simUfish: An Interactive Application to Teach K-12 Students About Zebrafish Behavior

Mwaffo, Violet; Korneyeva, Veronika; Porfiri, Maurizio

doi:10.1089/zeb.2016.1409

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Several online databases and resources exist for learning about zebrafish, 67 , 68 and zebrafish even made their debut on mobile platforms in an interactive app called SimUFish that focuses on modeling behavior. 69 However, the development of online experiences is complicated by issues in accessibility. Online learning strategies exclude certain groups of students, such as students living rurally with limited internet access.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish in a Dish: Using Zebrafish in Authentic Science Research Experiences for Under-represented High School Students from West Virginia

et al. 2023

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Early research experiences positively affect students' interest in STEM careers, and develop practical science and critical thinking skills. However, outreach opportunities are not equally accessible for all students. In states like West Virginia, where many students live in rural Appalachian communities, opportunities for engaging in STEM experiences are limited. In addition, rural teachers may not be equipped to provide authentic research experiences for students due to lack of resources or support. For many students in West Virginia, the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) is a major opportunity for STEM engagement. Since its inception in 1998, HSTA has spread to 26 of 55 counties in West Virginia. The program recruits first-generation, low-socioeconomic status, rurally living, and African American high school students who are under-represented in STEM fields. Our research laboratory partnered with HSTA to implement an innovative, hands-on research camp using zebrafish for students participating in their annual junior-level biomedical sciences summer camp. Our camp was held in-person and adapted to an online format during the Covid-19 pandemic. We used pre–post surveys in both camps to assess impacts on science confidence and to collect information about general perceptions of zebrafish, research, and STEM fields. We found that students participating in the in-person and online camps experienced similar overall gains in science confidence. We also identified strong interest in zebrafish, research, and STEM degrees among online students. Online students did not prefer virtual learning experiences; however, they still enjoyed our camp. We also surveyed high school teachers volunteering for HSTA to identify factors that would encourage use of zebrafish in classrooms. The most prominent needs include classroom supplies, experience, and funding. Our successful science-education partnership demonstrates that zebrafish research experiences foster positive outcomes for under-represented students, and can inform future outreach efforts and collaborations with teachers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish in a Dish: Using Zebrafish in Authentic Science Research Experiences for Under-represented High School Students from West Virginia

et al. 2023

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“…Some students appreciate the use of these technological tools in the classroom and others hate them. [21][22][23] Moreover, there are no significant objective studies published in the literature on whether students learned better the subject with these tools, i.e. there are no competency-based studies on how effective the aforementioned tools are compared to the traditional "blackboard-andchalk" technique.…”

Section: Technology In the Classroommentioning

confidence: 99%

Transformative learning experiences in mechanical engineering through mechatronics: From high school to college

Karkoub

Abdulla

2018

International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education

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For many years, educators at all levels have been trying to revamp their teaching styles to optimize the learning process. The availability of new virtual and technical instructional tools has led to significant increase in research in teaching methodologies whose outcome can be split into three categories: (1) lecture delivery, e.g. flipped classroom; (2) interactivity, e.g. instantaneous gathering of students’ feedback; and (3) technology in the classroom, e.g. using clickers and other gadgets. The focus of this article is on the latter; particularly, the use of technology in teaching concepts that are hard to grasp by mechanical engineering students. These include electromagnetism, semiconductors, design, controls, and system dynamics. The work presented here is based on data collected from activities with 10th and 11th graders, college sophomores, and seniors. The activities include two-week long Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics course and a regular semester long mechanical engineering technical elective. A remarkable level of engagement and participation was observed from the students which led to the successful design and construction of interesting devices and systems which earned them recognition by their colleagues, administrators, and industry visitors. In addition, the student enrollment in the mechanical engineering program has increased by 44% since the start of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics event for high school students in 2013.

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“…In these models, social interaction is introduced as a response function that modulates the speed and turn-rate. Visual stimuli associated with the presence of conspecifics have been often considered in these models [23,[27][28][29][29][30][31][32], where fish tend to align and swim closer to neighboring subjects accommodating to alignment and attraction forces. Related efforts have included hydrodynamic interactions to incorporate lateral line sensing of the flow caused by neighboring subjects [34][35][36][37].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mathematical Modeling of Zebrafish Social Behavior in Response to Acute Caffeine Administration

Tuqan

Porfiri

2021

Front. Appl. Math. Stat.

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Zebrafish is a model organism that is receiving considerable attention in preclinical research. Particularly important is the use of zebrafish in behavioral pharmacology, where a number of high-throughput experimental paradigms have been proposed to quantify the effect of psychoactive substances consequences on individual and social behavior. In an effort to assist experimental research and improve animal welfare, we propose a mathematical model for the social behavior of groups of zebrafish swimming in a shallow water tank in response to the administration of psychoactive compounds to select individuals. We specialize the mathematical model to caffeine, a popular anxiogenic compound. Each fish is assigned to a Markov chain that describes transitions between freezing and swimming. When swimming, zebrafish locomotion is modeled as a pair of coupled stochastic differential equations, describing the time evolution of the turn-rate and speed in response to caffeine administration. Comparison with experimental results demonstrates the accuracy of the model and its potential use in the design of in-silico experiments.

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simUfish: An Interactive Application to Teach K-12 Students About Zebrafish Behavior

Cited by 6 publications

References 48 publications

Fish in a Dish: Using Zebrafish in Authentic Science Research Experiences for Under-represented High School Students from West Virginia

Fish in a Dish: Using Zebrafish in Authentic Science Research Experiences for Under-represented High School Students from West Virginia

Transformative learning experiences in mechanical engineering through mechatronics: From high school to college

Mathematical Modeling of Zebrafish Social Behavior in Response to Acute Caffeine Administration

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