My students need dissection supplies as part of their learning experience in Autopsy and Forensic Pathology.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Van Arsdale's classroom raised $936
This project is fully funded
My Students
I teach at a small comprehensive high school in South Central Alaska. About half of my students have lived in Alaska all of their lives. The other half, almost all military transfers, have been in the state for less than two years. My classroom is a melting pot of students who have a deep sense of place, but little sense of the world and students who have a wide sense of the world but very little sense of place. Some come from far away and others have never left home. They are mixed in ethnicity, income, and family beliefs. Most have chosen Forensic Science because they haven't enjoyed science and are afraid of the challenges that physics and chemistry might bring.
Wrapping hard core science with a veil of forensic mystery is a proven technique to motivate kids in a STEM field who have never liked or done well in science.
Forensic science is best learned at the lab bench, where students can approach a crime scene mystery, with a scientific approach.
The acquisition of supplies to enable these hands on experiences for my students is a key part of what I do as a classroom teacher.
My Project
Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause of death in humans. Autopsy is also used to teach anatomy. Both represent important parts of forensic science. Pigs have historically been used as a standing for human corpses for studying pathology as well as rates of decay and the factors that affect it.
Participating in an dissection can be a hugely influential experience on a high school student, teaching them things about themselves that they could not know from a virtual experience.
In 20 years of teaching, it is a repeatable fact that the most difficult students in my classes will demonstrate unexpected gifts and significant talents when you place a staple in their hands. Yet, consumable supples, such as dissection specimens often cripple a science departments budget limiting this experience to just advanced biology or anatomy classes. My goal with this project is to share this experience with nearly all science students passing through my classroom.
Half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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