Workshop Detail: Monday, July 20, 2009

(6-8): MedMyst: Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology
presented by Leslie Miller, Ph.D. (Rice University), Lynn Lauterbach, M.S. (Middle School Teacher)
Curriculum Developed by Rice University Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning with grants from NCCR and NIAID, National Institutes of Health

Explore the world of pathogens! Play the role of a scientific team member in the year 2254 and solve medical mysteries that plague the city of Neuropolis through the online web adventure, MedMyst. This free website integrates technology, microbiology, health practices and critical-thinking skills for middle school students.

The MedMyst web site has won numerous awards and is linked from many science resource sites such as MarcoPolo and MicrobeWorld. It has been selected as “site of the week” by organizations such as the Exploratorium and the Washington Times. MedMyst consists of four different web adventures. Each interactive adventure is accompanied by:

  • Hands-on activities
  • MedMyst magazines for reading in the content area
  • Links to related web sites

There’s been an outbreak of a diarrheal disease in refugees camps outside Neuropolis. What’s the cause? How can we stop it? So begins the episode of Peril in Prokaryon. Similarly, in Malady in Mabuufo, the team is transported to Africa to quell an outbreak of malaria. Within each mission, games such as:

  • Germ Blaster
  • Mosquito Massacre
  • Koch’s Concepts
  • and Infect-o-rama
address science content and process skills, through fun, yet effective learning. In this workshop, participants will actually play several of the Missions, as well as use inquiry methods in activities such as:
  • Disease Detectives
  • Super Agent
  • Creepy Critters
  • and Outbreak! Simulation

Trainers -

Leslie Miller, Ph.D. is Executive Director of the Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning at Rice University. She has been developing science curriculum materials for over 20 years. Her recent research focuses on the impact of games on learning. Her articles have appeared in The Science Teacher, Microbiology Education, Cell Biology, and Multimedia education publications. For more information, visit the CTTL.RICE.EDU site

Lynn Lauterbach has taught both high school and middle school students. Most of her career has been spent as a middle school science and health teacher. Building on her experiences as a classroom teacher, curriculum coordinator, and teacher trainer allows her to present classroom options that will engage students with hands-on activities and technology-based web adventure games.

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Community Outreach and Education Program of The Center for Research on Environmental Disease

©2009 The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Center for Research on Environmental Disease
1808 Park Road 1C, Smithville, TX, 78957
512-237-6407, coep@mdanderson.org

Summer Institute, a component of the MIDAS Project, is supported by a
Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center
for Research Resources (Grant No. R25 RR018634)