BioEYES Reflection Ashley Parmelee

BioEYES Activity I have been extremely pleased by the process that has been happening with our progress of the zebra fish growth. Having the opportunity to put the male and female fish together, viewing the eggs under a microscope, and recording the observations in our journals is a motivational learning tool that will excite my students to learn several topics in the area of science, math, writing, and language arts.

Lab Tours Our group had the opportunity to view four different labs around the campus of Notre Dame. Every individual in the lab was very informative about what was happening in each area. The Zebrafish lab had a variety of rooms where the zebrafish were housed. The women taking care of the zebrafish were excited to show the facility, talk about the variety of fish, and discuss their involvement in the zebrafish. Being able to view the hundreds of fish that are used for educational and research purposes was a benefit to me to gain further knowledge of the purpose of the fish.

Lab Tours Continued Dr. Hyde’s lab gave me an incite to what else the zebra fish are used for in research. The undergraduate student was knowledgeable about the process of how they study the zebrafish eyes in order to help determine how the fish are able to reproduce them. The main goal of their research is to help humans who have diseases in their eyes. This information was very impressive, and I was unaware this was occurring at the university. We were also give an extra tour of the glass blowing shop where the gentlemen are able to create anything researchers may need to use rather than purchasing. This area was amazing and I was astonished by their work.

Modern Lab I was impressed by the organization and excitement shown from the individuals directing the lab experiments. Both experiments do not seem to be beneficial to my first grade classroom, but they were an educational tool to grasp as an individual. I believe these experiments were an enjoyable time for myself to learn about techniques and procedure in the laboratory.

Pedagogy I enjoyed hearing personal experiences about the Zebrafish in their classrooms. The ability to listen to a variety of grade level teachers was beneficial to all of the teacher since we range from kindergarten to high school teachers. As a first grade teacher, I have been extremely curious how this experiment occurred in a elementary classroom. I became even more excited and my ideas began to expand after listening to the wonderful results in the kindergarten classroom.

Thank you for providing the opportunity to learn about the Zebrafish experiment and allowing the material to enter my classroom. I am extremely excited to have my students participate in the week long experiment.