Chapter 5 Drugs of the Future

by Donna M. Brinton, Christine Holten, and Jodi L. Nooyen

Background | Classroom Applications | Internet Resources | Appendices

 

Classroom Applications

Medicine is changing at a rapid rate as a result of the new knowledge of the human genome. It is important for students to know how drugs and treatments are changing and will continue to change. The following lesson provides a basic introduction to this topic.

Preliminary Lesson Planning

Materials:

• Prepare copies of the student handouts as follows: for Appendix B, one handout for each group of students; for Appendix C, one copy of Handouts 2 and 3 for each student in the class; and for Appendix D, one handout for each pair of students.
  
  
• If available, bring relevant visuals to assist student comprehension (for example, photos of pills, hypodermic needles, laboratory rats, the brain, the heart, or other suitable items).

• For the Cool Down Activity, bring enough overhead transparencies or large sheets of paper and pens for each group in the class.

Student Grouping:

• Decide on procedures for pairing or grouping students for each activity (see suggestions below). It is recommended that groups have no more than six participants.
  
  
• For most activities, you should group students heterogeneously-either by language proficiency level or, in those activities where language is less of an issue, by expertise (i.e., how much group members know about the topic). In other activities, you may wish to group randomly. In classes where students have varied first language backgrounds, it is important to mix students from different backgrounds in the same group.

Vocabulary:

• Before teaching the lesson, preview the glossary items and select those items that need to be taught before you begin the lesson (that is, those that are absolutely essential for introducing and understanding the topic). These will probably include synonyms for words such as drugs (medicine, treatment, pills, tablets, shots); disease (illness, sickness, condition); cure (make better, help, improve); and experiment (test, trial, try out).
  
  

Warm Up Activity (approximately 20 minutes)

Purpose:

• To encourage students to think creatively
  
  
• To allow students to discuss ideas from other sources (e.g., television, movies, science fiction)
  
  
• To provide an opportunity for students to speak in pairs or small groups

Procedures:

1. Tell students that they will be creating a futuristic, science fiction method for curing a disease.
   
   
2. To set the scene, ask students if they have ever seen a science fiction movie or TV program, or read a science fiction novel or short story, in which people are cured using methods from the future.
   
   
3. Divide the class into groups of three to five students. The total number of groups will depend on the number of students in the class. Give each group an overhead transparency or large piece of paper and a marker. Have each group appoint a secretary and a spokesperson.
   
   
4. Have students brainstorm both the disease they will cure and the futuristic method of treatment. Tell them to illustrate their cure on the transparency or a large piece of paper.
   
   
5. Ask for student groups to volunteer to present their imaginary cures for real diseases. Ask the spokesperson for each group to explain in more detail the disease and the procedure for the cure.

Transition from Warm Up to Activities

Explain to students that, having imagined futuristic cures, they are now ready to learn about differences between traditional medicine and cures based on scientists' knowledge of the human genome.

Activity 1 (approximately 20 minutes)

Purpose:

• To activate students' background knowledge about traditional medicine
  
  
• To provide new information about genomic medicine
  
  
• To allow students to organize information using a compare/contrast format

Procedures:

1. Divide the class into groups of two to five students. The total number of groups will depend on the number of students in the class. Give each group a copy of Handout 1 (see Appendix B).
   
   
2. Explain to students that their task is to match the information in column 1 about traditional medicine with the corresponding information in column 2 about genomic medicine.
   
   
3. When all groups have completed the task, ask for volunteers to talk about their answers (see Appendix B for the answer key.)

 

Activity 2 (approximately 60 minutes)

Purpose:

• To promote students' speaking ability
  
  
• To provide students with various viewpoints on an issue

Procedures:

1. Divide students into groups of three or six.
   
   
2. Distribute Handout 2 (see Appendix C). Tell students that they will be participating
   in a role play about a patient who could be treated with experimental genomic
   drugs to cure a life-threatening disease.
   
   
3. Ask students to read the two scenarios and select one for their role play.
   
   
4. Distribute Handout 3 (see Appendix C). Have students assign each member of
   their group a role in either Role Play 1 or Role Play 2.
   
