Outbreak!: Scenario-Based Instruction in Microbiology

 

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2013, Volume 34

Jan Blom, Angela M. Seliga, Xiaojuan Khoo, Matthew Walker, & Nathan Rycroft

Abstract

With recent outbreaks of swine flu and the emergence of superbugs, it is important to introduce students to the organisms responsible for infectious diseases and how easily they are spread. In this scenario-based learning (SBL) module, students will take part in a simulated epidemic and model the outbreak of an unknown pathogen. Through a six-part series of guided investigations, students will identify the "pathogen" responsible for the epidemic using simple microbiological assays and determine the best treatment to eradicate the pathogen. At ABLE, two of these activities were presented, as well as the development of this module.

Keywords:  infectious disease, synthetic epidemic, antibiotic testing, bacterial morphology, bacterial physiology

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2012)