This document outlines a proposed 8-day unit for a middle school STEM class called Medical Detectives about COVID-19. The unit aims to take advantage of students' interest in the current pandemic. It incorporates authentic learning experiences like a guest speaker from healthcare and activities like diagnosing simulated patient cases. Students work in groups to research COVID-19 and other illnesses, then create and present educational materials on the virus. Formative and summative assessments gauge learning. The goal is to use students' real-world experiences and knowledge of the pandemic to teach science concepts in a meaningful way.

1. COVID-19:
Life and Classroom Lessons
Tim Norris
American College of Education

2. Introduction
The current world pandemic, due to COVID-19, has presented me
with the most teachable moments of my 30 year career. Over the
past several weeks, my students and I watched and discussed the
statistics as they changed and kept up with fact-checking the
current situation on an almost daily basis. You see, the current
class that I teach is a middle school STEM class called Medical
Detectives. The overall theme of the class is based on students
discovering how medical professionals diagnose and treat patients
who have a mystery disease. The culminating project is actually
called “Outbreak!” where we take on the role of a medical team
investigating a mysterious outbreak in a community.

3. Introduction - continued
A lot of the activities we do in the class reflect what is currently
going on in the world but just on smaller scale. Students who
usually have very little interest in school and academic discussions
have been enthusiastically joining and sometimes starting these
conversations about COVID-19. For my ACE Original
Contribution, I want to find a way to take advantage of this
authentic opportunity and formalize a unit using the skills and
outcomes that I have learned through ACE’s STEM Leadership
program. I want to take advantage of my current students’ interest
in this subject as well as my future students who will bring their own
experiences and knowledge of this disease to my classroom.

4. Authentic Learning
“Authentic assessment, also called performance based
assessment, is designed to help students participate
actively in real-life tasks and problem solving to teach
them skills which they will be able to use throughout
their lives” (Myers, 2019a). I have discovered that
authentic assessments and lessons are much more
motivating to students. As I stated earlier, I have never
seen students so engaged with a real-world subject as
they have been with COVID-19.

5. Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes for this unit:
• Solve a problem using analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Design and conduct an experiment that investigates a question.
• Collect and analyze medical evidence to draw conclusions.
• Analyze health and disease data to identify the source of a disease outbreak.
• Collaborate effectively on a diverse and multi-disciplinary team.
• Communicate effectively for specific purposes and settings.

6. The Unit
This unit will include many of the strategies
and outcomes that I learned throughout the
STEM Leadership program. They include
cooperative learning, action research,
assessment, integration, diversity, and use of
technology.

7. Day 1 - Community Connection
A local healthcare professional will be asked to come talk to the
students. I will strive to bring in a speaker from a diverse
background to be seen as role model for diverse students.
“When students have the opportunity to interact and engage with
successful STEM professionals who look like them or come from
similar backgrounds, they begin to see themselves as successful
STEM professionals, too” (Hutton, 2019, p. 17). They will discuss
their experience with COVID-19 and the science behind some of
the decisions made during the pandemic. They will also discuss
ways that they diagnose and treat patients.

8. Day 2 - Formative Assessments
Students will take a pre-assessment to determine
previous knowledge and misconceptions. Teacher will
lead a discussion to further gauge students’ knowledge.
“Formative assessments are generally considered part
of the instructional process and are intended to provide
information needed to help instructors adjust their
instruction and help students learn while instruction is
occurring” (Myers, 2019b). Students will be put into
groups according to strengths .

9. Day 3 - Outbreak Story and
Research
Student groups will view outbreak story (news video) of
COVID-19. They will research and document symptoms of
COVID-19, the flu, the common cold, and allergies on a graphic
organizer and discuss similarities and differences and use this
organizer to help them diagnose their patients. “Graphic
organizers serve as a visual framework that offers teachers
and students multiple and differentiated opportunities to
utilize a tool to develop concepts, organize language, and
better understand subjects, in order to apply information to
achieve a variety of purposes and outcomes” (Link, 2019).

10. Day 4 - Case Files
Student groups will receive case files and
interview patients (patients have scripts with pre-
determined answers matching their illnesses).
Groups will receive patients with different
symptoms and illnesses and must determine who
has which illness. If a patient is determined to
have symptoms for COVID-19, a recommendation
to test the patient will be given to the teacher.

11. Day 5 - Testing Lab
Students will use toxin kit to test for positive
or negative results for COVID-19 patients.

12. Day 6 - Create Presentations
Students will research COVID-19 (proper research methods
had already been taught in an earlier lesson). They will create
a presentation product of their choice. “Student-centered
classrooms personalize curriculum by allowing students to
have some choice and control over the learning
process” (Seaver, 2019, p. 110). The teacher will offer several
products (slide show presentation, pamphlet, brochure,
children’s book) to choose with materials to use for products.
Students will include history, symptoms, statistics, treatment,
and prevention ideas for COVID-19.

13. Day 7 - Present and Create
Summative
Groups who made products to present to class
will present. Students will help develop
summative assessment from what they have
learned. “Summative assessments are intended
to summarize what students have learned and
occur after instruction has been completed at
the end of a predetermined point in time or
instructional component” (Meyers, 2019b).

14. Day 8 - Summative Assessment
Students will take summative assessment.

15. Conclusion
All students that I have this year and in the coming years will bring with
them their own experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic into the classroom.
I can use these authentic experiences to teach students science concepts
from research to experimental design. Using the students’ different
experiences, I can differentiate my lessons to build on their previous
knowledge. “Differentiated instruction embraces these differences and
creates learning opportunities that are respectful of student individuality
and uniqueness” (Loeser, 2019). The impact that this pandemic has had
on the world will resonate for years to come and just happens to correlate
perfectly with my class of Medical Detectives. Hopefully, this will inspire
some of students to seriously consider a future career in the healthcare
field.

16. References
Hutton, C. (2019). Using Role Models to Increase Diversity in STEM. Technology and
Engineering Teacher, 79(3), 16–19.
Link, S. (2019). Graphic Organizers. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Loeser, J. W. (2019). Differentiated Instruction. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Myers, S. (2019a). Authentic Assessment. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Myers, S. (2019b). Formative and Summative Assessments. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Seaver, M. (2019). Student Choice Equals Student Engagement. Virginia English Journal,
69(1), 110–112.