Bioethics debate: antibiotic stewardship
Debate whether access to antibiotics should be limited to protect their effectiveness for everyone.
Written CER on antibiotic stewardship: specific rule, evidence about resistance and patient need, reasoning, and rebuttal.
- 1Do thisDebate whether access to antibiotics should be limited to protect their effectiveness for everyone.
- 2Use this resource
- 3Submit thisCER: Written CER on antibiotic stewardship: specific rule, evidence about resistance and patient need, reasoning, and rebuttal.
- 4Submit it here
- 1CMSD website. Go to clevelandmetroschools.org and click the Clever button.
- 2Clever. Clever opens. Sign in if it asks.
- 3Microsoft (district) login. Use your district Microsoft account (the one for school).
- 4Schoology. Open Schoology, then your class, then Assignments, and find the file named below.
The file to submit is named: Genetics of Disease (Medical Interventions) › Bacterial structure, antibiotic mechanisms, MIC, resistance, and stewardship. › CEROpen Schoology
Argument: disagreeing well, and when opinion becomes fact
How do we argue productively when we disagree, and when does a claim become accepted as fact?
An argument is not a fight. It is two or more people testing claims against evidence to get closer to the truth. The best disagreements aim at the strongest version of the other side (steelman it), refute the actual reasoning, and stay about the idea, not the person.
A sound argument and a clash of opinions are different things. Opinions can simply differ and both stand. A scientific argument is settled by evidence: the side with stronger, more reliable evidence and better reasoning should win, and everyone should be willing to update.
So when does an opinion become a fact? In science, a claim becomes accepted not because enough people like it, but when independent evidence keeps supporting it and repeated attempts to disprove it fail. That is consensus, and it is provisional: it holds until better evidence changes it. Truth is not a vote, but agreement among many careful, independent investigations is the best signal we have.
- • Steelmans: it takes on the strongest version of the other side.
- • Targets reasoning and evidence, never the person.
- • Is settled by evidence, not by who is louder or more popular.
- • Stays open: the participants will change their minds if the evidence does.
- • A claim earns the label “fact” through repeated, independent evidence, not a popularity vote.
- • Even strong consensus stays open to revision if better evidence appears.
Take a claim from this course that people might dispute. Write the strongest argument for it and the strongest against it, then say which the evidence supports and what would change your mind.
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning — make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure — the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities — you open it through Schoology.
Minute-by-minute · 80-minute block
💡 Big idea: When a medical resource becomes less effective the more it is used, who bears the responsibility to limit use?
- 0-10 minRead the scenario; define antibiotic stewardship and antimicrobial resistance in notebook
- 10-25 minDraft CER: claim (your stewardship rule), reason, evidence from resistance data
- 25-40 minPartner exchange: find someone who would restrict differently; record their strongest counterpoint
- 40-55 minWrite rebuttal; revise your rule if the counterpoint exposed a fairness gap
- 55-68 minPost CER to the discussion board
- 68-80 minRead two classmates' CERs; leave a one-sentence response to each
- • In 1945, Alexander Fleming warned in his Nobel Prize speech that misuse of penicillin would create resistant bacteria; we did not listen.
- • Today an estimated 35,000 Americans die each year from antibiotic-resistant infections.
- • Stewardship asks: who should decide when an antibiotic is used, and how strictly should that be enforced?
- • Exit goal: a posted CER with a specific stewardship rule, evidence about resistance, and a rebuttal.
- 1Read the scenario: overusing antibiotics breeds resistance that harms future patients.
- 2Write your Claim: how strictly should antibiotic use be controlled?
- 3Add a Reason and Evidence about resistance and patient need.
- 4Trade with a partner who weighs individual access differently and note their point.
- 5Write a Rebuttal answering it.
- 6Post your CER and read two classmates' stewardship rules.
- • You will be able to argue a stewardship rule for antibiotic use.
- • You will be able to balance individual access against future effectiveness.
- • You will be able to rebut an opposing view.
- • Antibiotic stewardship refers to coordinated programs that promote appropriate antibiotic use to slow resistance.
- • Resistance is an evolutionary process: prescribing an antibiotic for a non-bacterial illness still applies selection pressure to bacteria already present.
- • The WHO lists antimicrobial resistance among the top global public health threats because it threatens the effectiveness of all current antibiotics.
