MedMyst III: Infectious Diseases Materials for Middle School Students

描述(由申请者提供)：MedMyst III将创建基于网络的游戏，以有效地吸引中学生参与科学，并展示目前由NIAID资助的传染病研究。从事科学工作的兴奋感和多样化的科学职业机会将是冒险游戏的关键要素。内容将与国家科学标准(国家研究理事会，1996)和美国科学促进会保持一致 科学素养基准(AAAS，1993)使中学教师能够轻松地将游戏和随之而来的动手活动纳入现有的科学课程。主要目标是： 1)通过强调“发现控制连续体”的创新游戏形式，将当前关于新出现疾病的科学研究转化为新出现的疾病； 2)包括与选定传染病的病因有关的历史方面； 3)提高学生的科学知识和批判性思维/解决问题的能力； 4)吸引不同背景和能力的学生进入生物科学。 5)通过讲习班和出版物广泛传播MedMyst材料。 这些材料将在几个设计阶段进行测试，以确保对学习产生积极影响，并计划在最后一年在广大学生中进行全面的实地测试。教师培训部分是传播计划的一个战略部分。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): MedMyst III will create web-based games to effectively engage middle school students in science and present current NIAID-funded research on infectious diseases. The excitement of doing science and the variety of science career opportunities will be key elements in the adventure games. The content will be aligned to the National Science Standards (National Research Council, 1996) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993) enabling middle school teachers to easily incorporate the games and the accompanying hands-on activities into existing science curriculum. The primary goals are to: 1) Translate current scientific research about emerging diseases through an innovative game format that emphasizes the "discovery to control continuum"; 2) Include relevant historical aspects regarding the etiologies of selected infectious diseases; 3) Improve students' science content knowledge and critical-thinking/problem solving skills; 4) Attract students with diverse backgrounds and abilities to the biological sciences. 5) Widely disseminate MedMyst materials through workshops and publications. The materials will be tested in several design phases to ensure a positive impact on learning, with a comprehensive field test conducted among a broad student population scheduled during the final year. A teacher training component is a strategic part of the dissemination plan.