Self and Non-Self Activity: An Introduction to the Immune System

Abstract

The Self and Non-Self Activity introduces the functioning of the immune system in a high school, community college, or undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology course. This short activity uses the learning cycle to build a conceptual understanding of the self and non-self cells by requiring students to create definitions of the terms and classify cells using a model and a text box description of the mitotic cell division of a zygote. Students then apply this learning to answer questions about the immune system's response to the introduction of Streptococcus bacteria cells in the body. The activity offers extension questions that require students to consider how self and non-self cells relate to the immune system’s response to autoimmune diseases and artificial organs. This activity is foundational to students’ understanding of the role of the immune system in health and disease and leads into subsequent lessons on B-cells, T-cells, and vaccines. 

• Level: high school, community college, or undergraduate
• Setting: Classroom
• Activity Type: Learning Cycle
• Discipline: Biology
• Course: Human Anatomy and Physiology
• Keywords: immune system, autoimmune diseases