When and why to play Democs
In this activity, students are asked to take the role of science ministers and work in groups to find out more about nanotechnologies, explore the key social and ethical issues, and vote on how, if at all, they feel decision makers should control development in this area.
The activity could be used in biology, chemistry, physics, sociology, citizenship or PSHE lessons, or as a cross-curricular activity based on contributions from all of these subjects.
Learning goals
By the end of the activity, students should have had an opportunity to:
- Find out more about nanoscience
- Learn about, think and reflect on the key social and ethical issues surrounding nanotechnologies
- Develop their skills of communication, emotional literacy, decision making and working with others
The activity provides students with an opportunity to develop opinions, explore a range of options and negotiate with others. It also encourages students to step into another person’s shoes and to understand the topic from a different perspective. - Contribute to the wider debate
One of the main objectives of Democs is to enable people to influence decision making. The voting from each Democs game is returned to the new economics foundation (nef), a registered charity, collated and displayed on their website. Results can be used to influence local or national decision making. How these views are used depends on the topic. nef is proactive in sharing anonymised Democs results with decision makers, e.g. the Democs kit on GM food was used as part of the 'GM Nation?' debate in 2003. Knowing that their views can make a difference motivates people.
Collated results for this activity will also be uploaded here to enable students to compare their opinions with those of other schools and colleges.