DAY 2: What’s Plaguing Our Cells Today?

Goals:​ Students will better understand chronic health diseases affecting vast amounts
of Americans (and potentially themselves, family and friends, etc.). Through
introduction to a systems thinking tool (scaling up & down) students will uncover how
factors at all systems levels can contribute to solutions or causes of those diseases.
This approach aims to help students see the big picture issues influencing their cellular
health while also being a valuable resource for their Community Health & Wellness
Expo projects.

The dynamic of looking out to aid at looking within is hopefully integrated throughout
this curriculum.

What’s Plaguing Our Cells Today Mini-Lecture for Thought (​Emphasis on Chronic Diseases​)
Transition​: To Better Understand the Root Causes & Avenues For Change That Impact Our Cellular
Invincibility, Investigating The Systems of Influence That Together Create Our Chronic Disease
Landscape Is A Valuable Tool That Can Help Us Understand Our Vulnerability And Clues To
Increase Our Invincibility.

What’s Really Going On? Whole Systems Scale Chronic Disease Investigation Teams
- Introduction to scaling tool (Adapted from ​Pathtree: Whole Systems Thinking​ & ​CDC’s Healthy Communities Program​)
- Students will divide into groups of 3 & select one of the prevalent chronic diseases below.
- Using the Scaling Tool, Flip Chart Paper, Markers, online/offline resources, and phone interviews
students will generate both risks and reductions that our nested systems can play in prevalent chronic
diseases.
- During our “Collaborative Presentations” groups will share their ideas and other students will contribute additional
thoughts onto their tools.
- If time permits, as a learning community we will brainstorm how this tool might be useful/integrated into the Wellness &
Health Expo.
What’s Really Going On? Whole Systems Scale Chronic Disease Investigation Teams

Heart Disease Stroke

Cancer Type 2 Diabetes

Getting the Details:

Investigate your disease and gather/analyze data about the problem to assist you in your whole system evaluation.
For example: How many people are affected by the disease? Has the number changed from the past? Are certain age
groups/populations at a greater risk than others?
Be sure to explore how the disease impacts us on a cellular level.

Creating the Bigger Picture:

Using the systems scale tool as a guide, use your own experiences (you are in these systems!), online and offline
research, phone calls to non-profits/local medical professionals, etc. to uncover the choices “we” (on multiple scales) can
make to reduce or enhance the risk of the chronic disease. Feel free to use images to accompany your ideas. Try to obtain
images of cells affected by your disease versus healthy ones. How are they different? If you feel comfortable, we will
showcase your ideas at the Health and Wellness Expo as well as submit your
ideas to folks studying/working to reduce these diseases for their feedback.