Cancer as a biological phenomenon

Leading team

Project members

Summary

Cancer as a biological phenomenon is a project which aims at improving cancer literacy via cancer education. In this project we are developing interactive instructional materials for teaching the biological mechanisms which are involved in cancer development to 10th graders. The project is supported by the Moross Integrated Cancer Center (MICC) at the Weizmann institute. This project opens an opportunity to explore how learning mechanisms about a well-known biological phenomenon for which multiple information exist in the media, can benefit health literacy. We intend to characterize students’ progression from novice to more advanced in the field of cancer and to identify their difficulties during this progression. We then intend to evaluate the effect of mechanistic understanding on the ability to critically use information about cancer and on illness perception.