Flu Math Games

Flu Math Games
English

Instructors

Richard C. Larson
Mitsui Professor of Engineering Systems
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 USA

Sahar Hashmi
Graduate student
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 USA

Mai Perches
Undergraduate student
Wellesley College
Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481 USA

Lesson Feedback

Introduction

This video lesson shows students that math can play a role in understanding how an infectious disease spreads and how it can be controlled. During this lesson, students will see and use both deterministic and probabilistic models and will learn by doing through role-playing exercises. There are no formal prerequisites, as students in any high school or even middle school math class could enjoy this learning video. But more advanced classes can go into the optional applied probability modeling that accompanies the module in a downloadable pdf file. Materials needed for the lesson include paper or cardboard, plus scissors and tape or staples, for making green, red and blue-colored hats for each student. These supplies are also needed for making numbers to draw out of a hat. The primary exercises between video segments of this lesson are class-intensive simulation games in which members of the class 'infect' each other under alternative math modeling assumptions about disease progression. Also there is an occasional class discussion and local discussion with nearby classmates.

Online Animations, visit the Accompanying Online Animations for a selection of animations and/or simulations designed in coordination with the BLOSSOMS video flu games and intended to supplement the ideas covered in the BLOSSOMS module. These resources were developed by e-Learning Arabia. Please be sure to unblock Adobe Flash Player to allow the simulator to function.

このビデオ授業は、生徒たちに、数学が伝染病の拡散の仕方に関わっていて、数学が伝染病の管理の仕方において一翼を担うことを示します。この授業で、生徒たちは決定論的モデルと確率モデルの両方を使い、ロールプレイで練習しながら学びます。どの高校生も中学生でさえもこのビデオ授業を楽しめますので、授業取得において特に決まった前提条件はありません。しかし、もっと発展的なクラスは、ダウンロード可能なPDFのファイルとしてこのモジュールに添付されている、オプションの応用確率モデリングに進むこともできます。この授業に必要な材料は、各生徒に緑と赤と青の帽子を作るための紙、ダンボール、ハサミ、テープ、ホッチキスです。また、これらの材料は、帽子の中から引く数字を作るために必要です。このビデオ授業の合間の主な練習課題は、クラスで集中的に行うシュミレーションゲームです。このシュミレーションでは、生徒たちが、病気の進行についての別の数学モデルの仮定のもとにお互いを感染させるのです。さらに、クラス全体の討論と小グループでの討論も行われます。

オンラインのアニメーション BLOSSOMSのインフルエンザゲームに合わせて制作し、BLOSSOMSのモジュールでカバーした概念を補足するアニメーションとシュミレーションについては付属のオンラインアニメーションをご覧ください。こうしたリソースはe-ラーニングアラビアによって制作されました。

シュミレーション1:指数関数的成長、交換をしないサンプリング

シュミレーション2:交換をするサンプリング

シュミレーション3:スーパー・スプレッダー

シュミレーション4:R0 =1.5

シュミレーション5:初期免疫

シュミレーション6:統計的インフルエンザ拡散シュミレーションツール

Instructor Biography

Dr. Larson's specialty is Operations Research, an interdisciplinary field that uses mathematics and the scientific method to improve decision-making in industry and government. His current major research project is pandemic influenza, in particular focusing on steps that individuals can take to reduce the chances of becoming infected with the flu virus. Click here to read a full bio.

Sahar Hashmi is an MD from Pakistan and is interested in healthcare management. She is currently an MIT graduate student, first in MIT's System Design and Management program and now in the Ph.D. program of the Engineering Systems Division, who is doing research on pandemic flu spread and its relation to behavioral changes using non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI's).

Mai Perches is an undergraduate student at Wellesley College majoring in both Economics and Cinema and Media Studies.

For Teachers

Additional Online Resources

NOVA: Disease Detective
In this interactive, provided by NOVA, a player must use basic methods of field epidemiology to solve the medical mystery of a recent disease outbreak.

Yale University-New Haven Teachers Institute: Curricular Resources
This site, sponsored by the Yale University-New Haven Teachers Institute, provides a curriculum unit that aims to provide students with background knowledge for the study of mathematical content that can be applied to the biological sciences, and attempts to connect relevant topics from the high-school mathematics content to the concepts in microbiology that affect real-life situations.

CDC: H1N1 Flu
This site provides resources to help hospital administrators and state and local health officials respond to the H1N1 flu pandemic.