Lifestyle, Choices and the Future

Module 13: Military and Defence Technology

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

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

• identify and describe the sociological, political, and economic impacts of military and defence technologies
• relate the history of military conflict to the accelerated development of specific technologies
• analyse decisions involved in the development, implementation, or use of military and defence technologies
• describe the impact of technology on war strategy
• suggest reasons why military or defence spending supports a majority of the Earth's scientific research and technological development

Suggested Instrucitonal Strategies

• Present information, using a recommended video or other means, about the changes in military technology over the past 150 years. Lead a discussion in which students discuss:
  • how a depersonalization of the "enemy" occurs through the use of technologies
  • the increased destructive power of current technologies
  • the long-term effects of military technology (e.g., biomedical warfare, environmental damage)
  • the long-term costs of military technology (e.g., dismantling land mines)
• Have small groups of students each research the recent economic and political history of a country of interest. Have each group give a class presentation to demonstrate the links among military technology, economic activity, and social change.
• Invite guest speakers (e.g., a political scientist, peace activist, military public relations officer, war veteran) to participate in a panel discussion about the various effects of military technology on society (economic, environmental) and the rationale for decisions (political, economic, cultural) made. Have students prepare and ask questions.
• Have students examine one military conflict that would have ended differently if the superior technology had been in different hands (e.g., World War II, the Gulf War, the war in Vietnam).
• Have students examine the funding for scientific research or technological development that is generated through defence budgets in North America. Follow-up with role playing or a debate regarding the societal values that support that level of research.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• Use a checklist to track students' questioning of speakers and their participation in discussions, for relevance, preparation, appropriateness, and references to history, science, or technology.
• Observe students' exploration of beliefs and values in their personal interpretations of current events (e.g., those in Bosnia, the Gulf War).
• Assess students' research reports and presentations for a variety of features, including the use of computer technology for research and presentation, the clarity of the thesis, the number of points raised, supporting details, and technological and scientific citations.
• Assess students' knowledge of military technology or history by using a short-answer quiz.

Recommended Learning Resources

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