Purpose

The purpose of the discussion post is to provide an opportunity for you to research scientific topics, learn to communicate complex topics to others, and connect what you are learning in class to events in real life. We have been studying members of prokaryotes, protists and fungi and their characteristics. There are many members of these groups that cause disease and impact human health. In the post, you will explore a disease of your choice in greater detail and share the information with your classmates.

This topic supports the module outcomes:

MO1.3: Recognize how bacteria and archaea interact with other organisms (CO2, CO3)

MO1.7: Connect human health with interaction with protists, bacteria and fungi (CO2, CO3)

Skills

• Search the library databases for a topic
• Compose summary statements regarding the article you read and in replying to your classmate’s topics
• Paraphrase information: Your post should be in your own words as you must paraphrase information from website gained during the research component of the activity.

Knowledge

• Learning about your chosen topic
• Expanding your knowledge by reading and posting to your classmate’s topics

Task

Post

In this unit, we have been learning about bacteria, protists and fungi. We encounter these organisms in our daily lives, and some are known to cause infections and disease.

1. For this discussion, you should choose a bacteria, protist or fungus not covered in the course material and research the organism and submit a 3-2-1 analysis. It should be one that impacts human health.
   1. What you should not report on are viruses, which include examples such as rabies, influenza, coronavirus, Hanta virus or the common cold.
2. Consider what you would like to learn more about: Is there something in the news you’ve recently heard about? Is there an organism we’ve studied in class that you would like to learn about other related organisms? Once you’ve a general idea, choose an appropriate source to search.
3. You may use the library database and seek help from an NSCC librarian to search for an article. You may also use a site such as CDC.gov (Centers for Disease Control), which has an extensive database of common diseases. Additionally, you may also use a .edu website as your resource, however, you may not use Wikipedia.
4. You should make sure you have the information needed to properly cite the reference in your discussion post. This may be the website URL that can be copied and pasted into the post. Full credit will not be given if a usable link is not provided.
5. After reading and studying your article, post in the Discussion area. You will do this by using the “Start a New Thread” button.
6. 3-2-1 Analysis: Your post should be three paragraphs in length with each paragraph addressing one of the three prompts listed below.
   1. Paragraph one: identify the organism and disease and you must include the cited reference with your post to be eligible for full credit for this paragraph. You should identify three things you learned about the organism and disease and why it is of value to you.
   2. Paragraph two: You should identify two things that surprised you and explain why.
   3. Paragraph three: You should identify one question you still have about the disease.
7. Your post should be formatted as follows:
   1. I learned that……and it is of value to me because…..
   2. I learned that……and it is of value to me because…..
   3. I learned that……and it is of value to me because…..
   4. I was surprised about….because…
   5. I was surprised about…because…
   6. One question I have is….

Reply

1. Read your classmate’s post and reply.
2. Use the “Reply to Thread” button when you have chosen the discussion post you wish to comment on.
3. In your response to a classmate’s post, you should directly address the information in their post and provide positive feedback about their post. See Criteria below.

Criteria for Success

You will report to the class in your discussion post how this organism impacts human health by addressing the three prompts listed below. The discussion post is worth 20 points and is part of your Discussion grade in the course. The response to the prompts and fulfilling the expected writing requirements for the prompts is 15 points, while your response to a classmate’s post and meeting expected writing requirements is worth 5 points.

Important Note: You are expected to paraphrase information you gathered during the research component of this activity and submit the work in your own words. If it is determined that information in the post was submitted by copy and paste from resources or the product of someone other than yourself, then paperwork related to academic dishonesty will be submitted to the Vice President of Academic Affairs and a grade of zero (0) for the assignment or F for the course will be given.

1. In your post, you should address three items, each item should be covered in a separate paragraph and each paragraph should have at a minimum three sentences. Expectation: three paragraphs, each with a minimum of three sentences. Full credit will not be given if a usable link is not provided.
   1. Three prompts (5 points each prompt)
      1. 3-2-1 Analysis: Your post should be three paragraphs in length with each paragraph addressing one of the three prompts listed below.
         1. Paragraph one: identify the organism and disease and you must include the cited reference with your post to be eligible for full credit for this paragraph. You should identify three things you learned about the organism and disease and why it is of value to you.
         2. Paragraph two: You should identify two things that surprised you and explain why.
         3. Paragraph three: You should identify one question you still have about the disease.
      2. Your post should be formatted as follows:
         1. I learned that……and it is of value to me because…..
         2. I learned that……and it is of value to me because…..
         3. I learned that……and it is of value to me because…..
         4. I was surprised about ….because…
         5. I was surprised about …because…
         6. One question I have is….
2. In your response to a classmate’s post, you should directly address the information in their post and provide positive feedback about their post. Your response should be a minimum of two complete sentences based on expectations listed below.
   1. Response requirements (5 points)
      1. In at least two sentences you should provide positive feedback about their post. Examples of how this can be accomplished: This can be in the form of expressing your interest in the disease, connecting it to the disease you researched, and/or connecting the disease to any previous knowledge you had about it. You may also ask them a question about the information that you may have after learning about the disease.
      2. Credit for the response will not be given for simply stating “This is an interesting disease”, “I agree”, “Nice post”, “No, I don’ t agree” or similar statements.