Zebrafish as a Model System for Environmental Health Studies in the Grade 9–12 Classroom

Abstract

Developing zebrafish embryos were used as a model system for high school students to conduct scientific investigations that reveal features of normal development and to test how different environmental toxicants impact the developmental process. The primary goal of the module was to engage students from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, with particular focus on underserved inner-city high schools, in inquiry-based learning and hands-on experimentation. In addition, the module served as a platform for both teachers and students to design additional inquiry-based experiments. In this module, students spawned adult zebrafish to generate developing embryos, exposed the embryos to various toxicants, then gathered, and analyzed data obtained from control and experimental embryos. The module provided a flexible, experimental framework for students to test the effects of numerous environmental toxicants, such as ethanol, caffeine, and nicotine, on the development of a model vertebrate organism. Students also observed the effects of dose on experimental outcomes. From observations of the effects of the chemical agents on vertebrate embryos, students drew conclusions on how these chemicals could impact human development and health. Results of pre-tests and post-tests completed by participating students indicate statistically significant changes in awareness of the impact of environmental agents on fish and human beings In addition, the program's evaluator concluded that participation in the module resulted in significant changes in the attitude of students and teachers toward science in general and environmental health in particular.

Using Zebrafish to Implement a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience to Study Teratogenesis in Two Biology Laboratory Courses

“…35 Zebrafish have numerous advantages as a model system in scientific research, and have many educational uses for undergraduate and K-12 teaching laboratories. [36][37][38] Zebrafish are inexpensive. Each breeding pair produces numerous embryos in a time-controlled manner, which provides enough embryos at different times of the day for a large, multisection laboratory course.…”

Using Zebrafish to Bring Hands-On Laboratory Experiences to Urban Classrooms

“…In addition, and most importantly, these experiments are very effective at capturing student attention and increasing student interest in the subjects being covered, across a wide range of student abilities. Some of these modules are similar to experiments/ activities that have been used in other countries and other types of schools (e.g., [21][22][23][24] ) and they have been equally effective in engaging students in these other environments, suggesting that these modules should have wide applicability and appeal to a variety of settings and student groups.…”

“…In addition, the zebrafish did not always lay enough eggs to work with. This is a common problem when working with live animals and it has been encountered by other projects that use zebrafish (see 24 ). For the laboratories that involved observation of zebrafish embryos we tried to provide live embryos as we feel that this is much more engaging for the students.…”

“…Zebrafish are increasingly being used as a model organism for many different areas of biological research, including genetics, developmental biology, neuroscience, toxicology, and disease modeling (e.g., [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. They are also a powerful teaching tool, as has been demonstrated by many other studies (e.g., [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24].…”

“…It is also much easier for schools and other groups to maintain their own zebrafish colony for embryo production than it would be to locally obtain embryos from other vertebrates (e.g., Refs. 21,22,24 ). In addition, zebrafish embryos are easy animals for students to work with, as they are easy to handle, develop quickly, and are transparent and easy to observe with simple microscopes available in most schools.…”