Happy Planet Index &#8211

Happy Planet Index – Year 10

Teacher Preparation

Overarching learning goal: By participating in this activity, students will:

1. Take responsibility for their own learning by watching a video and completing a thinking routine (the Flipped learning approach). 2. Develop an understanding of alternative ways of measuring economic performance and living standards, and discuss how they can mean different things to different people and countries.

Teacher content information: Most measures of national progress are actually just measures of economic activity; how much we are producing or consuming. By only using indicators like GDP to measure success we are not accounting for what really matters - producing happy lives for people now and in the future.

The Happy Planet Index (HPI) puts current and future well being at the heart of measurement. It frames the development of each country in the context of real environmental limits. In doing so it tells us what we instinctively know to be true - that progress is not just about wealth.

It shows that while the challenges faced by rich resource-intensive nations and those with high levels of poverty and deprivation may be very different, the end goal is the same: to produce happy, healthy lives now and in the future. The HPI demonstrates that the dominant Western model of development is not sustainable and we need to find other

development paths towards sustainable well being. The HPI is the leading global measure of sustainable well being. As a new measure of human progress, it measures what matters: the extent to which countries deliver long, happy, sustainable lives for the people that live in them.

This article illustrates Costs Rica’s approach to social welfare and explains why it comes first on the Happy Planet Index. It appears that the Costa Rican (and several other Latin American) governments have invested in the health and welfare of their citizens whilst also making environmental sustainability a high priority (especially with regards to renewable energy).

Before coming to this lesson, students should be asked to spend some time looking at the Happy Planet Index website and to watch the clip below. They should also complete a small number of related questions on their Student Worksheet.

Nic Marks: The Happy Planet Index (http://bit.ly/1NDVSix)

The questions students need to answer on their Student Worksheet in preparation for this lesson are:

In your own words, summarise the ideas presented in this video in 50 words or less. Do you agree or disagree with the theories behind the Happy Planet Index? Why or why not? How are the ideas and information presented in the video and on the website connected to what you already knew? What new ideas did you get that extended or pushed your thinking in new directions? What is still challenging or confusing for you to get your mind around? What questions do you now have?

Prior knowledge: Students should have a basic understanding of GDP. Completing the Economic Vs human development lesson prior to this

lesson would be useful.

Teacher Sequence

Preparation - Students should watch the video and answer questions before this lesson 10 min - Class discussion on thought starter and video 15 min - Happy Planet Index reflection questions and class discussion 15 mins - Looking at the data graphing and identifying patterns activity 20 mins - Reflection activity with My Happy Planet Index survey

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Preparation: Prior to the lesson, ask students to watch the TED Talk video and complete the related questions (available on the Student Worksheet).

Step 1. Begin the lesson by putting the Thought Starter ('Can we have a strong economy, happy people AND a healthy planet?') on the board and inviting general class discussion on this statement. Students can refer to their thoughts about the video during this discussion.

Step 2. Ask student to work in pairs to complete the Happy Planet reflection questions on the Student Worksheet. You may need to define these terms:

Welfare - the health, happiness, and fortunes of a person or group. Ecological footprint - impact of human activities measured in terms of the area of biologically productive land and water required to produce the goods consumed and to assimilate the wastes generated. Gross Domestic Product - the total value of goods and services produced in a country in one given year. The Happy Planet Index (HPI) - a leading global measure of sustainable well being. As a new measure of human progress, it measures what matters in terms of happiness/well being: the

extent to which countries deliver long, happy, sustainable lives for the people that live in them.

For the mind map activity students need to expand on each of the features that comprise the ‘science of happiness’. These are:

1. To connect with others (relationships) 2. Be active (exercise) 3. Take notice of the moment/mindfulness 4. Keep learning - formal or informal learning 5. Give - generosity, altruism, compassion (we feel good when we give)

Use class discussion to check student responses to the reflection questions.

Step 3. Ask students to complete the 'Looking at the Data' graphing activity. The idea of this activity is to get students to observe the data on the Happy Planet Index site and find the correlation between two factors (life expectancy and ecological footprint) and to practice their graphing and statistical skills. Make sure they follow the steps carefully. Some students may need extra help deciding on the scales to choose for each axis. Since Ecological footprint ranges from 1-8 they could go up by 1's on the horizontal axis. With life expectancy ranging from 40-90 they should go up by 10's on the vertical axis. The sample correlation (ice-cream sales and temperature) has no relevance to this topic but shows them how the end product might look.

Step 4. Students should then complete the graph analysis. Students should find that there is a positive correlation between life expectancy and ecological footprint, meaning that in most countries they chose to plot when life expectancy is high so too is ecological footprint. This would mean that most countries will be situated in the top right of their graph. This pattern is because more developed nations have the technology and money to invest in preventative medicines, education and behaviours as well as health care to prolong the lifespan of their citizens, yet these nations also tend to have high rates of commercial

consumption and waste, placing a high impact on the natural environment. Costa Rica (and several other Latin American countries) are exceptions to this rule. It appears that their governments have invested in the health and well being of their citizens whilst also making environmental sustainability a high priority (especially with regards to renewable energy).

Reflection

Ask students to complete the My Happy Planet Index survey. They may need to guess some of the responses since they refer more to household rather than individual behaviour. The summary provided at the end of their survey will provide a detailed analysis of their score, and gives advice on improving their index by making different lifestyle and/or consumption choices. Students might be interested to know that their data is used to shape the data for Australia as a whole.

Differentiated Learning

Extension: There are a number of complex concepts addressed in the video, and the reflection questions provide opportunities for students to grapple with these ideas. Students could also be encouraged to inquire more deeply about what the HPI does and doesn't measure by looking at this section.

Provisional Learning Support: Parts of the TED Talk are complex and students should be reminded that they are not expected to fully grasp every idea that is addressed. The see/think/wonder table helps them to identify parts of the video that are accessible and that they can connect with, and it gives them an opportunity to ask further questions during class discussion.

Some students will require more guidance with the graphing activity, especially for creating the graph and deciding on the scales to be used on the vertical and horizontal axes. Since Ecological footprint ranges from 1-8 they could go up by 1's on the horizontal axis. With life

expectancy ranging from 40-90 they should go up by 10's on the vertical axis.