The big Aha moment for me came when we were figuring out curriculum. With me being at a school with a Paidea focus I thought how cool would it be to have this information be introduced to my classes as a Seminar. I began to write down questions and ideas for it can got in contact with the school’s Paidea specialist. I was able to write up the framework and introduce the idea to her. As of today, the seminar created is pretty much complete and I will be able to incorporate it into the curriculum we have created.

Being able to write curriculum period is exciting. The challenge has been where to place the science we have been doing this summer into the 7th and 8th grade curriculum.  What we came up with was that the Mite Science would fit well in covering Scientific Inquiry. Our students will be able to see that the same Scientific Method taught in the classroom is the same process we used this summer working with Dr. Fergus. Kayla and I will also be able to link our Genetics unit to the DNA sequencing we did in the lab. One thing we realized is that the science we are doing is “first time” science.  With that said, we will be able to expose our students to results that have not been presented.  Normally in science class we recreate labs that have been done before. The results are known.  This experience will allow our students to see what happens when scientists ask a question, run experiments and prove a hypothesis that has yet to be tested. Many times we do not get the opportunity to show kids this side of science.

So to begin, I would like to acknowledge that I totally jacked up the spelling of phylogeny on the PDF link below. A phylogeny is an evolutionary tree. The following is a result of mites collected from various people groups.

BrevisCO3-Tree_071314

Good MorningFellow Fellows,

Through the time Team Mite has been together we have found that there are two studies we can present to our students. One is the possible connection between Demodex and Rosacea. The second is through phylogeny.

It is not clear but the throught is that some of the bacteria that are connected to Rosacea  reside inside of the mites. Application to the classroom could be the voluntarily collecting samples from students, analyze the DNA and have the students translate the data into graphs and write on the results.

A phylogeny, or evolutionary map, can also be made from the DNA sequences from the samples.  The phylogeny tracks the migratory patterns of people groups across the world. In the 7th grade curriculum, the Mite Study can relate to Scientific Inquiry and Genetics that is taught during the year.

The challenge I have with technology is the embrace. The time at NCCAT was an introduction to many, many things I can utilize in my classroom. Admittedly it has been overwhelming. But as it was told to me, all these technological tools I have been introduced to are not for me to master right away. But for me to pick and perfect what fits me and my classroom.

I am realizing also that I am an “old dog learning new tricks”. I am learning that it is okay to use technology and separate the work from the personal.  This is a concern I have had and a main reason why I have never really pursued technology, from an interactive stand point. It’s going to be an interesting, crazy, scary, fun ride.