Pandemic for Teaching Contagion: Illustrating Simple and Complex Contagious Spread through Interactive Board Game Play

Abstract

The Pandemic for Teaching Contagion in-class activity illustrates the difference between ‘simple’ contagions (like a virus) and ‘complex’ contagions (like a new medical intervention), and how they spread through a social network in unique ways. Derived from the board game Pandemic, this lesson teaches about ‘complex’ and ‘simple’...

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Details

Subject Area(s):

Collective Behavior/Social Movements, Medical Sociology, Social Networks

Resource Type(s):

Class Activity

Class Level(s):

Any Level

Class Size(s):

Any

Usage Notes

Overview:

            I use this game in social networks courses after teaching the basics of simple contagious spread, including peer-to-peer spread, cascade, and the diffusion curve, to introduce complex contagions (e.g., ideas, technologies) and factors that influence spread such as diffusions mechanisms, adoption cost,...

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. 1. Students will be able to distinguish simple versus complex contagions.
2. 2. Students will understand the different diffusion mechanisms of simple versus complex contagions.
3. 3. Students will be able to predict contagion spread across a social network using relevant network concepts (e.g., density, centrality, connectedness).
4. 4. Students will understand how the relationship between adoption cost and reinforcement impacts the diffusion of complex contagions.
5. 5. Students will learn how network structure affects the diffusion process of simple versus complex contagions.

Goal Assessment(s):

1. 1. Before game play:
   a. Students identify central cities in the network.
   b. Students identify peripheral cities in the network.
   c. Students identify cities with high degree centrality.
   d. Students identify cities with high betweenness centrality.
   e. Students identify clusters within the network.
   
2. 2. During game play:
   a. Students make turn-by-turn decisions about which city to travel to next based on the network location and characteristics of each city.
   b. Students make turn-by-turn decisions about whether to treat the virus or promote the vaccine.
   c. Students verbally justify their strategic move choices based on their...
3. 3. After game play:
   a. Students compare the diffusion patterns of the virus and the vaccine observed during the game.
   b. Students explain why the virus spread faster than the vaccine in the game.
   c. Students explain the pattern of contagion spread observed in the game.
   d. Students explain the conditions required for the virus and the...