MEDMYST II: Middle School Infectious Disease Materials

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Through a previous R25 Education grant, innovative materials to teach middle school students about infectious diseases and the microbes that cause them was developed. The product has come to be known as MEDMYST. The MEDMYST materials currently consist of: a) web adventures; b) classroom activities; and c) MEDMYST Magazines--all delivered via the Internet and designed to engage students in problem-solving activities not likely to be encountered elsewhere. Each of these components is available free of charge on the web site (http://medmyst.rice.edu) and all components are aligned with the National Science Education Content Standards. Based upon the success of this model, an expansion of the current materials to include new topics is proposed. The work of MEDMYST II will include: (1) translating the three current MEDMYST web adventures into Spanish; (2) creating two new MEDMYST web adventures and accompanying materials; (3) conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy of the new MEDMYST materials and the Teacher Institutes; and (4) expanding the reach of MEDMYST by aggressively seeking links from other web sites, sponsoring Teacher Institutes, and publishing research data on all aspects of the project. To accomplish these goals, we have formed a partnership with infectious disease specialists from Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas Health Science Center, the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston and classroom teachers from three states.