Take a sustainability quiz

1. Students can recognise and articulate their own attitudes towards sustainability and environmentalism
2. Students can critically engage with a range of diverse viewpoints on sustainability

Lead-in/ warmer ideas (5-10 mins)

Is there one ‘correct’ way to think about sustainability? What could happen if we are all asked to fit the same definition of being ‘sustainable’, no matter what our situation?

Ask students to think about 2-3 people they know who care about the environment. What are the differences between their opinions and beliefs? Are they aligned, or would they argue for different priorities? Students make brief notes, then discuss any differences they see.

Main activities (15-20 mins)

Introduce the Sustainability Worldview Quiz – just 5 questions which each student can answer to explore their own views on sustainability.

• Share the Sustainability Worldview Quiz link with students in your class space or via a QR code on screen
• Give students around 5 minutes to complete the quiz and read their results

Set up a poll in Mentimeter, Zoom, or Teams, with the 5 possible responses from the list below. Ask the whole class to answer the poll with their result (anonymously):

• Cornucopian environmentalism
• Accommodating environmentalism
• Moderate ecology
• Deep ecology
• Transpersonal ecology

Finishing up (5-10 mins)

How different or similar are our viewpoints across the class? Is there one profile here that is more common than others?

Understanding that there are a variety of ideas and backgrounds that make up the broader landscape of sustainability is important when communicating with each other. If students are comfortable, encourage them to briefly share and discuss why their viewpoints are different or similar.

You can copy or adapt these words to explain more in your class or online space:

• Dive into self-discovery with this Sustainability Worldview Quiz. Are you more aligned with the deep ecologists, who advocate for profound interconnectedness and harmony with nature? Or do you resonate with the cornucopian environmentalists, who believe human ingenuity can lead us to solutions that support both people and the planet?
• The spectrum of sustainability concepts: Which profile did you most closely align with? Remember, there’s no single ‘right’ way to be, it’s rare for anyone to fit neatly into a single category. Our individual and collective understandings of sustainability are wonderfully diverse, often shaped by influences we might not even be aware of. Understanding that there are a variety of ideas and backgrounds that make up the broader landscape of sustainability is important as we discuss and debate these complex issues.

You may find the following tools and resources useful:

• Run remote/ asynchronous discussions via a Canvas discussion board, Teams chat or other collaborative spaces like Padlet and google docs
• Mentimeter for polls (in class or online) – especially where answers are better shared anonymously; Zoom polls and Teams discussions could also work well
• QR code generator to share the quiz link in class (or paste into your online space)

The quiz could be used as a short activity in topics or subjects where students need to reflect on their own viewpoints and behaviours, either in discussions or as part of assignments.

The activities above would also work with:

• Small or large class cohorts
• In-person, blended and online learning
• Social Sciences, Business, Design, Architecture and Building, Engineering and subjects where students consider the impact of their discipline and profession on society

Professor Sara Wilkinson’s article Conceptual understanding of sustainability in the Australian property sector defines the different perspectives of sustainability in greater detail.