Unit 2: How Can Looking For Thrills Make Me Miserable? (Phenomena: Substance Use Disorder/SUD)
This website provides access to the open-source curriculum and curricular resources, and a list of supplies and equipment. The curriculum has been tested in classrooms and can be used with appropriate citations.
Description: Designed to meet the Next Generations Science Standards, in this 8-10 week unit, students investigate Substance Use Disorder which connects them to real-world experiences and provides relevance for their learning. The unit guides students through a journey to figure out thrill seeking, and how thrill seeking evolved as a survival mechanism. The purpose of the unit is to introduce students to modern concepts in genetics and natural selection that are highly applicable to their everyday life, and specifically to their health. Because of environmental changes and modern lifestyle, thrill seeking can sometimes lead to addiction, misery and even death. Throughout the unit, students investigate several sub-driving questions to support them to gradually answer the big driving question: “How can looking for thrills make me miserable,” which encompasses these scientific ideas. For their final project, students conduct a community action project to improve their school or neighborhood to help prevent or reduce diabetes. After completing their investigations, students share their findings with their peers and broader community, draw conclusions regarding their inquiry question while addressing ethical issues, and suggest solutions and potential actions based on their findings. The unit focuses on critical community health concerns and brings students’ cultural background and family experience into the science class as a resource and asset for learning. Biomedical research and health-related careers are introduced throughout the curricula.
- Acknowledgements
- Citation - Adler, I., Bayer, R., Morales, C., Lee, J., Krajcik, J., (2018; Revised 2021). Health in Our Hands: How Can Looking for Thrills Make Me Miserable? [Curriculum]. Michigan State University: CREATE for STEM Institute.
- Storyline
- Supplies/Resources List
Curriculum:
Learning Set 1 (3 days): What gets us excited by examining the sub-driving question “What do you do for thrills?”
Learning Set 2 (7 days): The basic mechanism of the brain’s reward pathway which is responsible for the feeling of excitement through the sub-driving question “Why do thrills make us feel excited and happy?”
Learning Set 3 (4 days): The importance of thrill seeking to our survival and how the reward pathway evolved through the process of natural selection. Students investigate the sub-driving question “Why do we all look for thrills?”
Learning Set 4 (7 days): The risk for substance use disorders and behavioral addictions is caused, in part, by their environment. Students focus on both national and global trends related to SUD and behavioral addictions to understand the contribution of various environmental factors. and answer the sub-driving question, “What puts us at risk for substance use disorder (SUD) and behavioral addictions?”
Learning Set 5 (4 days): Some genes might cause us to be at risk for substance use disorder (SUD), while others might protect us against it. Alcohol flush is a genetic mutation that causes discomfort following alcohol consumption. Alcohol use disorder is caused by the interaction of an individual’s genes and the environment. Taken together, with Learning Set 4, this information helps students answer the sub-driving question, “What are the environmental and genetic factors that put us at risk or protect us from SUD?”
Learning Set 6 (2-3 weeks): What students can do to reduce the risk of addiction by designing and conducting a community action research project focused on making a change in their environment and presenting results and recommendations. Students address the sub-driving question “Can we make a change? What can we do to reduce the risk of substance use disorder and behavioral addictions for ourselves and our community?”
