Studies (416)
Knight A & De Boo J. Harmful animal use and humane alternatives in education: Educational studies and papers. Animal Consultants International. Updated: 2 Feb. 2007.
Over 400 educational or scientific studies
and papers sourced primarily from the biomedical literature are organized by
academic discipline. Studies of relevance to multiple disciplines have been
filed in the most relevant discipline or under 'Miscellaneous' (which contains,
for example, reviews of humane alternatives in biomedical education generally).
Please help to keep this resource up to date by emailing
additions or updates. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of
the International Network for Humane Education and
Dr. Eva Berriman of Animal Consultants International in the preparation of this
resource.
CONTENTS
Anatomy (36)
Anesthesiology (9)
Animal Use and Alternatives: Prevalence and Attitudes (53)
Biochemistry (4)
Cadaver Sourcing & Preservation (10)
Clinical & Diagnostic Skills (22)
Computer Simulations (Other) & Virtual Curricula (45)
Dermatology (2)
Dissection (see Anatomy)
Endocrinology
(1)
Microbiology (1)
Miscellaneous
(33)
Pathology
(Includes physiopathological or
pathophysiological papers, 9)
Pharmacology (9)
Physiology (37)
Psychology (1)
Surgery: Endoscopic (37)
Surgery: Non-Endoscopic (100)
Comparative studies of student performance (2):
Knight A, Balcombe J, De Boo J. Comparative studies of student performance: humane teaching methods demonstrate educational efficacy when compared to harmful animal use in biomedical education. Animal Consultants International. Unpublished. Updated: 8 Jan. 2007.
The humane
alternatives to harmful animal use in biomedical education have been designed by
professional educators and scientists, and their educational efficacy is clearly
demonstrated by the fact that nearly every comparative study has shown that
students using humane alternatives perform at least as well as those trained via
harmful animal use. At least 33 papers sourced from the biomedical and educational
literature, covering all educational levels and disciplines, describe studies
that have compared the
ability of humane alternatives to impart knowledge or clinical or surgical
skills. 39.4% (13/33) demonstrated that alternative students
achieved superior learning outcomes, or achieved equivalent results more
quickly, allowing time for additional learning. 51.5% (17/33)
demonstrated equivalent educational efficacy, and only 9.1% (3/33) demonstrated
inferior educational efficacy of humane alternatives. The design of one of the
latter studies has been substantially criticized. 74 additional papers are also
provided in which comparison with harmful animal use did not occur, demonstrating
further educational efficacy, as well as staff time and cost savings and other important advantages of humane
teaching methods.
See also: Patronek GJ &
Rauch A.Systematic review of comparative studies examining alternatives to the
harmful use of animals in biomedical education. JAVMA 2007;230(1):37-43.
Download from
http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/pdf/10.2460/javma.230.1.37 (fee: USD 10.00)
or
request.
Objective: To systematically review the published literature for controlled studies comparing learning outcomes of traditional methods that require the terminal use of animals (eg, dissection, live-animal surgery, and live-animal laboratory demonstrations) with outcomes obtained with alternative teaching methods.
Design: Systematic review.
Study Population: Controlled studies published between 1996 and 2004.
Procedures: PubMed was searched with the following keywords, used alone and in combination: educational alternatives, nonlethal teaching methods, veterinary alternatives, medical education, and nonterminal animal use. Cited references of retrieved reports were reviewed to identify additional reports. Reports were selected for review only if a comparison group was included.
Results: 17 studies that were randomized controlled trials or nonrandomized trials that included a comparison group were identified. Five involved veterinary students, 3 involved medical students, 6 involved university undergraduate students, and 3 involved high school biology students. Sample size ranged from 14 to 283 students. Eleven studies appeared to be randomized, parallel-group trials, 4 involved comparative groups to which participants were not randomly assigned or for which the randomization process was not clear, 1 was a 2-period crossover study, and 1 involved a retrospective review of grades. In all 17 studies reviewed, results associated with the alternative method of instruction were not significantly different from or superior to results associated with the conventional method.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance:
Although the number of controlled studies identified was small, the results seem
to support more widespread adoption of alternative teaching methods in
biomedical education.
