Teaching article
Community consultation that leaves a way to answer quietly
Make it possible to contribute ideas through several formats before summarising a fictional community's views.
A public discussion may collect the views of confident speakers while missing other participants. Design the fictional consultation around several response methods and a clear question, then identify whose views might still be absent.
To hand: A map, sticky notes and drawing paper.
Make the consultation question specific and provide accessible ways to respond. Record whose views the process may still have missed.
Participation is part of the method
Offer spoken, drawn and written submissions. Group ideas without erasing disagreement. Identify whose perspective is still missing.
A quiet route can be added to a park map even when more participants initially suggest active play equipment.
A louder contribution is not automatically more representative.
Which viewpoint changed the summary? Offer an anonymous picture-based contribution box.
Resources
- Fair Rule or Random Rule? — Compare proposed rules and explain their practical effects.
Further reading
- Parliamentary Education Office — classroom activities
- Australian Electoral Commission — Democracy Rules
Read next
- Can a newcomer use this public-service notice?
- Three levels of government, seen through everyday services
- Draw an electorate without turning the map into a fact claim
Explore Civics and democratic participation. Browse all teaching articles.