The Spanish Flu
Stephanie Boyle
Social Science/ Arts and Sciences
History 1103
Activity Description: Provide a brief description of the activity
Three part assignment that includes the HIEPs: Writing Intensive, Place Based learning and Collaborative work. This will be used for History 1103 online which is a zero cost textbook course with an OER.
1- read and complete a written assignment and provide feedback
2-go the Brooklyn Historical Museum and explore the exhibit
3-write response to the experience at the museum on Flipgrid (explore flipgrid at www.flipgrid.com)
Learning Goals: What do you aim to achieve with this activity?
The General Education Outcomes that the assignment will address are: Intercultural Knowledge and Competence
Demonstrate expanded cultural and global awareness and sensitivity. (part one)
Discern multiple perspectives. (part two)
Use awareness of cultural differences to bridge cultural and linguistic barriers. (part three)
Timing: At what point in the lesson or semester do you use this activity? How much classroom time do you devote to it? How much out-of-class time is expected?
This assignment will be due at midterm. They will go on a visit to the Brooklyn Historical Society after watching a video on the Spanish flu and then participate in a discuss on flipgrid about the project.
Logistics: What preparation is needed for this activity? What instructions do you give students? Is the activity low-stakes, high-stakes, or something else?
The instructions for part one are found below:
The Spanish Flu
A world-wide epidemic caused by influenza viruses led to between 50 and 100 million deaths in 1918 and 1919 (as much as 1 of every 18 people). Because neutral Spain was not censoring news it became associated with Spain but its origins are more likely to be the USA or France. It came in three waves (Spring 1918, Autumn 1918, and Winter 1919) and the second wave was unusually deadly. And unlike typical flu pandemics it disproportionately killed young healthy adults. Many researchers have suggested that the conditions of the war significantly aided the spread of the disease. And others have argued that the course of the war (and subsequent peace treaty) was influenced by the pandemic. To help understand questions about the worst disaster in history we have built a computer model of the pandemic.
Brief documentary about the Spanish flu pandemic :
We have also prepared videos of the execution of the Spanish Flu model. There is a lively debate about where the flu started. Below you will find simulators for two of the supposed epicenters of the flu. The first video for both Camp Funston and Etaples are the historic video and are based on the available historical sources that tracked the disease. The second simulator tracks the disease as if there was no war and the last tracks the disease had the war ended in 1920. Since the No War and War ends in 1920 are not historical- what can we learn by comparing them to the Historic videos? What can we learn about disease, war and its movement.
First case Historic No war War ends 1920
Camp Funston 2:01 video 2:02 video 2:20 video
Etaples 2:19 video 2:20 video 2:21 video
Please answer each of the following cluster of questions and use the information that you gathered from the simulators to answer the following questions:
The differences between war and no war are dramatic. What might account for this? Conditions in army camps? Celebrations and troop movements due to the armistice? How could we attempt to answer this?
Army camps during the war were both very crowded and had a heavy flow of troops in and out. How might this affect the epidemic's dynamics?
The no war scenario outcomes are very different depending upon whether the first cases were in Camp Funston, Kansas or Etaples, France. Why would that be?
The computer simulation generates dynamics for counter-factual scenarios based on many factors and assumptions. How good is this? Are there alternative ways of answering such questions?
Assessment: How do you assess this activity? What assessment measures do you use? Do you use a VALUE rubric? If not, how did you develop your rubric? Is your course part of the college-wide general education assessment initiative?
This is the rubric that students will follow to complete all three parts of the assignment.
https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/hist1103oer/policies/rubric-for-long-writing-assignments/
Reflection: How well did this activity work in your classroom? Would you repeat it? Why or why not? What challenges did you encounter, and how did you address them? What, if anything, would you change? What did students seem to enjoy about the activity?
This is used for an online class. It will give students a chance to go on a site visit and engage with their fellow colleagues on Flipgrid for a group discussion.
Additional Information: Please share any additional comments and further documentation of the activity – e.g. assignment instructions, rubrics, examples of student work, etc. These can be links to pages or posts on the OpenLab.
Please share a helpful link to a pages or post on the OpenLab
