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West Nile Virus: Using Adapted Primary Literature in Mathematical Biology to Teach Scientific and Mathematical Reasoning in High School

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Abstract

This paper promotes the use of adapted primary literature as a curriculum and instruction innovation for use in high school. Adapted primary literature is useful for promoting an understanding of scientific and mathematical reasoning and argument and for introducing modern science into the schools. We describe a prototype adapted from a published article on a mathematical model of the spread of the West Nile virus in North America. The prototype is available as a web-based resource that includes supplemental pedagogical units. Preliminary feedback from use of the prototype in two classrooms is described and a sketch of an ongoing formal evaluation is provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research in Youth, Science Teaching and Learning, University of Alberta, 7-104 Education North, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G5, Canada

    Stephen P. Norris & John S. Macnab

  2. Centre for Mathematical Biology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Marjorie Wonham & Gerda de Vries

Authors
  1. Stephen P. Norris
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  2. John S. Macnab
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  3. Marjorie Wonham
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  4. Gerda de Vries
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Correspondence to Stephen P. Norris.

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Norris, S.P., Macnab, J.S., Wonham, M. et al. West Nile Virus: Using Adapted Primary Literature in Mathematical Biology to Teach Scientific and Mathematical Reasoning in High School. Res Sci Educ 39, 321–329 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-008-9112-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-008-9112-y

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