Energy and sustainability: Role-playing in the classroom

Energy is one of the main issues presently faced by humanity. A game-based approach was pursued in two experimental classroom sessions (in a high school and a university course) to let students understand the complexity of the matter. By playing different roles the students understood that: (i) the perception of the sustainability of different energy sources is highly dependent on the scale of analysis (e.g., national or local); (ii) energy is directly or indirectly connected with many political, environmental, social and economic issues; (iii) arguments to support or oppose specific energy sources should be carefully analysed as they may be put forward by pressure groups with a hidden agenda.