Introduction
Vaccines are the only intervention that has eradicated an infectious disease from planet Earth. Perhaps there has been no bigger leap in terms of public health than the widespread introduction of vaccines. Despite this, there are controversies and disbelief surrounding the effective and safe use of vaccines. Building a deeper understanding of the science behind vaccination will allow students to understand important biological functions, and by examining the benefits, costs, and controversies surrounding vaccines, students will gain insight while building critical thinking skills.
In today’s world, “fake news” has run amok. Whether in the realm of politics or wild rumors about celebrities or fad diets, no area of modern life seems to be free from the plague of bad information shouting down good information. We find ourselves in an increasingly scientific and technologically driven society, but unfortunately, science is not exempt from the plague of bad information and nonsense. The need for scientific literacy is critical.
We often discuss literacy as educators, and often we even speak of the need for scientific literacy in particular. What I propose for this unit is to teach information literacy that will apply to specific scientific instances, but more importantly, students engaging with this unit will come away with information literacy they can apply in any classroom – and in life.
Who the Unit Serves
As a middle school science teacher at Central Junior High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I have taught both 7th and 8th grade science. Moving full time to 7th grade science has opened up a great opportunity to dive deeper into the biology component of the 7th grade science course.
7th Graders at Central Junior High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma are vibrant, hilarious and insatiably curious learners who crave meaningful, engaging content. Providing that content will hopefully lead to a lifelong love of learning. The diverse student population at Central Junior High come to us at all levels, with a significant portion arriving with gaps in knowledge and different learning strengths and challenges. To reach them, I work to create a variety of learning tasks and endeavor to make learning fun and interesting.
As a teacher in Oklahoma, I have seen the devastating consequences of budget cuts on classrooms and on students. A large part of the challenge is the loss of high quality experienced teachers to other states where pay and working conditions are better. Thus, I am motivated to create this unit to help all teachers get quality content to students, but especially teachers who work in challenging circumstances.
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