Interactive Case Study for Natural Selection in an Outbreak

This interactive video explores how two scientists tracked the 2013 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. 

Geneticist Pardis Sabeti investigated the evolution of the virus over time, whereas epidemiologist Lina Moses investigated the societal factors that contributed to the outbreak. Their experiences illustrate some of the factors that can cause an outbreak to occur and why it is important to curb the spread of infection as rapidly as possible. As students watch the video, they are prompted to answer questions that require them to predict steps in the research process and interpret data. Students also make connections to their own experiences with infectious diseases.

The “Student Worksheet” lists the questions embedded in the video. The “Educator Materials” document provides implementation tips from educators who have used interactive case studies in their classroom. It also provides additional discussion questions and guidance on assessing students’ responses.

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.