This fall, students in the ninth grade history/science elective Diagnosing the Modern World (DMW) have been studying pathogens and virology, a topic that has particular resonance in the world today. They have studied the epidemiology and pathology of viruses from a historical and scientific perspective, learning how viruses work, how they replicate and mutate, and how our mitigation strategies have evolved. Recently, they finished a project entitled Battle of the Pathogens, where they researched a particular pathogen and presented their findings to the class using an infographic poster. 

The project highlighted twenty different viruses, including Ebola, SARS, Zika, botulism, malaria, and typhoid Fever. DMW Teachers John Beloff and Adel Collins assigned each student a virus to research, using resources such as The National Institutes of Public Health, The World Health Organization, The International Society for Infectious Diseases, and the American Society for Microbiology. Students were required to provide an overview of the virus and its impact. They had to research the cellular composition of their pathogen and show in a labeled image its structure and shape, whether it’s considered alive, if it is unicellular or multicellular, prokaryotic or eukaryotic. They had to describe the symptoms of the virus, means of transmission, risk profile, and geographical region where their pathogen can be found. Finally, they also had to cover its prevention and treatment and the historical significance and societal impact their pathogen has had in the world. 

Students used Canva, an online design and publishing site, to create an infographic poster that includes all their research laid out in a creative and organized manner. Students presented their virus to the class, and then they did a gallery walk of all the posters. Based on virulence, regionalization, and mortality rate, they had to rank the diseases from least to most deadly and then write a paragraph explaining why they chose one pathogen as the deadliest using supporting information from its poster. Many students chose HIV because of its virulence, lack of a cure, and the difficulty of distributing treatments in sub-Saharan Africa. However, others argued that malaria and cholera, with their high death rate, historical impact, and prevalence in developing countries, make those diseases far deadlier.