Civics & Citizenship · Year 6

Active learning ideas

Fairness in Decision-Making

Fairness is a concept students grapple with daily, and active learning provides direct experience. Through role-playing disputes and analyzing scenarios, students move beyond abstract definitions to actively practice and understand the components of fair decision-making.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9HASS6K03

• 30–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 45 min · Small Groups

Role-Play: The Playground Dispute

Students role-play a scenario where two students disagree over a shared toy. Assign roles for each student, a teacher mediating, and observers. The mediator must ensure both sides present their case before making a decision.

Explain the key elements that contribute to a fair decision-making process.

Facilitation Tip

During the Role Play: The Playground Dispute, ensure students understand their assigned roles and the core conflict before beginning, prompting them to consider the other person's perspective.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Formal Debate
• 50 min · Whole Class

Formal Debate: Classroom Rule Change

Present a proposed new classroom rule. Divide students into two groups: one to argue for the rule and one against. Each group prepares arguments focusing on fairness and potential impacts, then debates their points.

Analyze the importance of hearing multiple perspectives in resolving disputes.

Facilitation Tip

During the Debate: Classroom Rule Change, guide students to focus their arguments on the principles of fairness and the impact of the rule, rather than personal preference.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 30 min · Pairs

Scenario Analysis: Fair or Unfair?

Provide students with written scenarios depicting decision-making processes. In pairs, they analyze each scenario, identifying elements of fairness or unfairness and suggesting improvements based on principles discussed.

Evaluate a given scenario for its fairness and suggest improvements.

Facilitation Tip

During the Scenario Analysis: Fair or Unfair?, encourage pairs to explicitly identify which elements of fairness (impartiality, transparency, right to be heard) are present or absent in each scenario.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

To teach fairness effectively, prioritize concrete examples and student-led exploration over lecturing. Teachers act as facilitators, guiding students to uncover the principles of fairness through active engagement. Focus on process and perspective-taking, helping students see that fairness is often context-dependent and requires careful consideration of all stakeholders.

Students will demonstrate an understanding of fairness by articulating the need for impartiality, transparency, and the right to be heard. They will be able to identify fair and unfair decision-making processes and explain their reasoning, referencing specific elements from the activities.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During The Playground Dispute role-play, watch for students assuming fairness means both children get to play with the toy at the exact same time, ignoring potential solutions that offer equitable turns.

  Redirect students by asking them to consider what a fair *process* for sharing might look like, even if it doesn't result in both having it simultaneously. Prompt them to think about who gets to decide the sharing rules.

• During the Debate: Classroom Rule Change, students may focus solely on their own group's loudest arguments, overlooking the need to listen to and address points made by the opposing side.

  Remind students that a fair process involves giving equal weight to all arguments. Ask them to identify one specific point made by the other side and explain why it's relevant to the fairness of the proposed rule.

• During Scenario Analysis: Fair or Unfair?, students might label a scenario unfair simply because they disagree with the outcome, without analyzing the decision-making *process* itself.

  Guide students to focus on the steps taken in the scenario: Was everyone heard? Was information shared transparently? Was the decision-maker impartial? Encourage them to base their judgment on the process, not just their personal feelings about the result.

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Formal Debate