Lesson 2 · Weeks 2-4
How electrotechnology got here, and what it costs
Learning intention
Explain how one line of electrotechnological development unfolded, and weigh the impacts of a component choice.
Success criteria
I can compare two components across social, environmental and economic impacts, using numbers I found myself.
Before class
Decide which development line you are teaching before the lesson. Depth in one beats a survey of five.
Materials
Research access. The component being traced, physically, if you have one.
Common misconceptions & fixes
Students treat 'sustainable' as a property a component either has or does not. Push them to ask: compared to what, measured how, over what lifetime.
Evidence to collect
Annotated timeline; the lifecycle comparison table with sources; the written position.
Support path
Supply two components and a comparison table with the column headings already filled in.
Extension path
Find a case where the more sustainable component is the wrong engineering choice, and explain the trade-off.
Exit reflection
Which impact did you weight most heavily in your recommendation, and would a different user weight it differently?
