Combining systems

Total suggested time: 50 minutes

The United States needs a plan for aggregating the results of each state’s system for detecting the spread of the Z virus, and the goal of this exercise is for your class to figure out how to collect that data.

Class exercise: Inputs and outputs

Suggested time: 30 minutes

As a class, use the sketches from each political division to sketch out a new system: a plan for how the federal government should aggregate this data from the state level to the national level.

As you work, consider the following questions as a class:

  • How do the inputs and outputs of your systems differ?
  • How often are you collecting the data? Daily? Weekly?
  • How do the systems you set up individually fit together?
  • What changes do you need to make for them to be compatible?

Class discussion: Considering complexity

Suggested time: 20 minutes

After you’ve created a plan, answer the following discussion questions as a class:

  • What details and measurements are lost when comparing state to state?
  • How trustworthy is the data aggregated at the highest level?
  • How should you share the data publicly?
  • We only dealt with two divisions of the political system: state and federal governments. How might the system get more complex if we added in city and county governments?

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