Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 5, 1994 TAG: 9404050099
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BEVERLY ORNDORFF RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE (AP) LENGTH: Medium
High school students who dissect a frog by computer can gain as much insight into frog anatomy as students who dissect the real thing.
That is what some researchers at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education found when they compared students who dissected actual frogs in their biology classes with students who did so through a specially developed computer program.
The finding that an alternative to frog dissection fares well in terms of instructional value is noteworthy in what has become an issue in high school biology instruction.
"There are some compelling reasons to develop alternatives," said Mabel B. Kinzie, who teaches instructional technology at the University of Virginia Education School and who led the studies of the computerized dissections.
Some students object to dissecting a creature sacrificed for classroom instruction. Some states have enacted laws to protect students' rights to refuse dissection, and animal rights groups are urging increased use of alternatives for teaching vertebrate anatomy.
The National Association of Biology Teachers, in a policy statement developed in 1990, said there is a value to "well-constructed dissection activities conducted by thoughtful instructors." But it also suggests that biology teachers re-examine their reasons for including dissection in their courses and consider using alternatives.
"There are economic issues and there is an environmental issue," Kinzie said, noting that hundreds of thousands of frogs are used annually for dissection in the nation's high schools. She said she was told recently that some of the biological supply firms are now collecting frogs in Central America because the population in this country is dropping significantly.
The alternative that she and two graduate students developed and studied within the past several years is a computer-based video program on frog dissection. It not only takes students through the dissection but also requires them to take part in the process.
Students interact with the video-disc program through a touch-screen computer monitor. Students touch the screen at particular parts of the images that are displayed.
For example, the initial incisions for the dissection are demonstrated in the program by an instructor. Then, in practice sessions, students are asked to touch incision points on an image of the frog on the screen. They then put dissection steps in order by touching the printed steps on the screen in the proper order.
The computer responds to correct touches with a confirming, reassuring message such as "Nice Work!"
The narrated demonstrations show how to locate each major organ as the dissection progresses, and students can practice - by touching the screen at appropriate locations - what they have seen.
The interactive program was produced by Kinzie and Richard T. Strauss, whose doctoral dissertation involved the project. Strauss is now science teacher specialist with Norfolk public schools.
by CNB