenary. Guide students with questions such as:
- What surprised you about your resource use?
- What patterns do you notice?
- What might explain these patterns?
- What resources feel like necessities, and which feel like luxuries?
Also include reflection on feelings:
- What do your results make you feel?
- Did anything feel uncomfortable or confronting? Why?
Introduce possible actions (e.g. show students the website The Anatomy of Action). Let students think about one or two concrete actions to reduce their resource use.
Consider the tools and materials mentioned here as suggestions. In many cases it’s possible to use alternative tools. Please turn to the Learning & Innovation team of your faculty first to see which online and offline tools are available and how to apply them.
Offline
- Pens/markers and A3 papers/ Magic Charts for physical posters
- Canva/Miro/Padlet/PowerPoint for digital posters
Tip 1
- Limit the number of categories in the weekly tracking (e.g. food, transport, energy, purchases) so students can focus on patterns more easily.
Tip 2
- If possible, check in during the tracking period (e.g. after a few days) and ask students to share one initial observation. Also revisit the activity in a later session and briefly reflect on whether students implemented their intended actions.
Tip 3
- Prompt students to compare their behaviour (e.g. weekday vs weekend, planned vs actual use) to deepen their analysis.
