A case for teaching basic immunology through scientific journalism-lesson taught by a Coronavirus went viral!

Abstract Sudden switch to online mode of learning in the March of 2020 for a Basic Immunology course lead to a cascade of experimenting teaching strategies. We at College of Pharmacy Chicago State University experimented such innovative teaching techniques for two consecutive spring semesters. One such teaching method was to deliver course content material through use of mainstream media (MSM) via scientific journalism. Basic immunology course content was divided into media-inspired topics of public concern and the students were made to research and review selected topics before we discussed those in virtual classrooms. The most common topics included immunology terms (antigen, antibody, immune reaction, innate and adaptive immunity, immunology of infection, ARDS, non-pharmacological interventions (NPI) like lockdown, masking and herd immunity, development of vaccines and therapeutics of infectious diseases. The students researched those topics in daily news outlets, i.e., TV, Radio, Newspaper, Social media (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), and presented to the class the underlying and foundational immunology concepts making the breaking news. Subjective data was collected through student opinion surveys and objective data was analyzed through students’ performance, assessments, grades, and Course and Faculty evaluations. The study found a positive correlation between the use of scientific journalism as a teaching tool and students’ engagement, comprehension, retention and academic outcomes. The publications authored by Scientific Journalists presented the complex and complicated immunology material in a very simple and understandable way for the public, which complemented immunology students’ learning as well.