Table 4.

Descriptions of student readings on human-microbe interactions.

Title	Description
Microbes That Affect Our Body Weight	Students learn about mutualistic relationships between a human and a type of archaea and bacteria that live in the gut. Graphs help illustrate how these relationships may explain the connection between body weight and the gut microbiota. (References: Samuel & Gordon, 2006; Mathur et al., 2013.)
Our Skin Microbiome	Students learn that there is a huge number and diversity of microbes living on human skin. Different areas of the body are different types of habitats that host varying populations of microbes. Scientists cannot yet explain the role of all the microbes, but many think that these native microbes form a protective shield by outcompeting harmful microbes. (References: Grice et al., 2009; Grice & Segre, 2011; Kong, 2011; Figure 2)
Microbes Educate Immune Cells	Students analyze data from a published study that indicates a link between exposure to microbes and the stimulation of T cells in response to disease. (References: Vignali et al., 2008; Atarashi et al., 2011)
Intestinal Microbiota Development in Infants	Students analyze data tables and graphs to learn about how differences in babies' early exposure to microbes can affect the composition of their microbiome. (Reference: Palmer et al., 2007)
Microbes and the Blood-Brain Barrier	Students learn how microbes can be harmful if they overpopulate or enter a part of the body where they do not belong. A particular example covered is how Listeria can enter the central nervous system and cause meningitis. (Reference: Kim, 2008)
Using Microbes as Treatment of Bacterial Infection	Fecal transplants are an innovative and potentially effective new way to treat intestinal bacterial infections. Students read a news article discussing the idea behind the treatment method and the results of clinical trials that test it. (Reference: Rowan, 2012)