Welcome to the Tree Star-sponsored flow cytometry lesson plans for high school students and educators. This curriculum was put together with funds from Grant #024094 from NIAID.
Students, just click on your subject below to download your lesson plan and resources.
Educators will find it helpful to read the Educational Resources overview.
Immunology and Flow Cytometry Lesson Plan
By: Amelia Farber, Sadie Shelton, Amy Senestraro,
Zack Hartman and Tanner Hebert
This publication was made possible by Grant Number 1 R44 RR024094-01 from NIAID and its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the [name of awarding office or NIH.
Introduction:
The following lesson plan was created for introducing students to Flow Cytometry. It is based on the knowledge a biology student would have and focuses on the immunology aspect of Flow Cytometry.
General Thoughts:
What resources are available or needed? Computer lab/FlowJo software/ tutorials?
Students will receive informational packets about: HIV, Immunology, Flow Cytometry. FlowJo software, FlowJo tutorials, class sets of tutorials.
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What previous knowledge is expected that students already know? How could a student get this knowledge if they don’t already know it?
A basic cell understanding and knowledge of HIV is needed for students to know to help ease the completion of certain tasks. A health class should provide for a simple understanding of HIV and how it's contracted. Students could Google topics to help them understand them better and www.wikipeida.org is a helpful website when dealing with Flow Cytometry.
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What are the eventual outcomes of your lesson – what should students learn or be able to do at the end of the lesson?
The eventual outcome of this lesson is to have a basic understanding of Flow Cytometry and FlowJo. The students should also be able to know how this type of technology relates to the real world.
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How will you evaluate learning by the students?
Learning by the students will be evaluated by small tests incorporating minutia detail previously provided.
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Is this a single day lesson, or multiple day lesson?
Multiple day lesson.
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Where could this fit in to the existing curriculum in a biology class or biochemistry class?
This could fit into a biology class directly after any cell unit.
Lesson Plan:
Day 1: Hand out Immunology packet (this will be a packet that the teacher has created from looking through the sites listed below and taking the information they find valuable for teaching). Read through and discuss questions that students may have. Begin to incorporate the topic of HIV into the lesson and how it relates to immunology. The teacher may choose to make a separate vocabulary packet to hand out for a student’s reference.
Here are some sites the might be helpful for immunology activities and for basic information:
http://www.cehs.siu.edu/fix/medmicro/genimm.html
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/immunology/tutorials/immunology/page2.html
http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~sabedon/black17.htm
Day 2: Finish teaching and discussing the Immunology packet if that has not already been done. Handout information on HIV (this will be a handout of information on HIV that the teacher has created by looking at websites and finding valuable information).
Here is a site that might be helpful for creating the HIV handout:
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/IMMUNOLOGY/tutorials/AIDS/HIVimmune.html
Day 3: The students will split up into groups and research a white blood cell mentioned in the immunology packet/ information. For sharing their information the students can make a skit, add, or give a lecture. Give creative freedom, but make it realistic to complete in the allotted time.
Day 4: Students will present the cell they researched. (The scoring guide for this assignment is below in the evaluation section)
Day 5: AIDS DEMO: The teacher can explain the situation for this class demo as if it were a real life situation.
DEMO: Two kids in class have a test tube with “HIV positive” fluid in the test tube. The teacher should make sure they know who gets the “HIV positive” test tubes. Everyone else in the class has a non reactive solution. The kids with “HIV positive” fluid in their test tubes have a liquid that reacts with phenol phalene. Students are allowed to mix and share their fluids in their test tubes, though it is optional. The kids with who are positive for HIV are supposed to mix fluids with as many people as possible. After five or so minutes stop the kids and line them up. With a dropper of phenol phalene test each of the kids’ solutions. The solutions that react to the phenol phalene are HIV positive and the ones that do not react are not HIV positive. It is optional, but the students can write down who they received fluids from so at the end of the demo you can create a chart that shows how the HIV virus spread.
After the demo begin talking about Immunology and how it ties into HIV. Also begin to introduce the idea of Flow Cytometry and a basic definition of it. Include how Flow Cytometry is involved with HIV and Immunology.
Day 6: Begin basic tutorial (this can be found on FlowJo website).
Here is the URL for the FlowJo website:
Day 7: Finish the basic tutorial.
Day 8: Show the basic HIV analysis tutorial (this will be sent to the teacher when receiving the lesson plan).
Day 9: Start the HIV analysis. Students should also start a lab report. The lab report will be the final evaluation on whether or not the students understood the information presented to them. Lab reports should contain questions about HIV, Immunology, and Flow Cytometry. Lab reports should also contain which samples had HIV and which samples didn’t (this will be revealed in their HIV analysis that is started on day 9).
Day 10: Finish the HIV analysis and the lab report. Any lab reports that aren’t completed in class will be finished as homework and turned in the next class.
Links:
These are sites that the teacher or students can look at to get a better understanding of a subject taught.
1. http://www.flowjo.com/home/videotutorials.html
Instructional videos about how to use FlowJo (this should be reviewed before the students go through the basic tutorial)
2.http://www.bd.com/videos/bdb/training_ITF/home.html
Flow Cytometry information
3. http://www.biology.arizona.edu/IMMUNOLOGY/tutorials/AIDS/HIVimmune.html
Information about HIV (this should be given after the Immunology notes)
4. http://www.cehs.siu.edu/fix/medmicro/genimm.htm
Notes on Immunology (these should be given to the students first)
If there is extra time, or more visual explanation is needed for the students, here are some videos about the immune system:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys_V6FcYD5I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrYlZJiuf18&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQmaPwP0KRI
Evaluation:
A chart has been created that can help guide teachers on how to grade there students during this unit. This document is attached and is called “Lesson Plan Evaluation”.
Referenced Sites
http://www.flowjo.com/home/videotutorials.html
http://www.bd.com/videos/bdb/training_ITF/home.html
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/IMMUNOLOGY/tutorials/AIDS/HIVimmune.html
http://www.cehs.siu.edu/fix/medmicro/genimm.html
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/IMMUNOLOGY/tutorials/AIDS/HIVimmune.html
http://www.cehs.siu.edu/fix/medmicro/genimm.html
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/immunology/tutorials/immunology/page2.html
http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~sabedon/black17.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys_V6FcYD5I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrYlZJiuf18&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQmaPwP0KRI
Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
