The Science of COVID-19

• Published in: The Science teacher (National Science Teachers Association) Vol. 90; no. 3; pp. 12 - 16
• Main Authors: Johnson, Matthew, Lewis, Tiffany, Martin, Kit, Cesare, Amber, Schmitt, Anthony, Lengerich, Eugene, Bittner, Kristin, Divyak, Chris
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis Ltd 01.01.2023
• Subjects: Bioinformatics; COVID-19; Learning; Science Teachers; Secondary School Teachers; Students; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Viruses
• ISSN: 0036-8555; 1943-4871
• DOI: 10.1080/00368555.2023.12294201

Despite Steven Shapin's urging that science ought to include a "warts and all" picture of the process of knowledge making (1992, p. 28), students rarely get the chance to look closely at the methods, assumptions, and evolving nature of the field's understanding of phenomena. [...]nine secondary science teachers from a diverse set of geographical, content, and demographic contexts pilot tested the course. After verifying through multiple methods that there are significant similarities between the unknown virus and the SARS-CoV virus, students then use a more sophisticated bioinformatics tool known as the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST; Figure 2, right). The students use JMOL simulations (Figure 3) to clearly see the importance of virologists in understanding basic life science crosscutting concepts like the relationship between structure and function and the disciplinary core ideas surrounding mutation and natural selection.