Progress 02/01/19 to 01/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Our specific target audience was 6-12 grade educators in eastern Tennessee because the MEGA:BITESS program best aligns with these state science standards. During the final year of the project we worked directly with seven 6-12 grade biology and environmental science educators (100% Caucsian and female). Because a part of our goal was to raise awareness of our specific careers, disciplines, and the mosquito-borne disease La Crosse neuroinvasive disease, we also went directly into the classroom and interacted with the students. Students in the Appalachian region consist of a ~19% minority population (9.9% African Americans, 5.4% Hispanics/Latinos, and 3% other), a 21% La Crosse neuroinvasive disease susceptible population (under 18yrs), and ~15.8% below the poverty line. Changes/Problems:Recruitment, Selection, and Continued Support for Educators. For each year of the project, educators were recruited using our extensive professional network developed by the Tennessee Geographic Alliance, Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, Tennessee Science Teachers Association, Tennessee Association of Independent Schools, East TN STEM Hub, the UTK Center for Enhancing Education in Mathematics and Sciences, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and other partners. After the first year of the project, participants from previous years were asked to recruit colleagues and friends. By the end of the project, we worked with 20 educators of which 11 participated for at least two years. In our opinion educators were hesitant to participate because of the need for dedicated classroom learning time and covid-19 interruptions. Nature of Participant Activities. We successfully completed all proposed workshop activities. roach. The five-day Medical Entomology and Geospatial Analyses Academy (UT MEGA Academy) used a variety of platforms for educators to increase their understanding of entomology and geospatial analyses. Three in-service workshops were developed; a 5-day medical entomology and geospatial analyses (MEGA) workshop in the summer, a 1-day GIS-review workshop in January, and a 1-day communication workshop in March. Due to the unexpected longer period of time needed to rear mosquitoes, the GIS-review day was moved to February and March. Additionally, a review of data analysis was integrated into the GIS review day as many educators needed to be reminded how to analyze their data (with their students). All workshops were held on the Herbert College of Agriculture campus of the UT to bring educators to the agricultural community. Previous academy participants shared their experiences with the new and old participants during this workshop, and several served as mentors for new participants. Our ability to develop and generate lesson plans for use in the classroom was dependent upon teacher involvement. After several reiterations with educators, we were able to create lesson plans for educators involved with MEGA:BITESS and those independent of the program (e.g., 4H lesson plans). Each educator participated in an Aedes surveillance project, which was implemented by educators in the classroom using our developed curriculum. Educators taught students how to design an experiment to investigate Aedes oviposition and we helped with this by supplementing their lesson plans with multiple "how-to" videos. The surveillance portion of the project was a huge success for students, educators, undergraduate students, and graduate students. We were unable to create informational materials for local health departments and school systems that simultaneously inform the community about mosquitoes and LACE while promoting student communication and leadership skills. While we worked with educators to develop the material, the material the students developed did not get distributed to the health or education communities because of Covid 19. While we hoped students would develop infographics for the community, educators did not collect or share those infographics with us. Part of this may have been due to the unexpected loss of our communications member. Project evaluation and reporting was a challenge due to the unexpected loss of our original project evaluator. However, in-service workshop surveys were developed to evaluate workshop effectiveness, including educators' perceptions of workshop success. Due to the change in evaluation personnel, we were unable to use elements from the TPACK Survey, the Computer Integration Survey, the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Survey, and primarily focused evaluations on content and satisfaction. Teachers were not asked to share aggregated standardized achievement test data for their classes as well as previous year's class achievement data for comparison. Instead, a final Qualtrics open response survey was disturbed to all educators at the end of the study period and those educators provided their comments regarding the benefits to students and other educators. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Over the four years of the three-year project, we were able to host three workshops spanning seven days on or with the University of Tennessee Agricultural Campus each year (n = 7 days x 4 years = 28 workshop days). Additionally, in years two and three of the project Dr Trout Fryxell set up Zoom sessions with educators and their students to showcase the biosafety laboratories and mosquito rearing rooms. In year four of the project, Dr Trout Fryxell visited each school to thank the educators and their students for their efforts as well as talk with students about career opportunities, college preparation, and the benefits of being a woman in STEM. Unexpectedly, one of the educators developed Science Posters of typically underrepresented minorities in STEM and another educator began a PhD program in geographic information sciences; Dr Trout Fryxell is now on her PhD committee. In total 20 educators,middle/high schoolstudents (>1200), 5undergraduate students (1 neuroscience, 1 anthropology, 3 geography), and 2graduate students (entomology and agricultural communications) were directly trained in this project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This project is intimately tied with disseminating results to communities of interest. A fundamental part of the project is the community-driven mosquito surveillance program and the scientific research conducted by middle school, high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. This means that sharing the project and disseminating results to communities is essential and the final step of the scientific method. To maintain communication between project personnel and MEGA:BITESS classrooms, we developed a website (www.megabitess.org) and created an open platform for lesson plans, videos, and (importantly) the mosquito surveillance data (https://megabitess-tga.hub.arcgis.com/). To share this project beyond the program we developed several referred publications (3 published and several in preparation), Honors Thesis (1), created 4H lesson plans (14) and GIS Story Maps (3). Additionally we were invited to present the project to the scientific community (1 national conference, 2 regional conferences, 6 state conferences, and 3 university departments) after choosing to introduce it at several educational and mosquito-centered conferences (1 national and 3 state geography conferences). Of note, we were invited to share this project at two international conferences and discussions are underway to further this project to additional locations and countries; however, we are attempting to find sustainable funding.During this final year of the project, we invited middle school and high school students to display their research findings at an "Expo" on the university campus as well as to tour the agricultural campus (May 2023). