E-grāmata: Why Dissection?: Animal Use in Education

Discusses the reasons for animal dissection in secondary education, student and teacher attitudes toward the practice, and possible alternatives.

Hart et al. (population health and reproduction, health sciences librarian, and behavior and physiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, U. of California Davis) consider the reasons for animal dissection in precollege education from a variety of perspectives, to understand current practice and why it has adapted to the use of alternative options so slowly. Writing for secondary school teachers who are interested in advancing science education and those concerned with the use of animals for dissection, they explore the historic, legislative, and educational aspects of performing dissection in classrooms. They first discuss the crisis in science education, the history that has led to current practice, and give an overview of the testing, guidelines, and regulatory framework. The perspectives of teachers (and how to empower them to find alternatives), student attitudes, and how animals are used are then presented, as well as suggestions for developing and accessing new teaching resources. Tables listing organizations, loan programs, websites, and other information, with descriptions of the resources, are incorporated throughout. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

A resource that provides information on alternatives to dissection in biology classes

Why do students continue to dissect animals in biology classes? Why, despite the excellence of teaching resources for veterinary and human medical education that substitute for dissection, do those provided for pre-college students fall short in convenience, flexibility, and coordination with the curriculum? Why Dissection? Animal Use in Education looks beyond the typical yes-or-no debate about dissection to understand how we came to our current practice of dissection in intermediate and high school biology, even as preparation of health professionals has moved away from dissection. Despite the many forces that support the continued use of dissection in pedagogy, teachers retain much autonomy in how they teach in the classroom, and legislation in many states provide specific requirements for what should and should not be taught in separated science and health curricula, offering students the option to not engage in dissection. Why Dissection? walks students, teachers, and parents through these options to help them make more informed choices regarding their science education options.