Your PLTW work today
Bacterial structure, antibiotic mechanisms, MIC, resistance, and stewardship. · Bioethics debate: antibiotic stewardship
Day 1 of this lesson. Open this exact section in myPLTW (reached through Schoology), then do the work below.
Do this: Open the antibiotic debate activity in myPLTW for Lesson 1.2 Antibiotic Treatment and review the CER rubric.
Post your CER on antibiotic resistance and reply to at least two classmates.
Activity 1.1.6 Final Diagnosis should be submitted; this debate opens Unit 1 Lesson 2.
CER post visible in the course discussion board.
All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment — this page only gives direction. Submit producibles on Schoology.
Today's PLTW tracker
Check things off as you work, then submit. This tells Mr. Mendoza how you're doing so he can help the class. It does not replace turning in your producible on Schoology.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
Bacterial structure, antibiotic mechanisms, MIC, resistance, and stewardship. · Bioethics debate: antibiotic stewardship
Open the antibiotic debate activity in myPLTW for Lesson 1.2 Antibiotic Treatment and review the CER rubric.
Activity 1.1.6 Final Diagnosis should be submitted; this debate opens Unit 1 Lesson 2.
This is how Mr. Mendoza sees the class keeping pace with PLTW. Be honest, it only helps if it is accurate.
🎯 Debate whether access to antibiotics should be limited to protect their effectiveness for everyone.
- Read the scenario: overusing antibiotics breeds resistance that harms future patients.
- Write your Claim: how strictly should antibiotic use be controlled?
- Add a Reason and Evidence about resistance and patient need.
- Trade with a partner who weighs individual access differently and note their point.
- Write a Rebuttal answering it.
- Post your CER and read two classmates' stewardship rules.
CER: Written CER on antibiotic stewardship: specific rule, evidence about resistance and patient need, reasoning, and rebuttal.
Submit on SchoologyUpload by 11:29 PM for full credit.
| Task | Who |
|---|---|
| Read the scenario: overusing antibiotics breeds resistance that harms future patients. | _______ |
| Write your Claim: how strictly should antibiotic use be controlled? | _______ |
| Add a Reason and Evidence about resistance and patient need. | _______ |
| Trade with a partner who weighs individual access differently and note their point. | _______ |
| Write a Rebuttal answering it. | _______ |
| Post your CER and read two classmates' stewardship rules. | _______ |
Working solo? Put your own name in "Who" for every row.
- You will be able to argue a stewardship rule for antibiotic use.
- You will be able to balance individual access against future effectiveness.
- You will be able to rebut an opposing view.
Teacher-posted resources
Classroom documents for this lesson. Ones marked “Open the file” open right here; the rest are posted in Schoology. Use the label on each card to choose the right move.
Open this when the class reaches this activity and use it to complete the required lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched Antibiotic treatment, MIC, resistance by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-1_How-to-Fight-Infection/1.2_Antibiotic-Treatment; keywords:antibiotic, therapy. Score 142. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Open this when the class reaches this activity and use it to complete the required lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched Antibiotic treatment, MIC, resistance by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-1_How-to-Fight-Infection/1.2_Antibiotic-Treatment; keywords:antibiotic, resistance. Score 142. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Use this if you were absent, got stuck, or need another pass before you submit the lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched Antibiotic treatment, MIC, resistance by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-1_How-to-Fight-Infection/1.2_Antibiotic-Treatment; keywords:antibiotic, resistance. Score 138. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
How to get there: open the CMSD website, click Clever, sign in with your Microsoft (district) account, then open Schoology from Clever.
Lab & supplies
This unit's vocabulary
Tap the speaker to hear a term. Weekly vocabulary task: add two of these terms to your notebook glossary with a definition and an example in your own words.
WebXam practice
Cumulative WebXam review
A quick mixed-review pulling questions from earlier units plus today, so the WebXam material stays fresh.
Where this leads — careers
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
What to do if you were absent
If you are away, post a full CER proposing an antibiotic-stewardship rule and reply to one classmate with a rebuttal.
Then submit your CER on Schoology.
Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
CDC Antibiotic Resistance- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedTurned in the right way (Schoology for routine work) and confirmed.
Drop your Mon, Feb 22, 2027 · Bioethics debate: antibiotic stewardship here. Use a clear file name (your initials + project). Routine work still goes to Schoology (via the CMSD portal).
Upload a project