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The University of Tennessee community-health and education program, MEGA:BITESS, stimulated innovative classroom teaching and learning, helped facilitate a workforce interested in entomology and geospatial sciences, and fostered a community more aware of vector-borne diseases.Each year we hosted7workshops and supplementedworkshops with videos and lesson plans, this prepared educators in medical entomology and innovative, inquiry-driven pedagogy. All educators were able to teach students about entomology (e.g., mosquitoes, oviposition, life cycles). Most educators could use geospatial technologies although some were still very timid to use it in the classroom. All educators were able to develop authentic, inquiry-driven teaching and learning curriculum for themselves and for other educators and some educators converted their lesson plans to 4H curriculum.We successfully implementeda community-driven mosquito surveillance program that enhanced awareness of medical entomology and provided temporal and spatial information on Aedes populations. All educatorscompleted the surveillance program. By supplementing their curriculum with inquiry-driven curriculum, we were also able to make students feel as if they were contributing to their communities while learning science. These students often spoke with others and we learned that other clubs reported on their work (schoolnewspapers) and Department of Education newsletters. The MEGA:BITESS program benefited students.MEGA:BITESS educators overwhelmingly noted positive benefits for participating students. One benefit was gaining a better understanding of the practice of science in an authentic way by participating in real science investigations, with some contrasting those experiences to typical "made-up" science projects or investigations common in science curriculum. One teacher commented on the importance of students getting to experience science in progress, writing, "the science and research is real and ongoing!!" In another example, one teacher wrote about the various aspects of science investigations that students were engaged in, writing, "They got to pick locations, collect samples, secure the samples and document. My students understood how procedures had to always be the same to validate results and they were invested in those results. They were really interested in the outcome and they learned how to write a research paper."This quote highlights how the experience was meaningful for students because they were invested in the outcomes and saw it as relevant to their community. Several teachers notedstudents were interested in science, with one writing that MEGA:BITESS was "something they can relate to and want to talk about." Another teacher commented on the benefit of being able to see science as impactful, both in terms of larger science concepts related to human impacts on the environment and being agents of change in their community through science, "I think it has helped myself and my students realize they can make an impact or contribute to scientific research even at the young age of 12. The fact that students realized that small changes can make big impacts when it comes to invasive species and human actions." Many teachers commented on being able to connect students' science learning to their community. As one teacher wrote, "they not only were able to see how real problems are investigated through science but they also got to be part of a project that will make things better for their local community." Several teachers connected the project as supporting students in developing an agentic identity with respect to their community, such as one teacher who shared that Students in high school are able to feel like they have a hand in what happens in our community and future. They can look back and say 'I did that!' Educators reported that they benefited from the MEGA:BITESS program.Teachers shared benefits that they received by participating in the MEGA:BITESS program. One of the main benefits they mentioned is gaining access to science resources and materials that are typically in short supply in schools. For example, one teacher wrote, "It is hard as an educator to get funding for relevant labs and materials. These materials are accessible and relatively easy to replace if needed." In addition to materials for egg traps that are provided to teachers, MEGA:BITESS provides access to procedures that require laboratory access, such as microbiology and genetic testing. Teachers noted benefits in terms of their understanding of science concepts. This increased understanding of science not only had the potential to benefit their students, but teachers also mentioned being able to share their knowledge with the community. For example, one teacher mentioned, "this research is so important and not only was I able to educate my students about La Crosse encephalitis, but I also gained a great deal of knowledge that I could share with other educators and members of the community." This potential impact on the community highlights the importance of local relevance in this project that extends beyond students into the community, and an aspect that places teachers in a position as a leader in the community. Finally, teachers also remarked on the benefits of MEGA:BITESS for their science teaching practice more generally. One teacher noted that it allowed them to reimagine how they could support student science learning through authentic engagement in science practices and projects with local relevance, writing, "participating in MEGA:BITESS helped me think more outside the box of ways to teach my students about real world problems into our local community." This shift in instruction is often difficult for teachers to make, especially given sparse opportunities for professional learning specific to teaching science, so it is encouraging to see that MEGA:BITESS has a potential impact on improving science learning by empowering teachers beyond the specific investigations themselves. Teachers participating in MEGA:BITESS mentioned that one of the strengths of the program was its long-term investigations and engagement with educators over time. In fact, teachers noted that students participated in MEGA:BITESS over multiple academic years. As one teacher wrote, this continued participation can be driven by student interest, "I have continued the ovitrap experiment and collections with my E-club (at their request, not my suggestion) as a way to connect climate change and spread of disease along with the scientific method every year."Part of what teachers highlighted as an important part of the long-term nature of MEGA:BITESS was the possibility to continue to investigate and develop scientific questions that can be continued to be investigated over time, which reflects the way science is done. For example, one teacher mentioned some of the success they had in identifying mosquito species and investigations that were still in process, writing, "at my location we found 4 species of mosquitoes and were in the process of determining how elevation affected species populations." Collection of mosquito data across multiple years allows multi-year investigations and studies that students can continue to contribute to over multiple years and be connected to future participating students. Many teachers expressed hope that the program continues to be offeredand made several suggestions for how it could be expanded. For example, several teachers mentioned wanting more opportunities to connect with scientists at the university, either through creating videos of some of the lab work, details behind the microbiology procedures, virtual conversations with scientists, or field trips to university laboratories to experience the process firsthand. Similarly, teachers suggested that the program could expand to include more types of schools and students, especially under-resourced schools and schools in rural locations.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
McBride, A., R. T. Trout Fryxell, and L. Middleton. 4H Lesson plan: That Sucks: Mosquitoes
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Reynolds, S. R. T. Trout Fryxell, and L. Middleton. 4H Lesson plan: Environmental Changes
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Ridley, C. R. T. Trout Fryxell, and L. Middleton. 4H Lesson plan: Medical Entomology
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Boris, A., R. T. Trout Fryxell, and L. Middleton. 4H Lesson plan: Spillover
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Wehunt, D. R. T. Trout Fryxell, and L. Middleton.
