Lesson plan for teaching secondary school students about double-blind trials
Short Description:
This lesson plan provides resources to run stimulating activities about fair tests of treatments in a classroom setting.
Key Concepts addressed:- 2-2 Comparison groups should be similar
- 2-5 People should not know which treatment they get
- 2-1 Comparisons are needed to identify treatment effects
Details
Centre of the Cell have produced a lesson plan for teaching secondary school students about double-blind trials.
This lesson plan provides the resources you need to run stimulating activities about fair tests of treatments in a classroom setting.
‘Double Blind Trials Workshop’ developed for young people by the Centre of the Cell. The activities demonstrate how double blind trials are run, explaining what a placebo is and how the placebo effect works, how bias is removed as far as possible and how participants and trial medicines are randomised.
Activity 1: Placebo Effect Activity
Activity 2: Observer Bias
Activity 3: Double Blind Trial
Students act out the various roles of participants in a double-blind trial to test a new sunscreen:
- One student is a Scientist from the pharmaceutical company which developed the sunscreen
- One student is the Pharmacist who dispenses the cream, labelled so that no one else knows which cream is which
- One student is the Nurse, who applies the cream to volunteers
- One student is the Trial Manager, who randomises the treatments
- Four students are Volunteers
You can download a PDF of all the resources for free.
About the Centre of the Cell
Centre of the Cell is a science education centre based at Queen Mary, University of London. The website contains many biology educational resources for all levels of attainment.