   
5. Allow students 15-20 minutes to discuss and prepare their role play.
   
   
6. Ask for volunteers to perform the role play for the class. If the class is very large and time is limited, have only the volunteers perform the role play. If the class is smaller and time is available, all students can be asked to perform.
   
   
7. Read aloud the actual outcomes of the two scenarios (see Appendix C) and allow time for students to comment.

Activity 3 (approximately 30-40 minutes)

Purpose:

• To familiarize students with genomic treatments and drugs
  
  
• To give students an opportunity to read for key information about new genomic treatments
  
  
• To expose students to topic-related vocabulary
  
  
• To promote exchange of key information

Procedures:

1. For this jigsaw reading activity, divide students into four "expert" groups. The total numbers in each group will depend on the total number of students in the class. Assign each group a letter designation (A, B, C, or D). With a large class, you can create multiple groups for each letter.
   
   
2. Give each group a copy of Handout 1 (see Appendix D) that corresponds to their letter designation. Instruct students to do the following:
   a. Have one person in your group read aloud the information about the new genomic treatment. Take notes on important information.
   b. Agree as a group on the important pieces of information. Add any additional information to your notes.
   
   
3. Regroup students into new groups that contain four students, one from each of the previous expert groups. If the total number of students in class is not divisible by four, distribute the remaining students evenly among the groups.
   
   
4. Distribute copies of Handout 2 for Activity 3 (see Appendix E).
   
   
5. Have students share the information from their notes to fill in the grid.
   
   
6. Elicit responses from the group on the blackboard (see Appendix E for sample answers).
   
   
7. As a whole class, consider the cases of smart pills and fat pills. Together, brainstorm the advantages and disadvantages of these new genomic drugs.

Cool Down Activity (approximately 10 minutes)

Purpose:

• To review applications of genomic medicine
  
  
• To elicit student reactions to the best uses of this new medical technology
  
  
• To provide an open-ended speaking activity

Procedures:

1. On the blackboard, draw a chart listing diseases and their rankings (see Appendix F for a sample blackboard layout).
   
   
2. Divide the class into groups of four or five students. Explain that they will be deciding as a group the most important and least important uses of genomic medicine.
   
   
3. Ask students to copy the blackboard chart into their notebooks.
   
   
4. Have each student individually assign a ranking (1 = most important; 12 = least important) to each disease listed. If they wish, they can add two other diseases that they personally believe to be important.
   
   
5. Have group members discuss their individual rankings and arrive at a collaborative agreement on the top five diseases they believe to be most important.
   
   
6. Ask one member from each group to list their top five on the blackboard. Group members should be prepared to provide reasons for their choices.
   
   
7. Make a blackboard tally of the diseases students think are top priorities for genomic researchers.

Possible Extensions to Lesson

1. For the Warm Up Activity, if students have done the activity on large sheets of paper, these drawings can be posted on the walls of the classroom. Have each group write a short explanation of their treatment and post this written explanation with the illustration. As an alternative, instead of preparing a written explanation, a spokesperson for each group can stand next to the group's drawing. All other students circulate around the room, asking the spokespersons to explain the groups' futuristic treatments.
   
   
2. As homework for Activity 1, assign students to find an article or an Internet site on genomic medicine, locate one additional fact about genomic medicine, and write a short paragraph about this fact.
   
   
3. As an in-class writing activity following Activity 2, ask students to do a "quickwrite" in which they discuss whether they would be willing to undergo an experimental medical treatment. Allow about 15-20 minutes for students to put their ideas on paper.
   
   
4. A second alternative for Activity 2, as homework, is to have students write a dialogue between the different parties in the role play that they participated in.
   
   
5. For the Cool Down activity, divide the class into 10 equal groups, assigning each group a disease to defend. Each group should spend several minutes discussing reasons why the cure for their disease should be given top priority. They are then given the chance to present their reasons in a debate format.

Refer to the websites listed in the next section of this chapter for more information and lesson planning ideas.

 

 

 

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