Four 4H Lesson plans:
What else is living in your ovitraps?
Yellow fever
CoDap
Your home mosquito
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Yates, C. R. T. Trout Fryxell, and L. Middleton. 4H Lesson plan: Mosquitoes- just the beginning
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Butterfield, E., L. Waldron, R. T. Trout Fryxell, and L. Middleton.
Several 4H Lesson plans:
lesson 1
lesson 2
lesson 3
lesson 4
lesson 5
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Day, C. A., A. Odoi, and R. T. Trout Fryxell. 2023. Persistent high-risk geographic clusters of neuroinvasive La Crosse virus disease in the socioeconomically disadvantaged Appalachian region of the United States of America. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 17(1): E0011065. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011065
*written by a graduate student
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Butterfield, E. L., J. L. Andsager, and R. T. Trout Fryxell. 2022. Diversifying the halls of a middle school science wing. American Entomologist. 68(4): 28-31. https://doi.org/10.1093/ae/tmac065
*written by one of the participating educators
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Day, C. A. and R. T. Trout Fryxell. 2022 Community efforts to monitor and manage Aedes mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) with ovitraps and litter reduction in east Tennessee. BMC Public Health. 22(1): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14792-4
*written by graduate student and uses the MEGA:BITESS mosquitoes
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Trout Fryxell, R. T. September 9, 2022. La Crosse virus is the second-most common virus in the US spread by mosquitoes and can cause severe neurological damage in rare cases. Published on The Conversation. As of January 25, 2023 - 177,419 reads and republished on 31 media platforms. https://theconversation.com/la-crosse-virus-is-the-second-most-common-virus-in-the-us-spread-by-mosquitoes-and-can-cause-severe-neurological-damage-in-rare-cases-184412
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Miner, W., E. Sass, and K. Acord. 2022. Class Project. Four Lesson Plans
1) Climate lesson plan on precipitation and mosquito habitat for 9-12 grade
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17OC9g5g1riguvoCiUfn5vP4djVfMfdp0_LZ5BRzXLZo/edit?usp=sharing
2) Climate lesson plan on precipitation and mosquito habitat for 6-8 grade
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18JQPMa7sM_pUYkDH1BFKlhNdnd057cA7kN86SdvNunA/edit?usp=sharing
3) Land cover lesson: land cover and mosquito habitat for 9-12 grade
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ku97OaBndXjEN7c3_ESiWgKA38RUjPNkxAsDE32MrPU/edit?usp=sharing
4) Land cover lesson: land cover and mosquito habitat for 6-8 grade
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19zF4Vrz5r4PRKFg-vMK7PwPrdPO9Rzvqk6o9GiuzlaY/edit?usp=sharing
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Miner, W., E. Sass, and K. Acord. 2022. Class Project. Two ESRI StoryMaps
1) MEGA:BITESS StoryMap
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2ea29b335a93467f91178e23e9d64ea2
2) La Crosse Neuroinvasive Disease StoryMap
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/62d7adeb98ce4cd59869ca5be11c99ce
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
R. T. Trout Fryxell and the MEGA:BITESS team. 2022 Empowering a community with a plastic cup and some guidance. Joint Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, Entomological Society of Canada, and Entomological Society of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia. International Invitation
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
R. T. Trout Fryxell and the MEGA:BITESS team. 2022. Community efforts to monitor & manage Aedes mosquitoes with ovitraps and litter reduction in East Tennessee. International Invited Presentation, Society of Vector Ecology International Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. International Invitation
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Trout Fryxell, R. T. 2022. Preventing La Crosse encephalitis infections in the children of East Tennessee. Science and Energy Forum, Baker Center for Policy, University of Tennessee. Invited University Presentation
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Trout Fryxell, R. T. 2022. What was I thinking? The development of a community health program to prevent La Crosse encephalitis infections in the children of East Tennessee. Department of Biology, Kansas State University. Invited University Presentation
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Trout Fryxell, R. T., K. Poh, A. Murillo, R. G�lvez Esteban, M. L�pez de Felipe Escudero, J. M. Lampan, P. M. del Fernandez, C. A. Day, J. G. Juarez, and E. Pellecer Rivera. Opportunities and lessons learned from engaging the public in vector biology research and vector-borne disease control. In preparation for submission to the Journal of Vector Ecology
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Day, C. A. and the MEGA:BITESS team. 2023. Investigating the persistent risk clustering of neuroinvasive La Crosse virus disease. Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Mosquito Control Association, Savanah, Georgia. Invited Regional Presentation
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Trout Fryxell, R. T. and the MEGA:BITESS team. 2022. La Crosse encephalitis in central and southcentral Appalachia. Indiana Mosquito and Vector Control Association, Virtual. Invited Regional Presentation
|
