The Diabetic Dilemma Lynne El-Amin Waheed Anna Farkas Mercy Kurian IIT Research Mentor: Ali Cinar This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant No. EEC Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Overview The module consists of two units comprising: 1.Introduction and background understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of cellular metabolism, homeostasis, diabetes, nutrition, and energy balance 2.Work on interactive scenarios and glucosim Work on wellness program and nutrition program. Student PowerPoint presentations of scenario findings and results

Module Feedback Summary ItemStrongly AgreeAgreeNeutral Would interest teachers22 Would interest students4 Improve subject understanding13 Connection to standards31 Engineering design4 Inquiry121 Ethics31

Pre-Test/Post-Test Data Module Content# correct pretest of ten students # correct posttest of ten students # enhancing knowledge (comparison of pretest/posttest responses) Learning Hierarchy Nucleus561Fact retention Ribosomes154Fact retention Mitochondria396Fact retention Chloroplasts154Fact retention Cell Membrane583Fact retention Cellular energy385Understanding/Application Diabetic Symptoms98Understanding Diabetic diagnosis770Understanding Diabetic Complications462Understanding/Processing Function of Insulin693Analysis/Deduction Diabetic Food Choices2108Understanding Technology53-2Analysis/Deduction

Module Feedback “Activities were solid and students did very well with concrete work. The model was more abstract so they will need it over more days and possibly with specific activities for learning.” “The presentation was very well organized and well executed. I learned a lot about diabetes and I now have resources I can share with my class.”

Engineering Design Students designed a management program for their assigned patient. Students used technology to input their choices and investigate the results.

Inquiry Introduction of Problem – Dilemma: Two scenarios of individuals with diabetes First Scenario: Description of student recently diagnosed with diabetes Format Given – Personal Letter Websites with information to pull from. Second Scenario: Randomly selected scenario Designing management program (meals, exercise program and insulin doses) Manipulating variables using graphs of blood glucose level

Ethics Inclusion of ethical quote: htttp:// /glucosim

Ethics Students wrote letter to “Randall:” Letters included content Letters included statements of encouragement Letters included format that was appropriate for audience To protect confidentiality, fictitious scenario used to protect confidentiality

Ethics Application To Real- Life Decisions for Managing Diabetes 1.“Diabetes is something U should NOT BE playing with in life!” 2.“Make sure u manage wat u eat n do n take da proper medicaments.” 3.“What happened to your basketball dreams?” 4.“YOU. WILL. DIE.” 5.“Die or live life to the fullest.”

Recommendations for Improvement 1.Rewrite lesson # 4 to include “Letter to Randall” as introduced during the module seminar, rather than an informational summary. ( Thanks to Lynne El-Amin Waheed). 2.More attention to anatomy and basic physiological principles by use of anatomical models and interactive software. 3.Use of jigsaw techniques for Lesson 2 (cellular metabolism) to enhance students’ knowledge acquisition.

Recommendations for Improvement 4. Workshop program: improve scheduling of talks and activities. For example, PPT preparation in the morning followed by presentation the same day. 5. Shorten module presentation to 3 hours, thus allowing teachers and students access to more modules.