Dissection vs. No Dissection

Retrieved from: Cartoon Stock

In the biology classroom, students are required to preform some sort of dissection to satisfy curriculum expectations.  Expectation E2.2 in the grade 11 biology curriculum states that students should "....perform a laboratory or computer-simulated dissection of a representative animal, or use a mounted anatomical model, to analyse the relationships between the respiratory, circulatory, and digestive systems". This states that students should either preform a dissection in a laboratory or a computer-stimulated dissection. Many times, teachers prefer to satisfy this expectation by scheduling a dissection in class (laboratory). There may be students that prefer to preform a computer-simulated dissection due to personal beliefs and reasons. That said, teachers should give students the choice between performing a dissection in class or a computer-simulated dissection using programs such as Gizmo. By doing this, teachers avoid the complaints of students and parents while satisfying curriculum expectations.