To Dissect
or not to dissect?
Shannon Shackles
Introduction
Dissection in the classroom has become a highly debated pedagogical subject. Live dissections in elementary schools and high schools was first introducted into the curriculum in the late 1960s and early 1970s (Montgomery, 2008). It became popular very quickly as teachers were being encouraged to teach using the hands-on method of learning. In 1981, a code of practice was developed for science teachers because of the copious amounts of complains regarding animal cruelty. It stated:
"No experimental procedure shall be attempted in mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, or fish that shall cause the animal pain or discomfort that interferes with its health."
An estimated 10-12 million animals are killed per year in North America for a school science activity. So is it worth it? Do the learning benefits outweigh the numerous animal deaths? Can virtual replace live dissections?
Students' Experiences with Live Dissections
A study conducted by Oakley in 2011 surveyed Ontario science students about their experiences with live classroom dissections. More than half of the students reported that they willingly participated in live dissections. However, many of the students have mixed feelings about conducting the live dissection due to personal, ethical, religious, and/or environmental reasons.
For the students who did not want to participate in the live dissections, they were either "convinced" by their teacher, were given an alternative option, skipped class, or refused to participate.
The table to the right shows the results from this survey.
The table to the left summarized various research that has been done on students opinions of live dissections. There has been a lot of variation in the results with some studies showing negative feelings towards live dissections with other studies showing positive feelings towards live dissections.
Retrieved from Montgomery, 2008
Why do Students Prefer Live Dissections?
Retrieved from Montgomery, 2008
All students might have different reasons why they might want to complete a live dissection. A study conducted by Montgomery in 2008 asked students in grades 10, 11, and 12 life science classes why they would choose to do a live dissection. over one third of the students preferred a live dissection becasuse they thought it would be more interesting, another third chose a live dissection because they wanted to see the real thing, and the remaining one third wanted to do a live dissection to either gain a better understanding of anatomy or to see the organs better.
Why do Students Prefer Virtual Dissections?
While some the students above preferred to complete a live dissection, there are students who would prefer to do a virtual dissection. In a survey conducted by Montgomery in 2008 (the same study as above), they found that the majority of the students (about 60%) who wanted to do a virtual dissection believed that the live dissections are distasteful and cruel. A few other students had either done a live dissection before and wanted something new. One student did not want to make mistakes, and one other student liked this option because there was no smell or mess.
Retrieved from Montgomery, 2008
What do Teachers Think of Dissection?
Teachers responses to "Real animal dissection is important to the teaching of biology" (retrieved data from Oakley, 2012)
A study completed in 2011 by Oakley surveyed 153 Ontario Science teachers about their views towards live and virtual dissections. 50% of these teachers strongly agreed and 37% of these teachers agreed that live dissections are important in the teaching of biology. Only 6% of the teachers said that live dissections are not important in the teaching of biology, and 7% had no opinion on the topic.
In this same study in 2011, Oakley also asked Ontario Science teachers whether they believe there are sufficient substitutes for live dissections (ie virtual dissections). 29% of the teachers strongly agreed and 27% agreed that there is no real substitute for live dissections. 19% were neutral on the subject and 25% of teachers disagreed in some form with this statement and there are alternatives to live dissections.
