Across the nation, teachers have shifted to delivering instruction remotely due to COVID-19. This transition to remote instruction has presented challenges for secondary science teachers who previously engaged their students in hands-on learning through empirical tests and observations of real-world phenomena, but whose students might not now have the equipment or materials in their homes to enable hands-on investigations.

This RAPID was submitted in response to the NSF Dear Colleague letter related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Epidemiologists have long used simulations of epidemics to better understand their complex dynamics.  More recently, simulations have been used as a teaching tool for public health prevention and protection measures.  Research has shown that through virtual simulations students can better understand the underpinnings of disease spread and social interactions.  This project focuses on how virtual epidemics can engage teachers and students (10-14 years old) as participa