PBL Story Lines: Based on the Frontline Video: Fighting the Nightmare Bacteria (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/hunting-the-nightmare-bacteria/)
Strand 1: Why Don't Antibiotics Work Like They Used To? Story of Addie. (Frontline video--Part 1.) A girl has become sick with a bacterial infection. Even though she is treated with antibiotics, she does not improve. In fact, she continues to worsen as the infection continues to spread. What is making her so sick and why are the antibiotics not working? Students will explore the different agents of infection (bacteria, viruses, protists, fungi), the chain of infection, and the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance. To understand these concepts, students develop models on the evolution of bacteria and develop bacteria experiments to provide evidence of natural selection. Students will conduct research to develop content knowledge to apply to their website design challenge. They will document evidence on their website to provide information to the public about making positive health choices (using antibiotics appropriately, reduce contamination sources, vaccines etc.) *Adapted from NGSS Storylines: Addie Evolution iHub Biology
Strand 2: Living in a world without antibiotics and vaccines. (Frontline video--part 2.) Student pair up to decide on a historically significant infectious disease to study. Diseases chosen should include a diversity of types of infectious agents, and different chains of infection. The students' background research should be logged digitally as part of their powerpoint presentations in IDT. Partway along, groups come together into groups of 4, to develop websites. The strand should introduce medical ethics, patient rights, etc. as part of chain of infection containment. (Websites should include historical significance, symptoms, chain of infection, breaking the chain, current and future situation.)