AY+2007+-+08+Pilot+Highlights

This page is set aside as a loose collection of highlights from the pilot year (2007 - 08) of the BioEYES project in Michiana.

From the NDeRC PI narrative: "Working with Dr. Jamie Shuda of Thomas Jefferson University we have brought the BioEYES activity to three area schools: Clay High School, St. Joseph’s High School and Holy Cross Grade School. .... The activity was very well-received at both Clay (6 classes, 110 students) and St. Joseph’s (3 classes, 50 students) high schools. At St. Joseph’s High School even students from other science classes stopped-by to "take a look". Graduate Fellows James Whitcomb and Jill Dzurisin and Lead Teacher Mark Ballentine of Clay High School all played large roles in the success of this activity. This effort was also greatly assisted by the summer research of two St. Joseph’s High School rising seniors. These two students worked with James and Mark to establish a colony of zebrafish to be used in the classroom activity."

Colonies were maintained at Clay and Saint Joseph's High School throughout the academic year.

Students at Saint Joseph's High School produced a 10-minute film documenting their year-long experience with zebrafish husbandry; it will be available online by the end of June.

During the week of June 23-7, 25 teachers (roughly evenly distributed across primary, middle and high school grades) will gather at Jordan Hall for an NDeRC-sponsored BioEYES teacher institute led by Dr. Jamie Shuda. (Of the 50 who signed up for the event, the second set of 25 are signed up for the following summer's event.) Some 80 classrooms and 1600 students are scheduled to be impacted by the first full year of the BioEYES program implementation in the Michiana area.

We are in discussion with the Hoosier Environmental Council's "Our Place" program, aiming to host an additional workshop for these BioEYES teachers in place-based learning. Lessons learned through interaction with zebrafish will be turned toward community-based projects associated with local fisheries under this emerging program.