Operation Outbreak: Why Wait for a Pandemic to Respond View Digital Media

Workshop Presentation
Todd Brown  

Operation Outbreak (O2) is an all-inclusive learning module as well as a new model for showing students that science is exciting, collaborative, and relevant to their lives. It can inspire the development of similar curricula for other STEM subjects. O2’s modular design and low-tech fallbacks for its simulation component would facilitate adoption in settings with specific constraints in terms of teaching curricula or in places where access to technology is limited. The app can be useful as a training tool for outbreak-response stakeholders such as hospitals and public health agencies -- and ultimately, it could be used to raise awareness about infectious diseases among the general population, helping to prepare for future outbreaks. O2 includes an academic curriculum on pathogen biology, epidemiology, public health, and decision-making during health emergencies, accessible mobile app that simulates an outbreak and allows students to design and coordinate effective responses, and a computational practicum that uses data generated during the outbreak simulation to encourage reflection and skill development in epidemiology, genetics, and quantitative data analysis. This workshop includes an opportunity for audience members to work with one another and the presenter in an infectious disease outbreak scenario. At the same time, participants are assigned various tasks through which they must utilize their understanding of collaborative and cooperative learning. The session includes an interactive discussion regarding the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through workstations while coping with the pathogen that will spread throughout the audience, followed by a reflective discussion.