I use the same lab for several different courses with slightly different twists to it. It has always been highly effective. Its a lab where students mimic the spread of HIV by indiscriminately sharing 'body fluids' with others of the same and different genders. One unidentified tube has a substance that will react to a testing reagent. As they share fluids with each other this substances spreads across the student population. We then try to trace it back to the original source. It is always fun and successful in teaching the concepts of epidemiology and a lead in for discussions about HIV, and safe sex. It also gets the point across that a virus, like HIV, can spread extremely fast & easily in relatively closed populations. The smaller the population of the class, the faster and more completely it spreads.
A poorly effectively activity I used was to demonstrate the process of gel electrophoresis as a way of understanding one way that molecular information can be obtained. There was no by-in to this and it wasn't meaningful. I tossed the demonstration then had them do the process themselves as part of a lab that also allowed them to isolate their own DNA from their saliva.
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2 comments:
can you assess why
"there was on by-in?" Regardless, I think sometimes instructors don't "get it" when students don't buy in to an activity or an idea, and they aren't willing to ditch the project soon enough.... often due to ego?
I appreciate that you didn't let your ego interfere with your students' learning!
The HIV activity sounds exciting and meaningful. Could be utilized in all types of learning situations, I think, for students of all ages.
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