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Epidemiology in the Classroom
» How to Investigate an Outbreak
Suggestions for Classroom Use
At a minimum,
before beginning a case study, students will need to know the basic
scientific steps for investigating an outbreak. We recommend that teachers
prepare for presenting an exercise by reading the case study section by
section and attempting to answer the questions before reviewing the answer
key. Here are some classroom approaches that have worked well:
To Present a case study
- Divide the
class into small work groups of five to ten students. Ask each group
to assign a facilitator, a recorder, and a reporter.
- Hand out Part I
and call on individual students from the class at large to read the
narrative and questions out loud.
- Then have
students work in their small groups to answer the questions.
- Finally, have
the groups report their responses to the whole class.
- Move through
the remaining sections in the same fashion.
Note that to avoid
giving away answers, you should give students the parts of a case study
sequentially, as indicated. The slides related to the case study could be
shown during the work session or used in a wrap-up session.
To Evaluate What Students Have Learned
- Use
traditional testing on specific knowledge points regarding epidemiology
and outbreak investigation
- Use the sample
problems and the national event problems found in Science
Olympiad.
To enrich your class' study
- Invite
local experts to speak to the class. These could include a public health
official from the local health department, a physician specializing in
infectious diseases, or an infection control nurse from a local
hospital.
- Introduce
students to the MMWR, CDC's weekly publication featuring breaking news
in national and international health.
- Have students
access the articles found in Careers in
Epidemiology and read, report on, and discuss them.
- Have students
read The Hot Zone, The Cobra Event, or other health-related literature.
- Show the movie
Outbreak.
- Assign reports
from materials found in the menu pick More
Resources.
- Have students
research the pioneers of public health, such as John Snow, John Graunt,
and William Farr.
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