Geography · Year 10

Active learning ideas

International Migration: Push and Pull Factors

Active learning works well for this topic because students need to move beyond abstract definitions to experience the human realities behind migration. When they analyze real data, role-play decisions, and debate trade-offs, they grasp how push and pull factors shape lives in measurable ways.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9G10K06

• 30–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Think-Pair-Share
• 30 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Push vs Pull Cards

Provide cards listing factors like war or jobs. Students sort them individually into push or pull piles, then pair up to justify choices and resolve differences, finally sharing class examples. Conclude with a group chart of verified factors.

Analyze the economic and social impacts of remittances on sending countries.

Facilitation Tip

For Push vs Pull Cards, provide one factor per index card so students physically sort them, which makes abstract concepts tangible and sparks peer debate.

What to look for

Pose the following question to small groups: 'Imagine you are advising a government facing significant emigration. What are two key push factors you would recommend addressing first, and why?' Have groups share their top recommendation and justification with the class.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Document Mystery
• 45 min · Small Groups

Mapping Activity: Global Migration Flows

Distribute world maps and recent migration data. In small groups, students plot top routes with arrows, color-code by push/pull dominance, and annotate impacts like remittances. Groups present one route to the class.

Explain how political instability contributes to refugee crises.

Facilitation Tip

During the Global Migration Flows mapping activity, assign each pair a region so they focus on specific data before synthesizing the bigger picture.

What to look for

Provide students with a short case study of a migrant arriving in Australia (e.g., a skilled worker, a refugee). Ask them to list one specific push factor from their origin country and one specific pull factor drawing them to Australia, based on the case study details.

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

Activity 03

• Simulation Game
• 50 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: Refugee Decision-Making

Assign roles as families facing instability. Groups draw scenario cards with push factors, deliberate pull options for host countries, vote on migrations, and track demographic shifts on a class ledger over 'years.' Debrief on real impacts.

Compare the challenges and opportunities presented by immigration for host countries.

Facilitation Tip

In the Refugee Decision-Making simulation, limit students’ knowledge of their options to mimic uncertainty, which helps them understand the stress behind real choices.

What to look for

On an index card, have students write one sentence explaining the difference between a 'refugee' and an 'economic migrant'. Then, ask them to list one potential challenge for a host country receiving a large number of immigrants.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Jigsaw
• 60 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Remittances Impact

Divide class into expert groups on sending countries like the Philippines or Mexico. Each researches remittances' economic/social effects, then reforms into mixed groups to teach and compare host country challenges. Synthesize findings in a shared report.

Analyze the economic and social impacts of remittances on sending countries.

Facilitation Tip

For the Remittances Impact case study, give each group one stakeholder’s perspective to deepen their analysis before sharing with the class.

What to look for

Pose the following question to small groups: 'Imagine you are advising a government facing significant emigration. What are two key push factors you would recommend addressing first, and why?' Have groups share their top recommendation and justification with the class.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers approach this topic best by grounding discussions in real stories and data. Avoid presenting push and pull factors as simple lists, as students need to see how these forces interact in people’s lives. Research suggests role-play and mapping activities build empathy and spatial reasoning, while case studies help students connect economic concepts to human outcomes. Keep lessons grounded in specific places and times to prevent abstraction from overwhelming students.

Students will demonstrate understanding by accurately categorizing push and pull factors, mapping migration routes with evidence, making empathetic decisions in simulations, and explaining remittances’ economic effects. Their discussions should show they can weigh multiple societal impacts, not just economic ones.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Push vs Pull Cards, watch for students who assume economic factors are the only drivers of migration.

  Use the card-sorting task to highlight social and political factors by including items like 'family reunification' and 'political persecution' alongside wage differences, then ask groups to justify their placements in a class discussion.

• During Global Migration Flows, students may assume all international migrants are refugees fleeing danger.

  After plotting data, have students categorize flows by type (labor, student, refugee) using UN definitions, then discuss why some groups are overrepresented in certain routes.

• During Refugee Decision-Making simulation, students may believe host countries always benefit from immigration.

  After the simulation, debrief with a policy debate where students role-play government officials weighing costs and benefits, using evidence from their earlier discussions to challenge simplistic views.

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Methods used in this brief

• Think-Pair-Share
• Document Mystery
• Simulation Game
• Jigsaw