Choices for the future: A digital learning resource to enable critical reflection
Abstract
To achieve the sustainability goal of ensuring sustainable consumption by 2030, it is crucial to reduce clothing consumption and adopt a critical approach towards our consumption patterns. In the Norwegian lower secondary school, critical reflection is a part of the curriculum for Art and Crafts. The initial findings of this master’s thesis identified a lack of learning resources on this topic, something that served as inspiration to design a website that stimulates critical reflection among students. Empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews with teachers and analyzed using thematic analysis. The insights highlight the challenges teachers face in translating textile sustainability into tangible instruction and that a resource could support them by capturing students' attention and fostering critical reflection. Employing the methodology Speculative and Critical design in collaboration with teachers and teenagers, resulted in the development of the digital learning resource Choices for the Future. Choices for the Future, serves as an engaging, inspiring, and provocative tool for students, acting as a catalyst for discussions and an eye opener to imagine the future of consumption. In the discussion part of this master’s thesis, the digital learning resource is discussed in light of its relevance to students and the challenges of designing an adaptive resource. Furthermore I discuss how provotyping can serve as a method for promoting critical reflection on consumption among students and the role of teachers in this. Finally, the conclusion emphasizes the implementation plan for developing such a product and highlights how Choices for the Future and Speculative and Critical design can be utilized for learning purposes. Ultimately, the thesis argues how this product can be a potential contributor in reducing the overconsumption of clothing.