Here is an interesting coincidence. The other day, I was reading the Science Teacher article on “The Life and Work of John Snow,” with suggestions for an inquiry-based unit of study that focuses on the history and nature of science. One of the recommended websites, John Snow, is an interesting collection of resources related to his study of cholera during an 19th century epidemic in England. I poked around it for a while, looking at the fascinating period maps and other primary sources. I also logged into SciLinks and did a keyword search on disease for more related information. Later that day, my brother phoned with an invitation to attend a lecture at a local college given by Dr. Rita Colwell, the former director of the National Science Foundation. As we walked into the auditorium we were given a card with the title of her presentation–Global Climate, the Oceans, and Human Health: The Cholera Paradigm. Two references to cholera in the same week! Was this a sign?
Dr. Colwell described the occurrence of cholera in the world, her research on the subject (including how copepods are carriers) and discussed how advances in oceanography, ecology, microbiology, marine biology, epidemiology, medicine, and satellite imagery are being used to create predictive models of potential outbreaks of the disease. She also noted how a low-tech system of filtering water through cloth can reduce the incidence of this disease. If you want to fast-forward your students to a 21st century description of how cholera is being studied, try googling colwell + cholera for information on Dr. Colwell and her team’s studies.
Dr. Colwell concluded her talk summarizing science in the 21st century in two words: international and interdisciplinary. How can we bring these words to life in our classrooms?
This month’s journal has several articles that describe interdisciplinary studies – from inquiry using nematodes, food enzymes, and electrophoresis to a discussion of current taxonomy (astronomers are not the only scientists who reclassify things based on new evidence!).
As I listened to Dr. Colwell’s speech, I kept thinking of the authors’ description of Snow in the journal article–creative, courageous, pursued anomalies, and collaborative–and how this 21st century scientist exhibits these same characteristics as the 19th century one. How do our science classes help students to develop these characteristics?