Development, trade and aid

3. How to measure development

Required Resources

• Student Worksheet 1
• Access to the internet
• Slides 12-16

Delivery

• Explain that there are many ways of measuring a country's success and that they are going to explore three methods. Use Slides 8-16 to introduce Gross National Product (GNP), the Human Development Index (HDI) and rate of population growth.
• Divide the class into groups of three and ask them to fill in the table on Student Worksheet 2a-b. Each student in the group should choose one of the methods of measuring development outlined above and conduct research into the level of development in several different countries. Students should record the most recent figures for their selected method and work out how much this has changed between 2005 and the present day. (Note: It may be difficult to find all information for the same date so students may have to find the figures for the closest date which they can.)
• Students should then discuss their findings with the other members of their group and write one sentence outlining each country's most significant development since 2005, taking into account the findings from all three measures of development.
• Conduct a class discussion to decide which measure of development provides the most convincing / comprehensive result.

Differentiation

Lower Ability:

Mixed ability groups will aid differentiation.

Higher Ability:

Higher ability students could be asked to write a short paragraph drawing comparisons between the findings for the three different methods of measuring development for one country. They should explain which method they think indicates the most about the country's development and what it indicates.