By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Eighth-grade science students in Beverly Dones’ classes gained inner confidence along with the usual lessons in an end-of-the-year study.
Ms. Dones said she purposely accelerated the traditional dissection activity to help students reveal inner strengths strength they possibly were unaware of.
“I wanted them to prove to themselves that they have what it takes to become exploratory scientists and teachers,” the veteran teacher claimed. “Letting the students know the preserved white rats in the dissection process were bred and born in a sterile laboratory helped diminish their squeamish concerns and appreciate how the complex body systems simultaneously function for life.
“Soon, they compared and contrasted the body system semblances of the rat and the human.”
The dissection is a year-end activity that promotes the vast arenas of Life, Earth, and Physical Science. It requires intense study, research, focus, and a steady hand. Preparing for dissection helped train this year’s 8th graders for real-world endeavors, and the students had only three days of hands-on dissection and exploration.
Students intensely studied the taxonomy and classification of living things for four weeks. Lectures, notes, identification, and testing were essential factors used to prepare for mammalian dissection.
Then the 8th-grade ‘student scientists’ taught the 5th, 6th, and 7th-grade students about their projects. The ‘student scientists’ informed all the students that arrived at their respective stations about the behavior, environment, and organic structure of the specimen.
The ease in which the ‘student scientists’ instructed helped relax their audience, and the younger students became inquisitive, leading to more learning.
“The 8th-grade students were very proud of themselves and their accomplishments,” Ms. Dones concluded. “Many were comfortable enough to share their personal feelings with the younger students. They told of their apprehension and how the activity helped them progress beyond their fear, attaining personal growth and a good grade.
“Many of the students were introduced to a new concept they never thought possible. They now can leave 8th grade knowing, no matter what their background, that reaching beyond their fears can help them overcome adversities. Teaching can lead them outside of the box to explore, achieve, excel, and reach others.
“Several students then shared that they want to pursue a career in science, especially in research and development to aid human life.”