Lifestyle, Choices and the Future

Module 12: Consumerism and Population

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

• describe world population growth and the factors contributing to it
• outline scientific and technological solutions to the problems associated with population growth
• compare the consumption of resources in developed countries with that in developing countries
• analyse their individual consumption of resources (e.g., water, paper, food, electricity)
• describe the use of technology in the advertising industry and the influence of advertising on consumption patterns
• differentiate between human needs and human wants

Suggested Instructional Strategies

• Lead a discussion exploring the relationships among population, demand on resources, and consumption. Have students compare and contrast per capita consumption. Have them discuss how mass production has contributed to the growth in consumerism.
• Have small groups of students trace the production of a common consumer product including all the natural resources used (energy as well as raw materials), and then have students present their findings to the class.
• Have students research the growth of the advertising industry and its role in increasing consumerism in our society. Have them discuss why advertising is so persuasive and what would make consumers resist advertising.
• Have students make a detailed list of what they consume, divided into "wants" and "needs." Compile class results and have students debate what percentage of what we consume should be "needs" and what percentage should be "wants."
• Provide students with statistics about human population growth over the past century. Guide them through the process of graphing the statistics, using computers if available. Have students suggest possible reasons for growth changes. Then have small groups of students conduct library or on-line research on the social, scientific, and technological changes during the past 100 years that have contributed to population growth, recording this information in a chart. Have them discuss their findings with the class.
• Have students explore current concerns about world population growth, indicating its relationship with the global flow of people, products, and ideas. Students might discuss potential problems from the squeeze on resources (e.g., fishing disputes, wars over oil supply).
• Have students study the population growth of a closed system of meal worms or fruit flies, make predictions about population growth and measure the actual growth.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• Use a rating scale to assess students' research on human population growth for accuracy, the amount of support for arguments, and presentation qualities.
• Rate students' lab reports on meal worms for their degree of formal structure, accuracy, and technical qualities.
• Use checklists to assess students' contributions to discussions and group work. Criteria may include relevance, number of contributions, and links to scientific evidence.
• Assess students' presentations on consumer products for the use of visual aids, thoroughness, clarity, and interest generated.
• Assess students' graphs on the basis of clarity, accuracy, and the use of labels.
• Assess the arguments presented by students' debating teams on the basis of the number of points made, relevance, supporting arguments, appropriateness. Deduct points for inappropriateness and fallacious arguments.

Recommended Learning Resources

• Graph Wiz

• Product Testing

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