Be a Shrewd Chooser

In this Shell Centre activity, students research and provide expert consumer advice for clients in their class.

Students listen to a radio show on audiotape which contains a number of interviews with people who have just bought different items, and an interview with two students who have been involved in producing a consumer report on choosing orange drinks. As students reflect on and analyse the tape and the report, they begin to consider important factors that are taken into account when making a choice and different methods of making consumer decisions.

Groups now begin to work on their consumer report. They have to choose an item and decide on their research aims and methods. They will be involved in conducting surveys, writing questionnaires and carrying out experiments in the classroom. They will also be considering how best to present their findings. This could involve posters and oral presentations in addition to written reports.

All the written reports are circulated around the other groups, and any group making an oral presentation does so. The reports are evaluated by the rest of the class, and then each group improves its own report taking into account these comments.

• URL: http://stem.org.uk/rxcs