Building an Integrated High School Curriculum Focused on the Biology and History of Smallpox

Recently we were challenged to develop curricular materials to explore system dynamics as a foundation for engaging high school students in interdisciplinary studies. We needed to: engage student interest, be responsive to the schools’ need to meet specific learning standards, foster an appreciation for crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries to address “real-world” issues, and provide students and teachers with opportunities to develop system dynamics mind-sets and tool-sets that could transfer to other scenarios.