Teachers' Notes:
Syllabus Links
Biology |
| Key Concepts |
| 2, 3, 5, 6 |
| Key Ideas |
| 4, 5, 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 25 |
Marine Studies |
| Core Topics |
| 6, 7 |
Description:
Disease Detectives highlights the research of leading marine biologist Dr Rob Adlard into QX disease in Sydney Rock Oysters. It has had a devastating effect on the $30 million a year industry, with death rates of over 95 percent of oysters in some estuaries. Dr Adlard has pioneered the use of the DNA analysis technique polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in testing for the disease which has improved disease control. His research and some of his laboratory techniques form the content of Disease Detectives.
Pedagogy:
Disease Detectives has been designed with constructivist pedagogy in mind. Students are encouraged to construct knowledge and improve understanding in the following ways:
- to actively engage in learner-centred inquiry by making predictions in the Background Activities
- to summarise and collect their own evidence in experiments
- to communicate findings, which should be supported by data
- to link some of these explanations to knowledge.
Some modelling of the introductory material by teachers will improve understanding.
Unit Outline:
This unit will take at least 5 weeks. Its activities are organised from simple to more advanced and include the following:
Rob's Lab
Rob's Lab is an interactive activity with a quiz that covers the introductory aspects of QX disease. Students should be encouraged to become a Disease Detective by reviewing the material in Rob's Lab to achieve a better score in the quiz.
Case Studies in Disease Detection
These activities investigate in more detail Dr Adlard's surveillance of oysters in south-east Australia for QX disease, and his development of PCR as a disease-detection tool. They are specifically designed for senior biology students.
Student Activities
In these activities students use and analyse Dr Adlard's field and laboratory methods and data he has collected.
Laboratory Activities
Laboratory activities will improve students' understanding of oyster biology, and DNA extraction and analysis, and should be done. All laboratory activities have been tested. In these activities, any chemicals used are either readily available or can be bought from chemical suppliers. Hemacolorª with Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) code 1.116734B is not hazardous or toxic.
Sydney Rock Oysters have a long shelf life of two weeks, and can be kept in a cool place after buying, before being dissected. They can be purchased from seafood outlets. Students can practise the oyster dissection in Rob's Lab before they attempt it in real life.
Assessment:
An Extended Response Task for senior biology (ERT, see QSA Senior Syllabus 2004) is provided. It contains a pathway for undertaking scientific research that provides a good basis for scientific research in Extended Experimental Investigations in biology. The outline schema provided can be modified for school use.