De Boo. Didactic assessments of models used as alternatives to harmful animal use in education. Presented at the Assoc. of Amer. Vet. Med. Colleges Education Symposium 'The Use of Animals in Veterinary Medical Teaching: Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement,' Washington DC, 9-10 Mar. 2006. Scientific poster (448 kb).

ABSTRACT
The use of animals in higher education has positive and negative implications for students and teachers. Studying real animals or animal tissue provides an interesting learning experience, it gives students an opportunity to learn what it is like to work hands-on with animals in the laboratory, and therefore it is generally assumed by most teachers that knowledge would be retained better and that manual skills would be developed more easily than if models, charts, textbooks, videos or computer simulations were used. This poster outlines the pedagogical impact of harmful animal use on students and provides a didactic assessment of alternative models used in higher education.