Progress 02/01/21 to 01/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience is rather broad. We work directly with 6-12grade educators in the Appalachian region, which includes a ~19% minority population (9.9% African Americans, 5.4% Hispanics/Latinos, and 3% other), a 21% LACE vulnerable population (under 18yrs), and ~15.8% below the poverty line. We work directly with 6-12 grade educators (100% Caucsian and 93% female) and indirectly with their students and families (see demographics above). We deliver science-based knowledge to the educators through formal educational programs (MEGA:BITESS academy) and a year-long classroom engagement with authentic science (i.e., science experiment). Changes/Problems:Our research team overcame many challenges presented in 2019 (government shutdown, losing two team members) and were again challenged during this reporting period due to Covid-19. We worked with familiar and new educators from the first project periods. Due to this, we requested a no-cost extension to have one more cohort of educators. Additional challenges that we have noted includes educator "burn out" with their schools and systems, so we have attempted to be flexible and accommodating. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? FOR EDUCATORS. We finished the second-year of the academy by hosting the GIS workshop (February 2021) virtually and the Communication workshop (April 2021) virtually. We also hosted the 3rd academy which included the five day workshop consisting of lectures, lessons, and reminded educators about the mosquito surveillance and need for lesson plans. For all seven days, we were able to identify speakers that gave excellent lunch-and-learns. FOR STUDENTS.One undergraduate student (major: Neuroscience) and two high school students were able to participate, contribute, and learn with the project team. All students helped with setting up the workshop and training the educators. Additionally, students assisted with project-related items that connected to their individual interests. The neuroscience student is developing educational material for the community and the two high school students learned about entomology and importance of mosquito life stages. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In the reporting period, results have not been disseminated to the communities using a variety of platforms. To the scientific community, we have presented the work at scientific conferences related to entomology, geography, and disease ecology. Specifically, we directly reached more educators by presenting our work at the ESRI conference in an invited symposium for "ESRI Teachers Teaching Teachers GIS (T3G)", to the Tennessee Geographic Council, and to Tennessee 4H agents. We have also published our first manuscript in an invited collection focused on the use of citizen sciences in vector surveillance (Trout Fryxell et al. 2022). Informally, we have kept the community aware through social (#megabitesson Twitter) and online presence (www.megabitess.org).We have made data public through the Tennessee Geographic Alliance (https://megabitess-tga.hub.arcgis.com/) and videos public through YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClFstQiji-s6XpZ1qOdvp2A). During the project period, we had 1121 site session (an increase of 63% from the previous year), 649 unique visitors (an increase of 66% from the previous year), with visitors from the United States (1076) and 21 other countries. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The next reporting period will include the 2022 GIS workshop and Communication workshops, as well as recruitment and retention for the last cohort. We hope to recruit ~10 new educators and retain ~10 educators to have peer mentoring and assist with classroom implementation. Ideally the new educators will meet our needs for expanding the program into additional counties and schools. We expect to create more publications this year Scientific Manuscript: Comparison of 2020 mosquito data across space and time comparing laboratory collections to educator collections (objective 1) and using the 2021 mosquito data as a control to test a hypothesis/treatment (objective 2). Using this manuscript as a basis, the project team hopes to write an annotated research paper for Science in the Classroom (https://www.scienceintheclassroom.org/) based on this manuscript. Extension Publications: We expect to work with several educators to convert their lesson plans from MEGA:BITESS specific to more universal in the 4H format. Communication Publications: We hope to work with the UT creative team to have a local impact story about the program and how the program not only helps the scientists learn more about the mosquitoes and the virus, but also how the program is meeting the needs for the educators to teach next-generation science standards. Educator-written publication: The project team hopes to work with one or two of the educators to write a publication based on their experiences and lessons of using science in the classroom. We hope to increase the number of educators involved in the project which should increase the number of lesson plans, enhance our community-driven surveillance, and also increase awareness of mosquitoes and La Crosse virus. We currently have 14 educators in the current cohort and we will aim for 25 educators in this last cohort.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
THE PROBLEM. Aedes mosquitoes pose domestic and international threats for their rapid spread, combined with the potential to harbor and transmit multiple medical and veterinary important pathogens (Gubler 1998). La Crosse encephalitis (LACE) is a unique Aedes-related mosquito-borne disease and the second leading pediatric-related arbovirus in the continental U.S. (Utz et al. 2003, Bewick et al. 2016). Approximately 75% of all U.S.cases now occur in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina making LACE endemic and prevalent in southernAppalachia (Haddow and Odoi 2009, CDC 2018, Vahey et al. 2021).Since 2000, the prevalence of LACE pediatric cases in east Tennessee made the region a known epidemiological and entomological hotspot (Jones et al. 1999, Erwin et al. 2002, Vahey et al. 2021). LACE symptoms vary by individuals, but immunocompromised adults and children less than 15 years of age present with symptoms ranging from summertime illness (e.g., fever, aches, fatigue, headache) to neurological symptoms (e.g., seizures, coma, encephalitis, hemiparesis, paralysis, and/or cognitive disorders) (McJunkin et al. 2001, Hardin et al. 2003, de los Reyes et al. 2008, (CDC) 2019). The severely outdated and underestimated economic burden of a LACE case ranges from $48,775 - $3,090,398 per case, with an average of $791,374 over 89.6 years of life adjusted for disabilities (McJunkin et al. 2001). The bite of an infectedAedes mosquito transmits La Crosse virus (LACV) and causes LACE (Thompson and Beaty 1977, Rust et al. 1999). Aedes triseriatus (eastern treehole mosquito) is the primary vector, but Ae. albopictus (Asian tiger mosquito) is also involved with transmission (Thompson et al. 1972, Gerhardt et