Which Comes First: Computer Simulation of Dissection or a Traditional Laboratory Practical Method of Dissection

A conflict exists in the nation's schools over the use of animals in the science classrooms. Animal protection advocates state that what is learned by dissection could be more effectively learned by other means. Some science educators state that dissection does not constitute abuse; they are educationally justified While this issue is fraught with intractable ethical and philosophical traditions and no research study or data can resolve such issues, one ethical implication of the debate is that if dissection is used in American schools, it should be used for maximum educational benefit. This quantitative study was conducted to examine whether computer simulation of dissection is as effective as the traditional hands-on laboratory method of dissection when used as a delivery technique for the understanding of the physiological and anatomical systems of earthworm either before or after dissection. A comparison was made of the knowledge gained between the experimental condition and the control condition. It was found that the experimental condition that used interactive computer simulation of dissection before actual hands-on dissection experienced greater gain on a paper and pencil test of knowledge than did the control condition that dissected earthworms by hand.

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