Jasti C, Hug B, Waters JL, Whitaker RJ. How Do Small Things Make a Big Difference? Activities to Teach about Human-Microbe Interactions.
Am Biol Teach 2014;
76:601-608. [PMID:
25520526 PMCID:
PMC4266583 DOI:
10.1525/abt.2014.76.9.6]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Recent scientific studies are providing increasing evidence for how microbes living in and on us are essential to our good health. However, many students still think of microbes only as germs that harm us. The classroom activities presented here are designed to shift student thinking on this topic. In these guided inquiry activities, students investigate human-microbe interactions as they work together to interpret and analyze authentic data from published articles and develop scientific models. Through the activities, students learn and apply ecological concepts as they come to see the human body as a fascinatingly complex ecosystem.
Collapse