Race against superbugs - when antibiotics stop working

A post-antibiotic erain which common infections and minor injuries can killfar from being an apocalyptic fantasy, is instead a very real possibility for the 21st century. [WHO Antimicrobial Resistance Global Report on Surveillance (2014)] Multiresistant microorganisms dont bother national borders and are spreading fast across continents as globalization and mobility of people increases. Therefore misusing antibiotics in one part of the world has direct consequences for the rest. Who is to blame for this drastic rise of antibiotic resistances? Who is affected? Who is following which kind of interest? Who has to pay for the resulting costs and who is profiting from the whole issue? Who protects and who regulates? What are the consequences of a post-antibiotic era for each one of us? Classical lectured-style lessons are often incapable of conveying such complex and emotional charged dynamics of a topic. This science communication project uses so-called role-based panel discussions (RBPD) to give insights into the multilayered dynamics of the topic antibiotic resistance to colleague students (aged 15-19 years). In this interactive role play, students are encouraged to slip into an unfamiliar position (e.g. agriculture, WHO, Greenpeace, pharmaceutical industry or medicine) and to familiarize themselves with the positions interests, conflicts or attitudes. In course of a mini-conference, which is visited by other classes, the students present their positions with posters and answer the visitors questions. In the subsequent panel discussion the single interest groups start discussing their viewpoint, which rapidly gets into a heated debate when opposing interests and opinions collide and the panel members try to argue from their limited perspective against (sometimes irrational) reasoning of other panel members. Due to the high emotional involvement learning contents are firmly fixed, which makes RBPD a highly sustainable teaching tool. The suggested method, which was tested in schools with two pilot activities in 2016 and 2017, will be revised, expanded and optimized in this project. The optimized method will be performed in several schools. Another aim is to make the whole program including working material for the students available on a platform so that others can raise public awareness in schools to the topic antibiotic resistance with this sustainable teaching method.

Infections with multidrug-resistant microorganisms are a serious threat and are estimated to kill more people than cancer in about 30 years. Some strategies to avoid a post-antibiotic era are increased, globally concerted, and coordinated efforts in awareness-raising, and intensive research towards new antimicrobial metabolites and alternative therapies. The science communication project "Race against superbugs - when antibiotics stop working" aimed to bring this relevant topic closer to schoolchildren and to critically illuminate the socio-political dynamics with them. To achieve this, we chose the didactic tool of the role-based panel discussion (RBPD). RBPDs are interactive role-plays in which the participants slip into the role of a previously unknown position (e.g. agriculture, WHO, pharmaceutical industry or medicine) and thereby deal intensively with their problems, attitudes, and interests, which can be e.g. private, public or commercial in nature. As soon as the individual panelists meet and their often conflicting positions clash, an intense debate quickly ensues in which each individual has to stand up to the (sometimes irrational) arguments of the others in order to defend his or her perspective. With the help of this tool, we wanted to address issues such as the misguided use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, to reveal hidden socio-political dynamics and to facilitate a deeper understanding of the valuable commodity "antibiotic". Furthermore, we aimed at highlighting the innovative role of academic research and basic research in this respect. Within this project, the methodology from previous pilot projects was expanded and optimised and a guideline with procedures, tips, checklists, and examples for future RBPDs was developed. Over several weeks, pupils from three selected schools in Tyrol and Vorarlberg were intensively accompanied in small groups by their respective mentors to elaborate their roles. The team of mentors consisted of microbiologists (University of Innsbruck), didactics (University of Innsbruck), and (prospective) biology teachers. As a conclusion of the activity, the students presented their position to other students in the form of a mini-conference. The visitors were also specifically prepared by our team for the topic in order to be able to ask critical questions in the subsequent panel discussion. The heated panel discussion itself took place with great enthusiasm from the discussants and the audience and ended with the opportunity for the students to directly exchange ideas with the scientists. In order to evaluate the sustainability and effectiveness of this didactic tool, the project was studied by researchers from the Department of Subject-Specific Education. Parts of the data have already been published, further evaluations are still in progress. The initial results support our assumption that this form of teaching is extremely sustainable on several levels and has brought about a change in perspective for many students.