Helping our Post Docs

I am now in the third week of my internship in Raleigh.  It seems strange because this now feels like a normal routine yet at the same time I am desperate to be home.  #TeamAnt has been extremely productive thus far and we will continue to be so throughout this week.

We have had several discussions with our post docs about our projects (we have a few) and what their hopes are for the projects and how we can help make them a success in the classroom.  Dr. Beasley seems to be most excited to get the Ant Pathogens project up and running in the classroom.  We want to make this lesson as smooth as possible so it can easily be implemented in the classroom.  We will pilot the lesson in our classrooms this year to work out any kinks and to figure out what can realistically be done in the classroom.

Another project is the Ant Mounting Lesson Plan we are working on.  This may not be an activity that all teachers using the Invisible Pathogens Lesson can incorporate in the classroom, but it would be nice to give them the option.  Some of the materials are hard to obtain and can be expensive.  The first time we mounted ants, I was ready to throw my ant out the window.  That was a real eye opener for me because it has been a while since I have been frustrated with my learning.  I felt like my students and I hope to remember that feeling when I see my students struggling.  By the third ant I was becoming much more comfortable with the activity and can say from personal experience that it gets better.

The picture above is a fire ant queen that was mounted by one of my teammates, Paige.  You may never see the minor errors in this mounting but we will forever see how this is not perfect.  Ant mounting is an art and perfection is near impossible…. at least for me.