Seventh graders in School 9 in Paterson have become Detectives in the Classroom, thanks to a program spearheaded by Mark Kaelin of Health Professions, Physical Education, Recreation and Leisure Studies.

Reading, writing and epidemiology? It may not be the traditional, but, for seventh-grade students in School 9 in Paterson, "Detectives in the Classroom" offered a vision of science in action, while providing academic motivation and an in-depth look at higher education.

Teacher Lynn Tarant's seventh-grade science classes recently completed pilot testing a new epidemiology curriculum, "Detectives in the Classroom," with a field trip to campus, where they got a taste of a university student's daily life, in the hope of motivating them to begin thinking about attending college. It was an unusual ending for an unusual experiment.

Epidemiology, the study of the distribution of disease and the control of health problems, is traditionally taught in graduate schools of public health, not middle schools.

Not any longer. Tarant's junior sleuths were the first to test the new curriculum, developed in partnership with Montclair State and the Paterson School District with the aim of increasing middle school students' interests in science, improving their abilities in scientific inquiry and helping them meet the New Jersey Science Standards. The project was funded by a Science Education Partnership Award from the National Institutes of Health.

"It is exciting to work with such curious, enthusiastic and open-minded students," said Mark Kaelin of Health Professions, Physical Education, Recreation and Leisure Studies, who is the principal investigator of the program.

"The Detectives in the Classroom curriculum develops students' understanding of the basic epidemiological tools they need to examine health-related issues of interest to them, both now and in the future," added Wendy Huebner, an adjunct professor of epidemiology and collaborator on the project.

The student sleuths focused on learning how to answer five questions that epidemiologists try to answer in their everyday work. "They uncovered epidemiologic clues, formulated and tested hypotheses and, based on evidence, suggested and evaluated prevention strategies," Kaelin said.

The first question the students were asked is "Why are some people getting sick while others remain healthy?"

"One of the things we did," Kaelin explained, “was give every child wearing something red a 'DZ' sign, which stood for a fictitious disease. We had those students stand and asked the others to construct hypotheses to explain why these students were sick. The students came up with a range of educated guesses. One student, Steven Aguirre, even hypothesized that there are certain insects that give people 'DZ' and these insects are attracted to the color red."

Another lesson, called "Amy," assumed that a student named Amy became sick and her mother blamed the school's new computers and wanted them removed. When the junior detectives started their investigations, they soon established that the cause may not have been the computers, but computer packaging, classroom dust, something eaten in the cafeteria or a myriad of other factors.

"Each of these hypothesized exposures would have a unique descriptive epidemiology," Kaelin said, "and the students would learn from each the important role of rigorous scientific inquiry and an open, speculative mind."

Students also conducted observational studies of natural experiments, such as investigating whether heavy backpack wearers are more likely to suffer back pain than non-wearers. In this experiment, they used the actual backpacks they carried, scales and a 2-by-2 table. They calculated risks and made an inference based on their sample. They concluded that those students carrying heavy backpacks are 1.2 times more likely to develop back problems than those who don't carry the backpacks.

"We want to create memorable experiences in which the students uncover for themselves the reasons for the scientific method," Kaelin said, "And we believe we did. The students were remarkably rigorous in their investigations, handled the inquiries seriously and acquitted themselves quite well."

Their intellectual appetites whetted, the detectives' dessert was a day-long visit to Montclair State. Students were greeted by Admissions officials, learned about the Upward Bound program, toured campus, skated at the Floyd Hall Ice Arena and visited the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center.

"We wanted to make sure the students realize that university life is more than just books and study," Kaelin said. "We wanted them to see how exciting, stimulating and diverse an environment a university campus can be."

During the coming school year, the Detectives curriculum will be field-tested by 20 middle school science teachers from the Paterson School District.

Nationally, recognition of the advantages of teaching epidemiology to younger students is increasing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has taken the lead in promoting the integration of epidemiology teaching in grades K-12.