JUSTIFICACIÓN

Qualitative Data: Interview Question Analysis

Semi-structured interviews were held with 22 students, which comprised approximately 10% of the total sample. Eight of these students completed the actual dissection and 14 completed the virtual dissection. The students’ responses to each of the questions are discussed. These responses will be divided as to the dissection method in which the students participated. A copy of the questions asked in these interviews can be found in Appendix D.

Question 1: What was your experience with dissections prior to this class? Actual Dissection

Of the students who actually dissected, 3 had never dissected prior to this fetal pig dissection. The remaining 5 students had dissected frogs and earthworms. Two of these students also dissected a flower, and 1 of the students had dissected owl pellets. Of the students with prior dissection experience, 2 described it as a bad experience. One of the students described it as “the worst experience ever. I sliced open my fingers.” The other student stated, “I didn’t do a frog because I threw up in 7th grade. So I copied pages out of an encyclopedia. I went to the library, made copies and got an A.”

Virtual Dissection

Ten of the 14 students who completed a virtual dissection had previous dissection experience. Nine of these students had dissected a frog and 4 of the 9 students also dissected an earthworm. One student reported that she had dissected a lamb’s heart and stated, “it was pretty cool.” Two of the students who dissected a frog stated they also dissected another specimen. One of these students stated she had dissected a flower, and another had dissected an owl pellet. Of the students who had prior dissection experience, 8 reported that they “liked it” or “it was okay.” Two of the students reported that

although they participated in a dissection with their partner, they didn’t touch the specimen during their dissection experience.

Summary

These responses to the first interview question indicate that the students in both groups had similar dissection experiences prior to the study. Most of the students had previously dissected frogs and worms and reported it had been a positive experience. Question 2: How do you feel about the use of animals for dissections in educational settings?

Actual Dissection

Three of the 8 students who actually dissected thought that it was fine to use animals for dissections as long as it was performed for educational purposes. Three additional students felt that it was okay to use the fetal pigs because they were going to be killed anyway. They felt that it was fine to use animals as long as the animals were not killed specifically for that purpose. In addition, one of these students felt that the dissection was “good for people interested in science. People who don’t have anything to

do with science may not want to do an actual dissection.” And, although she agreed that animal dissection was okay, 1 of the 8 students who completed an actual dissection felt that the schools shouldn’t use so many specimens and also thought that “it was gross, they stunk.” Another student agreed with the use of the pigs by responding, “It was better than nothing. The pig is the best to use because it resembles you in a way.”

The eighth student who performed an actual dissection disagreed with the use of the fetal pigs. She stated, “I don’t like it. On principle, this is a Catholic school, you can’t use aborted fetuses for tissue research but you can use these pig fetuses? I think that tissue research would be more important than entertaining high school students.” Virtual Dissection

One of the 14 students who performed a virtual dissection stated that she agreed with the use of animals for educational purposes. She said, “I think it is fine. If anyone wants to go into the field, they need a hands-on visual experience. As long as the animals aren’t killed for this purpose and put to good use. You could see how the body parts worked and how they are used.” Six of the students responded in a similar vein. Four of these students responded that people who plan to enter the medical profession need this practice for medical school and college biology.

Three of the students who performed a virtual dissection felt that it was okay to use the fetal pigs as long as they weren’t killed specifically for the purpose of dissection. One of these students felt that schools didn’t need to use so many specimens stating that teachers should “just use a couple to show the class.” Another of these students felt it was “fine” to use animals for educational purposes and the remaining student felt that it was “sad” to use the animals, but stated that they were “good to learn from.”

Summary

The responses to the second interview question indicate that most of the students in both of the groups felt that it was okay to use animals for educational uses, as long as the animal was not killed specifically for that purpose. In addition, 5 of the students responded that the students who were planning on entering a medical field should be dissecting animals. A valuable suggestion by two of the students was that only a limited number of specimens were needed, or that the teacher should “just use a couple to show the class.”

Question 3: How would you describe your fetal pig dissection experience?