al. 2001). Both mosquitoes will lay their eggs in similar water-filled artificial and natural habitats (e.g., containers and tree holes) (Dixson, A., R. N. Jackson, R. D. Rowe, R. Nease 2020) and females will blood feed on humans and reservoir hosts (e.g., squirrels, chipmunks, and groundhogs) (Jones et al. 1999). Recent epidemiological work in western North Carolina found that LACE cases occur at locations with a combination of natural and artificial oviposition sites (Tamini et al. 2021) and that LACE cases repeat and focus to specific locations (Byrd et al. 2018, Tamini et al. 2021) suggesting mosquito management combined with STEM education can potentially prevent childhood LACE cases. Knowing these two mosquitoes occur in the same environment and that LACE occurs in specific communities provides us with a unique opportunity to identify and manage these mosquitoes and resulting LACV infection. Unfortunately, Tennessee lacks an Aedes mosquito or LACV surveillance and/or management plan that incorporates community health (e.g., surveillance, virus testing, communication, engagement); thus, LACE is a neglected and often overlooked community and environmental health problem. THE SOLUTION. MEGA:BITESS (Medical Entomology & Geospatial Analyses: Bringing Innovation to Teacher Education & Surveillance Studies) integrates Teaching-Research-Extension with medical entomology, geospatial and data techniques, communication, and education pedagogies to provide professional development for educators while simultaneously increasing mosquito surveillance, LACV testing, and community awareness of LACE and its vectors (www.megabitess.org). To do this, we created and implemented a yearlong academy for secondary STEM educators to help those educators teach medical entomology, data analyses, and science communication in the grade 6-12 classrooms. Simultaneously, we developed a community-driven mosquito surveillance program with tailored educational materials that had students test hypotheses connected to mosquito populations. The students asked questions directly related to Aedes mosquito egg laying and testing their questions in unique experiments. In year one (2019-2020) we recruited 17 educators to participate in the project and the next year (2020-2021) 15 of those educators returned; all educators successfully conducted the mosquito surveillance and their students evaluated testable hypotheses. Educators developed lesson plans, directed their class's experiment, and informed 500+ students about a variety of careers, disciplines, and LACE. The scientific data students collected can be queried and analyzed by anyone on our dashboard (https://megabitess-tga.hub.arcgis.com/). We envision using these data to develop LACE disease models to identify biting and transmission risks and to identify areas in need of mosquito management to prevent LACV transmission. We validated a long-term mosquito surveillance plan, developed materials for health and science communication, and met the health and science needs of our community. Here, we inspired students with a community-driven surveillance project, and were able to show that their work in the 6-12 grade classroom could be used be used to help a community to develop methods for preventing LACV transmission and subsequent LACE cases. Additional notes about year three of the project (February 1, 2021 - January 31, 2022). We were met with the challenges of Covid-19 and retaining and recruiting educators to the program as classrooms were being disrupted by many external sources. We finished the 2nd corhort in April 2021 (13 of the 15 completed the program). For the 3rd cohort, we retained nine educators and recruited four additional educators. Since the 3rd cohort were a mix of new the program educators and 'veteran' educators, we allowed the 'veterans' to serve as mentors to the newer educators and invited two of them to present during the workshop on what worked and what didn't. This allowed the educators to listen, learn, and reflect and created an educator community more informed about how to implement the professional development into the classroom. Like before, we equipped educatorswithmaterial and training, which also gave them the leadership andthe confidence to develop and lead classroom instruction in both learning environments. At this point in the project, we are changing classroom instruction and behaviors to make a classroom more engaged with the scientific method, especially because we allow the students to drive the science. Additionally, we have enhanced awareness of agricultural and geospatial career paths. Specifically, one educator is now pursuing a MS in Education Science with an emphasis in 'global education' at Lincoln Memorial University and a second educator is pursuing a PhD in geography at Middle Tennessee State University. Several of the students have also commented to their educators that they now want to "be an epidemiologist" or another similar person when they 'grow up'. Thus, we met our short-term outcomes of developing the in-service academy with teacher-developed mosquito curriculum and enhancedAedessurveillance. Additionally, we met our mid-term outcomes of incorporating career paths in the classroom, beginning to understand the temporal and spatial patterns of Aedes mosquitoes, and enhancing mosquito and LACV surveillance. References available upon request, but eliminated due to character count.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Trout Fryxell, R. T., M. Camponovo, B. Smith, K. Butefish, J. M. Rosenberg, J. L. Andsager, C. A. Day, and M. P. Willis. 2022. Development of a community-driven mosquito surveillance program for vectors of La Crosse virus to educate, inform, and empower a community. Insects 13(2): 164. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13020164
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
MEGA:BITESS ESRI geographic dashboard. https://megabitess-tga.hub.arcgis.com/
|
