Adam Nye
LetinaJeranyama
Fetal Pig and Rat Dissection LAP Day 1
Content: In this lesson, students will practice the theory we have been learning in the classroom. They will dissect the abdominal cavity of either a fetal pig or a rat. Once they have opened the abdominal cavity with one vertical cut and two horizontal cuts, they will identify the basic organs of the digestive tract. Next, students will remove the small and large intestines, cutting at the stomach and the rectum. Students will open a section of each intestine to compare the inside of each (villi present compared with villi absent), and relate that structure to the function of the organ. Next, students will remove the stomach and cut along its edge, revealing the contents of the stomach and also allowing students to examine the sphincter. Finally, students will remove the kidney, bisect it, and compare the renal cortext to the medulla.
Learning goals:
Students will be able to use their dissection tools appropriately and effectively.
Students will be able to identify the basic organs of the digestive tract.
Students will be able to demonstrate lab safety.
Rationale: We engaged with human anatomy for the vast majority of the third quarter, and we are about to embark upon a unit pertaining to evolution. As a result, this lab falls in a neat place; students will be able to practice the anatomical theory we learned in class, identifying and examining the same organs and body systems we spent a quarter learning about. At the same time, they will able to look back upon this dissection when we talk about shared characteristics and analogous parts during evolution. The learning experience that this lab affords students is authentic, and they work together in small groups. Through small groups they need to practice individual competency and group accountability. Finally, some of my students intend to move on to higher sciences as they progress through high school and then college. For these students, every lab experience will be a valuable foundation to support them as they are expected to engage with labs on an increasingly independent level over time.
Assessment: Assessment for this dissection will be twofold. As students are physically engaging with the lab, I will be moving from group to group. Floating around the room in this fashion will afford me the opportunity to make sure students are acting in a manner befitting the experiment (maturely and safely) while also allowing me to encourage the students to connect theory and practice, particularly reinforcing the concept of structure and function. At the end of the lab, students will complete a relatively brief lab write up that encourages them to link the anatomy of the animal they worked with to human anatomy, while also tasking them with labeling several basic parts of their animal’s anatomy. In addition, the lab write-up will continue to hone student experimental design skills.
Personalization and Equity:
The open format of this dissection will allow me to float around the room, providing extra support where students need it and stimulating deeper thought where students are ready for it. Many of my students have not engaged with dissection before, so one of my concerns is that the vast majority of my students will need extra support, while I am only one teacher. Hopefully I can provide them with an adequate level of assistance. On another note, this lab is incredibly hands-on, tasking students with completing every facet of the dissection. They will need to work together and individually to accomplish the task, combining theoretical knowledge with active practice.
Activity Description and Agenda:
Starter: I will introduce the lab to students, and make sure they are aware of the need for respect, both for each other and for the animals.
Learning Activity: Students will begin with the abdominal cavity dissection.
Homework: Compare the organs we examined today to those we discussed when talking about humans.
Mass Learning Standards:
SIS1. Make observations, raise questions, and formulate hypotheses.
Observe the world from a scientific perspective.
Pose questions and form hypotheses based on personal observations, scientific articles, experiments, and knowledge.
Read, interpret, and examine the credibility and validity of scientific claims in different sources of information, such as scientific articles, advertisements, or media stories.
4.2 Explain how the circulatory system (heart, arteries, veins, capillaries, red blood cells) transports nutrients and oxygen to cells and removes cell wastes. Describe how the kidneys and the liver are closely associated with the circulatory system as they perform the excretory function of removing waste from the blood. Recognize that kidneys remove nitrogenous wastes, and the liver removes many toxic compounds from blood.
4.1Explain generally how the digestive system (mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, rectum) converts macromolecules from food into smaller molecules that can be used by cells for energy and for repair and growth.
Reflection:
I was pleasantly surprised by how well students handled the dissection. Nearly every student interacted politely with each other and with the animals. In a few cases, I needed to reinforce the importance of lab safety, highlighting the need for caution when dealing with formaldehyde. Academically, students were able to identify the organs involved. Practically, they were able to isolate the abdominal organs. In almost every case, students were able to successfully follow directions, removing, examining, and discussing the requisite animal organs. My one lamentation is that I cannot be with each group at the same time, a pang I experience with every lab.