Webquest

Newly Emergent Diseases

Dr. DeMarie

Columbus High School

Introduction:

You are a scientist who specializes in the study of newly emerging diseases. You have been selected to be part of a government task force that makes recommendations to the President of the United States. Your input (in the form of a public policy analysis-PPA) is critical for the formation of a policy to deal with the threat of newly emergent diseases such as SARS and West Nile disease. You will select a newly emergent disease and determine how serious the threat is, how local and the national communities can prevent this disease from occurring or deal with it after it appears to minimize the impact it will have on our communities.

In order to communicate your ideas effectively, you need to be well informed about the disease you choose. The President and his advisors can and will ask you to provide information about your disease and to defend your suggested policies.

Task:

Your study group has an important task to undertake. You must develop a convincing report for the President and high level policy makers concerning the disease you are researching and offer realistic solutions. To achieve this goal your group will use the TIPS Public Policy Analyst steps to develop your policy recommendations. Your recommendations will have to be well researched in order to be convincing – millions of lives depend upon the development of effective public policies to deal with these diseases.

Process

Your group will prepare a public policy analysis (PPA) by:

1. Select a disease and familiarize yourself with its causes, symptoms, prognosis, and treatments.

2. Prepare a written report that includes the above information on the disease and your assessment of how serious a threat it is to the USA. Your report also must include a policy you have developed to prevent the disease from entering the USA or to exterminate it, and to deal with it if it is already here and cannot be exterminated.

3. Develop a poster that would be useful for a public agency that is trying to educate people on how to prevent or deal with the disease.

4. Present your work before the class (oral presentation) and effectively explain and defend your suggested policy. All members of the group must participate for each group member to receive full credit.

Review the steps of the Public Policy Analyst (PPA). You need to follow these steps and complete all six worksheets in order to develop a rational and potentially effective policy. These steps and worksheets may be viewed at:

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/select.html

Resources:

The following links provide information on specific diseases and newly emergent diseases in general. Feel free to use links within these sites to find more information.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/ West Nile

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/ SARS

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/protection/warnings/sars/index.html SARS

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola.htm Ebola

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/monkeypox/factsheet.htm Monkeypox

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/index.htm Lyme

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/overview/disease-facts.asp Smallpox

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/anthrax_g.htm Anthrax

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/index.htm Hantavirus

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/lassaf.htm Lassa Fever

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/marburg.htm Marburg

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/chagasdisease/factsht_chagas_disease.htm Chagas Disease

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/schistosomiasis/factsht_schistosomiasis.htm Bilharzia

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/eid/index.htm Newly emerging infectious diseases

Evaluation:

Each group will receive a grade which applies to each member. Each group will be graded on their written report, presentation, and poster. The average of these three grades will be the group's (and individuals in that group) project grade.

Rubric: Point values from 1 (poor) to 4 (outstanding) are assigned for each category and then added, and an average is computed for the grade. The criteria for these point grades in each category are explained below.

Written Report:

1 2 3 4

PPA analysis	3 or less PPA steps present	5 or less steps present	All steps present, but one or more weak	All steps accounted for and done well
Research and Content	Minimal research, poor information, minimal or no policy	Some research but very weak information presented to back up policy	Research minimally sufficient to address the problem and the information supports the policy	Solid research which is evidenced by comprehensive information which strongly supports the policy
Grammar and Spelling	More than 10 errors	More than 5 errors	More than 1 error	No errors
Logical Thought and Policy Development	No originality and no or poor logical thought	Minimal originality and some logical thought	Some originality and evidence of logical thought	Originality and logical thought processes are clearly evident

Presentation:

1 2 3 4

Group dynamics	Obvious lack of participation by all group members except one	Two or more group members unable to participate in a meaningful way	One group member fails to contribute meaningfully	All group members participate fully in the presentation
Organization	Weak to none	Fair but lacking in coordination between group members	Good, showing evidence of good prior planning	Superior, shows strong evidence for prior planning and thought
Content	Weak content fails to support policy	Content sufficient to weakly support policy	Content sufficient to support policy but fails to engage other students' interest	Strong content supports policy, engages other students' interest

Poster:

1 2 3 4

Artwork	2 or less colors used, poor originality	3 colors used, fair originality	4 colors used, good originality	5 or more colors used, shows obvious originality
Content and Message	Was not clear	Message understood, but only after explanation by group member	Message and content good	Message and content clear and compelling

New York State Standards:

Science Standards:

S5c Uses evidence from reliable sources to develop descriptions, explanations, and models, and makes appropriate adjustments and improvements

S5d Proposes, recognizes, analyzes, considers, and critiques alternative explanations, and distinguishes between fact and opinion

S5f Works individually and in teams to collect and share information and ideas

S8a Demonstrates scientific competence by completing secondary research

S7a Argues from evidence

S7e Communicates in a form suited to the purpose and the audience

ELA Standard

a	Independently and habitually demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work.
b	Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness.

Conclusion:

Newly emergent diseases are a potentially serious problem which already has threatened the USA and the world. Students gain information and develop potentially effective policies to combat a newly emergent disease. In so doing students better understand the interactions between science, research, debate, and policy development which are essential in formulating national strategies to deal with contemporary and future threats to the public welfare.