Science Curriculum Preview Committee Clarification of Learning Results

Revised 07/01/04

9-12

M6: Research issues that illustrate the effects of technological imbalances and suggest some solutions.

Curriculum Organizing Questions

  • Where is the technological imbalance in this issue?
  • Suggest some solutions to this technological imbalance?
Elaboration

Students need to become aware of the growing number of ways in which each nation is part of larger political, economic, military, environmental, biological, and technological systems. Benchmarks p. 175.

The study of geographical differences in climate and natural resources will make the advantage of trade evident. benchmarks p.177.

Specific Ideas

  • Social and economic forces strongly influence which technologies will be developed and used. Which will prevail is affected by many factors, such as personal values, consumer acceptance, patent laws, the availability of risk capital, the federal budget, local and national regulations, media attention, economic competition, and tax incentives. Benchmarks 3C1.
  • The wealth of a country depends partly on the effort and skills of its workers, its natural resources, and the capital and technology available to it. It also depends on the balance between how much its products are sought by other nations and how much of other nations products it seeks. Even if a country could produce everything it needs for itself, it would still benefit from trade with other countries.Benchmarks 7G1.
  • Trade between nations occurs when natural resources are unevenly distributed and the costs of production are very different in different countries. A nation has a trade opportunity whenever it can create more of a product or service at lower cost than another. Benchmarks 7G1 (6-8).
  • The major ways to promote economic health are to encourage technological development, to increase the quantity or quality of a nation's productive resources -- more or better-trained workers, better equipment and methods -- and to engage in trade with other nations. Benchmarks 7G2 (6-8).
Developmental & Instructional Implications

The term "technological imbalance" is not clearly defined in the literature.

Examples

Back to Big Ideas Grid M
Back to Standard M
Back to Index