Dissection in the classroom is great for a number of reasons. Susan Offner has a great article talking about
So get out your gloves and scalpels and lets cut stuff open!
In all honesty, I don't think many of you readers will have a problem looking at pictures of high school dissection, but as a precaution: if you have problems with images of animals being used for educational dissection then you may want to go read another blog. Shout out to MBA with her blog Farm to Classroom. Go check it out if you feel squeamish with this topic, or just because it's amazing! Dissection in the classroom is great for a number of reasons. Susan Offner has a great article talking about The structure of the brain and sizes of its components show how a shark "thinks" or doesn't think and just acts on reflexes. When a student is able to hold the brain in their hands a flood of questions come rushing out that they wouldn't have thought of before. Here is a video of my classroom where we are working with pig hearts. Even my students who don't usually find enjoyment in slicing up things in lab found it fun to be able to trace the pathway of blood through the heart with their own hands. This is something that Elizondo Rodrigo covers in his article. Students learn through many different modalities, lecture and images can only cover a couple of these learning styles. We need something for those hands-on learners that can't get a grasp for a tricuspid valve until they are actually feeling one with their own fingers. We need to do everything we can as educators to make sure ALL of our students have a handle on what we are teaching.
So get out your gloves and scalpels and lets cut stuff open!
12 Comments
Nikita
4/27/2016 05:13:21 pm
One: Grumpy cat, yes! Two: can you post videos of your class activities online, or does that break confidentiality? I think dissection is always a wonderful classroom tool. I personally learned so much from dissections. I am almost sad that I will not get to dissect things as a chemistry teacher.
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Ryan
4/29/2016 10:01:06 am
Since there are no faces or clear identification this video is allowed to be shown. Now you have me in a mental quandary. How could we use dissection in chemistry? I have so many small ideas that I am not sure if they would work or not. You could go into the chemistry of dissection and how chemicals are used to preserve certain parts of the body: tissue, blood? Or do micro "dissections: while they would be simulations, "dissecting" molecules may be a fun tool. Those are the things I could think of off the top of my head.
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drann
4/29/2016 04:15:57 am
Great video! The pig hearts you used were so clean, non-fatty and exemplary in showing the key features of a heart.
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Ryan
4/29/2016 10:03:40 am
While I do not believe that simulations are a direct 1:1 learning substitution for hands-on real life dissection, they are still available. Students have individual needs and their comfort in the classroom is first and foremost. While I do believe that we need to push these comfort zones at times, we need to be respectful of student needs and offer those simulations.
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Natalia Kellamis
4/30/2016 08:49:27 am
I second Dr Ann's question about refusing dissection (I dissected a sponge in high school as an alternative assignment) and raise you one more. How do you make sure students actually learn from a dissection? I did three different dissections in high school/middle school and learned pretty much nothing I couldn't have learned elsewhere.
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Ryan
5/1/2016 05:59:55 pm
This is all about multiple modalities. You need to do everything you can as a teacher to present information in every way possible. Dissections add a hands on dimension that lectures can't. When you do that, and don't make it a cookie cutter walk through, you are fulfilling that role. If after that a student still believes they get nothing out of dissection then that falls upon them.
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Mary Beth Alexander
5/1/2016 05:32:06 pm
Thanks for the shout out! I personally loved doing dissections in high school. My question is similar to Nikita's second question, how would you make it more valuable for students. More so, how can you incorporate inquiry into a classroom dissection?
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Ryan
5/1/2016 06:01:31 pm
When doing dissection, we as educators can't continue to use cookie cutter directions. We can set goals for students on what they should be looking at, and certain things "not to do" but overall the students should be free to explore dissection to get the most out of their learning.
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Devon
5/1/2016 05:46:17 pm
Dissection is always so exciting for students, and I know you had a good time helping your field teacher with the dissections. What are some things you learned from her about how to guide students through dissections and still promote inquiry?
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Ryan
5/1/2016 06:02:47 pm
That is a great question Devon! I would ask you to look through my last couple comment replies and see if that shines more light on the issue for you.
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Nick Robinson
5/1/2016 08:28:05 pm
Dissection days were always my favorite, and I have developed a pavlovian response to the wonderful smell of formaldehyde because of it.
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Ryan
5/2/2016 05:25:02 am
Great question! This is when many free simulations come in handy. Yes I don't think they are as effective but you have to play with the hand you are dealt.
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