Progress 02/01/20 to 01/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience is rather broad. We work directly with 6-12grade educators and they will work with their students and develop material for the community. For educators, we target 6-12 grade science educators in east Tennessee. In the 2020-2021 project period we directly engaged with 15 educators and their students (>416 students). Additionally, materials are available online via www.megabitess.org. Since developing the website, we have directly engaged with an average of 5 people per day ranging from 0 to 43 interactions. Interactions have been international with a majority from the United States, but also Argentina, Cameroon, Canada, China, Egypt, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Israel, Malaysia, Nigeria, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. During the 2020 calendar year (Jan 1- Dec 31), we had 385 unique visitors. Changes/Problems:Our research team overcame many challenges presented in 2019 (government shutdown, losing two team members) and were again challenged during this reporting period due to Covid-19. We worked with the same educators from period one in period two, and hope they return for period 3 as mentors. Due to this, we requested a no-cost extension to have one more cohort of educators. All interactions with educators were held virtually and most interactions with the project team were virtually as well. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? FOR EDUCATORS. We finished the first-year academy by hosting the GIS workshop (February 2020) in person and the Communication workshop (April 2020) virtually. We also hosted the 2nd academy virtually (termed 1.5 because all participants had been in the previous cohort) in June2020. (In some parts of this report, we include the period 3 two spring 2021 workshops too because of reporting ease.) This 5-day workshop consisted of lectures, lessons, and reminded educators about the mosquito surveillance and need for lesson plans. For all seven days, we were able to identify speakers that gave excellent lunch and learns. FOR STUDENTS.One undergraduate (major: Neuroscience) and two graduate students (majors: Agricultural Communications and Entomology) were able to participate, contribute, and learn with the project team. All students helped with setting up the workshop and training the educators. Additionally, students assisted with project-related items that connected to their individual interests. The neuroscience student is developing educational material for the community. The communications students developed many of our videos and print material. The entomology student is using the mosquito surveillance data to supplement his dissertation research. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In the reporting period, results have not been disseminated to communities of interest formally except through scientific presentations. Informally, we have kept the community aware through social (#megabitesson Twitter) and online presence (www.megabitess.org).We have made data public through the Tennessee Geographic Alliance (https://megabitess-tga.hub.arcgis.com/) and videos publics through YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClFstQiji-s6XpZ1qOdvp2A). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The next reporting period will include the 2021 GIS workshop and Communication workshop, as well as recruitment and retention of the next cohort. We hope to recruit ~10 new educators and retain ~10 educators to have peer mentoring and assist with classroom implementation. We expect to write a minimum of two referred articles this year Introducing MEGA:BITESS as a community-engaged research to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Comparison of 2020 mosquito data across space and time comparing laboratory collections to educator collections We expect to double our educators involved in the project which should increase the number of lesson plans, enhance our community-driven surveillance, and also increase awareness of mosquitoes and La Crosse virus. We plan to bring a faculty member from Agricultural Education who works with 4H into the program and have this faculty member help to translate lesson plans for the 4H audience.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The overall objective of this application is to create a UT Medical Entomology and Geospatial Analyses Academy (UT MEGA Academy) for educators (grades 6-12) by engaging them in learning medical entomology and GIS for classroom implementation while simultaneously developing a community-driven mosquito surveillance and education program. Our central hypothesis is that the development of the UT MEGA Academy will stimulate innovating classroom teaching and learning, facilitate a workforce interested in entomology and geospatial sciences, and foster a community aware of vector-bornediseases. In year 2 of the project (February 1, 2020 - January 31, 2021), we were met with the challenges of Covid-19 as educators in the workshop had to not only learn this material but also convert their standard classrooms into hybrid and flexible classes (in-person and virtual). This became a challenge for recruiting, so for this project period we worked with 15 of the 17 educators identified in first project period. During the year, we did lose three high school and one middle school educator due to the difficulty in managing in person and online. This gave us a total of 11 educators who completed the program. We equipped educatorswithmaterial and training, which also gave them the leadership andthe confidence to develop and lead classroom instruction in both learning environments. For example, at a middle school a google classroom/club was created so students at home and in-person could engage in active learning (https://sites.google.com/view/clubbitess/teacher-lessons?authuser=0). Through this project we are beginning to enhance awareness of agricultural and geospatial career paths, integrated complex concepts into the classroom, and forged mentorships between faculty. Accomplishmentsobjective 1.Specifically,we identified and retained 11 educators and 7 lunch and learn speakers to participate in the project. For project period 2, all 17 educators completed the academy, and of the 15 educatorsin project period 2-3 all participated in the 5-day workshop and most participated in the following GIS and Communication workshop. Thus far,2 lesson plans and a google classroom has been shared with the larger community. Knowing that educators also needed material we developed MANY videos to share with their students. We also noticed that some educators embraced our lunch and learn speakers and started interacting with additional scientists in the community