COVID-19:
Science in Real Time BY MARY CHURCHILL, UPPER SCHOOL BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY TEACHER
While the COVID-19 pandemic brought unimaginable suffering, loss, and challenge around the world, for a science teacher, the virus also brought unique opportunities for learning: to be able to dive into research as it is being published, to consider topical and relevant biomedical questions, and to study immunology, public health, and disease, all of which suddenly seemed even more important than ever. Engagement in our biological science classes has been high because never before have our students been so immediately impacted by a collective crisis rooted in biology. As a teacher whose passion for teaching stems from a passion for learning, I find myself inundated with ideas for lessons, discussions, and projects for our students as I attempt to keep up with the daily news. With the help of our librarian Karlyn Strand and Dr. Doris Brown, my now-retired but former co-teacher of biology, we’ve been able to present the students with projects and lessons that teach them the science of COVID, in real time, as we live through the pandemic.
THE CLASS: 10TH-GRADE BIOLOGY History of Pandemics, Coronaviruses, Treatment and Development of COVID Vaccine In our 10th-grade Biology classes, students typically study epidemiology and disease in one of the final units of the course. In the spring of 2020, the timing for disease-related projects could not have been more relevant. We were in full distance-learning mode, everyone trying to make sense of this virus that could shut down the world. From their homes and Zoom screens, students eagerly signed up for what disease they wanted to study.
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Not surprisingly, more than half our students wanted to study COVID-19, how it affects the body, and how it might be treated. To address this high demand and interest, we divided students into teams to study related areas of interest:
• the history of pandemics (current and past) • differences and similarities between coronaviruses • treatments and development of COVID-19 vaccines • symptoms and anatomical and physiological
effects of COVID-19 on different age groups. Students researched, debated, and then reported via Google Slides and iMovies, presenting to their classmates over Zoom.
