Teaching sustainability…

…through inquiry.

Hello all. Welcome to the 122nd edition of TEPS Weekly! 

Ms. Renu walks into her Grade 7 classroom and writes a familiar phrase on the board: “Ways to save the environment.” 

She begins with a quiz from the textbook, and students quickly recall the usual phrases—reduce, reuse, recycle; say no to plastic. They open their notebooks and write them down. 

Then she moves to a poster activity. “Let’s come up with slogans and rules you will follow,” she says, and students eagerly offer up ideas: “Switch off lights,” “Use jute bags,” “Don’t litter.” She notes them on the board. A few begin sketching trees and green ticks. Traditionally, this is how we have been teaching sustainability – but real sustainability involves more than picking the obvious green-looking option. It demands a deeper look at what goes into and comes out of every product. And so, it is high time we rethink how to teach it. And the best way to teach it? Inquiry.

• Inquiry helps students question their first thought, experience or assumption. 

• It makes them slow down and look again. 

• Instead of giving shallow answers, it creates curiosity and the tools to look for evidence.

In sustainability education, this approach is especially powerful. Why? Because many ideas students have about “what’s good for the planet” are half-formed or based on surface-level messages like slogans or do’s and don’ts.

The main objective of teaching sustainability through inquiry is to get students to ask questions like, “Where did this come from? What resources were used? What happens after I throw it away?”— It is to get students to think through the whole process of production and destruction of a product, rather than a shallow classification of ‘It is a good product’ or ‘It is a bad product’.

Creating a sustainability lessonA good lesson plan starts with a good learning outcome: Students will be able to explain the various factors that go into making a product sustainable or not. 

Begin your lesson by asking students a simple, real-life, relevant question: “If you drink two cups of tea every day, which one should you use to help the environment – ceramic cup or paper cup?”

Allow students to share. Some students will say paper cups are better because they look recyclable. Others might argue that ceramic mugs are reusable, so they must be better.

Push them to give their opinions, and let the class have a split.

Instead of giving the answer, say, “Let’s investigate and justify our opinions with evidence.”

This one sentence turns a simple activity into an inquiry-based challenge – but this is just the first step of hooking them into an inquiry. Next, we need to sustain and scaffold it.

So, guide them to focus their thinking. “We are going to find out which product is more sustainable, but first we need to decide—what does sustainable mean? What makes a product good or bad for the environment?” As students share, write their points on the board: “It shouldn’t pollute,” “It should last long,” “It should be natural.” Then, we go deeper. Draw the class’s attention back to their ideas and say, “If we want to really understand which cup is better, we need to look at the full story of each cup—not just whether it looks recyclable or reusable.”

Write these three headings on the board: Production, Usage, Disposal. Along with this, introduce three questions to guide the class:

1. What goes into making each cup?

2. Usage – one-time or many?

3. Where do these cups go?

“If we answer these for each cup, we’ll know more than just what it’s made of. We’ll know whether it’s really sustainable.”

Step 1: Production – What goes into making each cup?

Students break into groups and begin exploring how each cup is made. They search, question, read and ask for help when needed. To help them with the process, ask students: "What kind of energy is used here? Can we find where this energy comes from in India?" Let them refer to Geography or Science textbooks. Invite questions like, "Is mining sustainable? How much water is needed?"

Students find out that:

• Paper cups come from trees and are often lined with plastic. They require water, electricity and energy to cut and roll into shape.

• Ceramic mugs are made from clay, quartz and feldspar. Making them involves mining, firing in a kiln at 1500°C and more energy-heavy steps.

Using simplified classroom data, students estimate energy use:

• Paper cup: about 850 units

• Ceramic cup: around 14,000 units

At this point, students might think: “Paper cups win. They use less energy!” But the story isn’t over.

Step 2: Usage – One-time or many?

Point their attention to usage. Paper cups are used once and thrown away. So, energy remains at 850 units. Ceramic cups can be reused hundreds of times, but need water and soap for each wash. Students estimate that washing uses around 100 units of energy.

So if we use a ceramic cup once:

Total energy = 14,000 (production) + 100 (washing) = 14,100 units

2 uses: Total energy = 14,000 + (2 × 100) = 14,200 units

3 uses: Total energy = 14,000 + (3 × 100) = 14,300 units, and so on...

Total energy of ceramic use over time = 14,000 + (100 × number of uses)

Total energy of paper cup use over time = 850 × number of uses

To find out how many uses of ceramic cups become more efficient, we solve (x = number of uses):

14,000 + 100x = 850x

⇒ 14,000 = 750x

⇒ x ≈ 18.67

This leads to a big insight: To make ceramic cups more energy efficient than plastic cups, they have to be used around 18-20 times. Students realise it’s not about how something looks—it’s about how it’s used.

Step 3: Disposal – Where do these cups go?

Now, students look at what happens when we’re done using the cup.

Ask: “Have you noticed how often ceramic or paper cups are thrown away around you?” Let students connect with their daily surroundings. “Where do used cups go in our school?”

• Paper cups with plastic lining are hard to recycle and often end up in landfills, where they release toxins.

• Ceramic cups can’t be recycled easily, but they are safe and durable. If broken, they go to a landfill but don’t release toxins.

Students see again: there is no simple “good” or “bad.” Each product has pros and cons. And their final decision depends on how all the stages add up.

The teacher now invites students to look at the social and economic sides:

• Social: If cups are going to be used more than 20 times, it makes it more sustainable to make ceramic cups. However, paper cups are convenient but can be unsafe when reused. Ceramic cups are safer but can break.

• Economic: Similarly, paper cups are cheaper but create daily waste. Ceramic cups are more expensive but last longer.

With these layers, students begin to see that sustainability is not just science—it’s also about people, money and habits.

From this scenario, we see that when students go through a step-by-step inquiry, they are more convinced of what they have found. If the teacher had simply said, “Ceramic is better,” students might have nodded and moved on. They might have soon forgotten which was more sustainable and would certainly not be able to tell you why. 

We, as educators, have to understand that we can conduct such lessons for any grade level. The complexity of the problem and accuracy of the numbers may change, but the eventual goal of giving students a real sense of understanding and ownership can remain. 

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 calls for education that is inquiry-driven, experiential and discussion-based, helping students solve problems and think creatively. It also stresses the integration of environmental education across subjects to build deeper awareness, rather than treating sustainability as a separate topic. By giving students the right tools to ask and compare two products, we turn them into thoughtful decision-makers who understand deeply.

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Edition: 4.29