to highlight the diversity of careers and people (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1K0h3s0PU1INL_8vZIkik4keZMYDJM8D_). Thus, we met our short-term outcomeof developing the in-service academy with teacher-developed mosquito curriculum and our mid-term outcome of incorporating career paths in the classroom. Accomplishments objective 2.Learning and adapting from year 1, educators implemented astudent-drivenmosquito surveillance program with their students (6 weeks of mosquito surveillance on the school property with questions designed by students). Each educator worked with their students to design an experiment with testable hypotheses.All ofthe educators returned their material. After returning their mosquito collections to us, we counted, reared, and identified the enclosed adult mosquitoes. Trout Fryxell held a virtual field trip to the laboratory with 8 of the classrooms and showed the students (and educators) how to raise mosquitoes and also answered general science/career questions from the students. Thus, we met our short-term outcomeofenhancedAedessurveillance and began to understand the temporal and spatial models of Aedes mosquitoes. Surveillance results:From the 540 egg papers (15 sites x 6wksx 6 traps), there was an average of 249 eggs per paper, ranging from 0 to 1181 eggs, and a total of 71,903 eggs. This total is similar to 2019 dataset, yet less surveillance was required (fewer traps and trapping weeks), suggesting trap placement improved. We hatched the eggs from those collected egg papers and were able to rear two mosquito species: 7826 Aedes albopictus and 1802 Aedes triseriatus. Specifically, there was an average of 19 adults per an egg paper (range: 0 - 449). The egg to adult percentage was 14% (number of adults per egg paper / # eggs) which was also better than the previous year (3%). All of the eclosed Ae. triseriatus and when possible a pool of Aedes albopictus (10-30 adults) were screened for LACV; all screened adults were negative for LACV. Data for this year is provided and displayed in an Open Access database (https://megabitess-tga.hub.arcgis.com/) so educators, the community, and the public can all access and learn about the dataset. The graduate student is currently comparing the educator collection to his collection and finding minimal differences due to collection procedures. Thus, we met our short-term outcomeof enhancing mosquito and LACV surveillance. Accomplishments objective 3.Material for educators was a priority for this project period as public health was focused on Covid-19 response and because educators indicated in surveys that they were overwhelmed and needed material that could be shared synchronously in the classroom and asynchronously in the virtual classroom. We specifically developed a group of videos for two different audiences. First, tutorials for educators were developed so they could be reminded how to access different material and use it (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClFstQiji-s6XpZ1qOdvp2A/videos). We also developed material for students so they could understand the experiment and see they were a part of the larger project (https://www.megabitess.org/community-driven-experiment). We are beginning to curate, edit, and add lesson plans for the larger educational community to our website (https://www.megabitess.org/lesson-plans); some will be reformatted for 4H as well. Thus, we met our short-term outcomeof community specific Aedes engagement material.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Trout Fryxell, R. T. and J. M. Rosenberg. Authentic science in the classroom with MEGA:BITESS. presentation at the Knox County Schools Science Department District Learning Day, Knoxville, TN.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
o Trout Fryxell, R. T. March 2020. (keynote) How one health uses a systems approach to understand vector-borne diseases. KY One Health Conference at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. (Invited presentation at regional meeting)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
o Trout Fryxell, R. T. et al. Medical Entomology & Geospatial Analyses: Bringing Innovation To Teacher Education & Surveillance Studies (MEGA:BITESS); American Mosquito Control Association National Conference; Portland, OR. (Selected presentation at national meeting); canceled due to Covid-19
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
o Willis, M. Creative component for a non-thesis masters degree within the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Extension, and Communications at the University of Tennessee. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RKXXHZKii12RsTq0tAlkBmjJi6FhR2fx
|
Progress 02/01/19 to 01/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience is rather broad. We will work directly with 6-12 grade educators and they will work with their students and develop material for the community. For educators, we are specifically targeting 6-12 grade science educators in east Tennessee. We are attempting to have one educator from each of the 30 east Tennessee counties. Changes/Problems: Our research team prepared for several expected challenges and problems such as recruiting educators to participate, parent complaints for working with mosquitoes, educator retention, lack of mosquitoes due to weather, etc. We werepleasantlysurprised to learn that more educators applied for the program than expected and all of them were able to get parents on board and were retained for the actual mosquito surveillance portion of the project (objective 2). However, we did encounter several major problems and made changes to the project to adjust for those problems. The government shutdown limited our recruitment timeline for educators to learn and apply to theprogram. In April 2019,Dr.Arthur Leal,our coinvestigator on the project and communications lead, unexpectedlypassed away.This resulted in an investigator change. JulieAndsager, PhDjoined our teamto help with communications and Leal'sundergraduate student (Micah Willis) joined us as a team member. In September 2019, Patty Stinger-Barnes, our coinvestigator on the project and education / evaluation lead unexpectedly left the University of Tennessee.This resulted in a second investigator change. Joshua Rosenberg, PhD.joined our teamto help with STEM education, evaluation, and implementation. