Assignment:
Group Project Assignment and Group Project Discussion Thread
Project Overview
The group project will span all five weeks of the course. Weekly group assignments will culminate with the submission of a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation of 15 to 20 slides (excluding title, abstract, and reference slides) on the topic selected. For this group project, you and your classmates will learn about the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) first responders to public health emergencies called Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers. They are also called Boots-on-the-Ground Disease Detectives or Disease Detectives. Similar to paramedics responding to a medical emergency or law enforcement to a crime scene, Disease Detectives investigate mysterious outbreaks in the field and combine their investigations with laboratory studies to form the foundation of epidemiological strategies.
Day 1-2
The course instructor will divide the class into groups consisting of 3-5 students (depending on the size of the class). Your individual group assignment will be posted by the end of the week in the Group Project Discussion thread. Your specific group name will be the same for this thread as well as the Doc Sharing area of your course.
The Group Project Discussion thread is the place where all communication between you, your classmates and instructor will occur for the group project. This is also the thread that will be used by the instructor throughout the course to assess the quality and quantity of individual students' participation in the group work process.
As is possible in the work environment, group members may change and adjustments will be made as necessary. Your grade will not be affected by the addition or deletion of classmates to your group.
Days 1-5
Review CDC's Boots-on-the-Ground Disease Detectives site Epidemic Intelligence Service
Review CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Epidemic Intelligence Service
Review CDC's Current Outbreak List CDC Current OUtbreak List
After review of the links above, post discussions in your group's specific Group Project Discussion thread and select two (2) topics from the CDC's Current Outbreak List, linked above, that your team would like to investigate. For example, if you are in Group XYZ, post only in that thread. Your discussion comments should be substantive and collaborative, demonstrating your participation in the selection of two (2) possible topics. Select two topics, since your first choice may have already been selected.
Day 6
Each group will choose their group leader, and the group leader will post this information to the group's specific Group Project Discussion thread for instructor approval. The group leader will include the following, one for each of the (2) topics their group would like to investigate:
Disease name: For example, Ebola (specifically, Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever)
Summary statement: For example, Ebola is a disease of humans and other primates caused by Ebola virus, with signs and symptoms including (etc.)
Significance/Relevance: For example, Recently there have been devastating outbreaks in East Africa, specifically Sierra Leone and Liberia, causing serious public health crises (etc.)
Day 7
The instructor will post the approved topic for each group by the end of the week to the Group Project Discussion thread for all students to see. This will ensure that the same topic is not presented by two different groups.