Intro to Veterinary Medicine students in 8th Gifted at Washington Middle School are using their newfound knowledge of anatomical directions to demonstrate understanding in a "gummy bear dissection lab," then proving and evaluating their own logic through paired writing and defense to the teacher.
For safety purposes, Virgen purchased individually-packaged gummy bears. Each student is given their own sanitized workspace, their own prepackaged gummy bears, and their own clean (not sharp) knife for cutting. They use provided hand sanitizer both before and after the project.
“The students struggle with taking theoretical knowledge and applying it to real-life. In the real world, if they were medical students making incisions during surgery or referencing a broken bone or discussing the effects of an internal bleed, their knowledge would have to move beyond the theoretical into deep application. That's why dividing a tangible object (i.e. cutting the gummy along different planes) then verbally proving their thinking on anatomical direction/position to me through defense of their actions guides them to that same deeper thinking used by medical professionals,” said instructor Stefanie Virgen. “In normal years, we would build on that vocabulary and understanding by using it when doing clinical exams with real animals. This year will look different due to SARS-CoV-2 precautions, but I'm hopeful to be able to create some lessons that are similar enough to those hands-on aspects that the students will receive similar benefits.”
The students have responded favorably toward the project.
“To a doctor, this would seem like basic stuff. But for the kids, it's pretty intense since it forces them to change how they think,” Virgen said. “That's my favorite kind of lesson: one that's real-world and changes how they think more than what they think.”
Photos of the Intro to Veterinary Medicine students working on the “gummy bear dissection lab” are below.