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?FOR EDUCATORS.(1) Training Activities.TheMEGA:BITESS5-day workshop was held June24-282020 on the University ofTennesseecampus.This 5-day workshop consistedof lectures, lessons, surveillance-focused field trips,andcurriculum development. Educators participate in inquiry-based learningby conductingeducator-initiatedmosquitosurveillance around the agriculture campus, collecting data andgeoreferencingsites, counting eggs, and developing community-informational material.(2)Professional Development.During theMEGA:BITESworkshop, professional develop in the form of leadership with given to the educators. Specifically, they participated in theTrue Colorsleadership assessment to gain a better understanding of themselves in relation to others.Continuing education units (CEUs) were also offered to the educators, but to date, none have requested those units. FOR STUDENTS.Two undergraduate (majors: Biosystems Engineering and Neuroscience) and graduate students (majors: Agricultural Communications and Entomology) were able to participate in the workshop. They helped with setting up the workshopandtraining the educators. Additionally, they participated in the leadership exercise. The undergraduate students also presented their involvement at undergraduate reserach competitions and recruitment events. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In the reporting period, results have not been disseminated to communities of interest formally. Informally, we have kept the community aware through social (#megabitess on Twitter) and online presence (www.megabitess.org). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The next reporting period will include the GIS workshop and classroom implementation along with Communication workshop and classroom implementation. We will also recruit our second corhort of educators and create mentors from this first cohort.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The overall objective of this application is to create a UT Medical Entomology and Geospatial Analyses Academy (UT MEGA Academy) for educators (grades 6-12) by engaging them in learning medical entomology and GIS for classroom implementation while simultaneously developing a community-driven mosquito surveillance and education program. Our central hypothesis is that the development of the UT MEGA Academy will stimulate innovating classroom teaching and learning, facilitate a workforce interested in entomology and geospatial sciences, and foster a community aware of vector-bornediseases. In year 1 of the project, we successfully recruited and trained 17 east Tennessee educators in medical entomology. We providededucatorswithleadership andthe confidence to develop and lead classroom instruction in entomology and the material for inquiry-driven learning (e.g., lecture pdfs, recorded lunch-and-learn videos for career awareness).Within this window we observed both the educators and their students taking ownership in the project (and their learning) by developing materials on their own. For example, at a middle school the school newspaper wrote astory about the project andtwo students started a podcast about mosquitoes (currently titledThe6-leggedassassin,which they plan to submit toaNPR podcast competition).Through this project we are beginning to enhance awareness of agricultural and geospatial career paths, integratecomplex concepts into the classroom, and forgementorships between faculty and educators. Accomplishmentsobjective 1.Specifically,we identified and recruited 17 educators and 5 lunch and learn speakers to participate in the project. All17 educatorsparticipated in the 5-day workshop and most participated in the evening symposium/social (excused absence forreligiousreasons).Thus far,12 (71%) developed documented curriculum for their classroom.Thus, we met our short-term outcomeof developing the in-service academy with teacher-developed mosquito curriculum. Accomplishments objective 2.The educatorsimplemented astudent-drivenmosquito surveillance program with their students (10 weeks of mosquito surveillance on the school property with questions designed by students). Each educator worked with their students to design an experiment with testable hypotheses.All ofthe educators returned their material. After returning their mosquito collections to us, we counted, reared, and identified the enclosed adult mosquitoes. We noted thatbotheducators and students emailed us asking about results indicating that we were able tocontinuecontact with educators regarding mosquitosurveillance.Thus, we met our short-term outcomeofenhancedAedessurveillance. We have not been able to screen these mosquitoes for La Crosse virus (yet). Surveillance results:Of the 1700 egg papers (17 sites x 10wksx 10 traps) less than 5% were missing and 30% had 0 eggs on them; resulting in 1120 egg papers with eggs. In total 105,785 eggs were counted with a mean of 65.1 eggs per paper and a median of 14 eggs per paper. These eggs were hatched by Univ. Tennessee undergraduate students and they were able to rear 833 adultAedes albopictusmosquitoes (0.53 per egg paper, and a maximum of 111 per egg paper).Undergraduate students are currently comparing educator results to their surveillance programandmiddle/high school students are working with educators to map their results and identify if their hypothesis was proven. Accomplishments objective 3.This part of the project is planned for April2020 (outside of reporting period); thus, we have not accomplishedthis task (yet).
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Trout Fryxell, R. T. January 2019. Introducing the UT MEGA Academy UT MEGA:BITESS. Tennessee Mosquito and Vector Control Association. Nashville, TN. (Invited presentation at state meeting)
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Trout Fryxell, R. T. April 2019. A cryptic threat in Appalachia is also the most common pediatric arbovirus in teh United States. Global Awareness lecture to Honors Program at the University of Tennessee.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Camponovo, M. January 2020. Medical Entomology & Geospatial Analyses:Bringing Innovation To Teacher Education & Surveillance Studies (MEGA:BITESS); Tennessee Mosquito and Vector Control Association, Nashville, TN (Invited presentation at state meeting)
|
|