Sullivan Paxton, Davis Melissa, Smith Colton L, Delmore Robert, Román-Muñiz Noa, Cramer Catie, Stallones Lorann, Edwards-Callaway Lily
Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
Transl Anim Sci. 2022 Aug 15;6(3):txac108. doi: 10.1093/tas/txac108. eCollection 2022 Jul.
It is essential to educate students about humane slaughter as it is a critical component of livestock production, particularly for animal science students who represent future stakeholders in agriculture. There is limited research about the effects of experiential learning on student comfort in participating in education regarding sensitive, yet important topics in the animal sciences. A survey was developed to investigate how a teaching module using an experiential learning activity to teach undergraduates about the slaughter process affected student perceptions of stunning and slaughter. Students enrolled in an animal science course, in which live animals and carcasses are evaluated, were surveyed before and after a teaching module. The module included a lecture about proper stunning and a laboratory activity in which the students had the opportunity to shoot a captive bolt stunner on both model and carcass heads. Respondents completed a pre-survey, attended the laboratory activity, and completed a post-survey; 29 survey responses were recorded. Most respondents were women (23, 79.3%) between the ages of 18 and 21 years (25, 86.2%) and in their first year of college (11, 37.9%). The majority of respondents (22, 75.9%) reported using the captive bolt stunner to stun the model heads during the laboratory activity. After participating in the module, all students strongly agreed that "stunning" is a critical component of livestock slaughter (29, 100%) and most agreed that "stunning is a humane process that ensures animal welfare during the slaughter process" (25, 86.2%). The majority of respondents strongly agreed that the "humane stunning simulation was beneficial to their learning about livestock slaughter" (21, 72.4%) and "improved their understanding of slaughter" (16, 55.2%). Almost all of the survey respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that "the model heads and captive bolt demonstration made them more comfortable with the slaughter process" (14, 48.3%; 14, 48.3%, respectively). This research suggests that experiential learning opportunities are potentially effective teaching strategies for educating undergraduates about the slaughter process. Future research should focus on practical ways to integrate new teaching methods into existing animal science curricula, as this will be critical for educating students on important topics in livestock production and increasing student comfort with sensitive material.
对学生进行人道屠宰教育至关重要，因为这是畜牧生产的关键组成部分，对于作为未来农业利益相关者的动物科学专业学生而言尤其如此。关于体验式学习对学生参与动物科学中敏感但重要主题教育的舒适度的影响，相关研究有限。我们开展了一项调查，以研究一个利用体验式学习活动向本科生讲授屠宰过程的教学模块如何影响学生对致昏和屠宰的认知。对选修动物科学课程（该课程会对活体动物和胴体进行评估）的学生在教学模块前后进行了调查。该模块包括一场关于正确致昏的讲座以及一项实验室活动，在活动中，学生有机会对模型头部和胴体头部使用 captive bolt 致昏器。受访者完成了一份预调查，参加了实验室活动，并完成了一份后调查；共记录了29份调查回复。大多数受访者为女性（23人，占79.3%），年龄在18至21岁之间（25人，占86.2%），且处于大学一年级（11人，占37.9%）。大多数受访者（22人，占75.9%）报告在实验室活动中使用 captive bolt 致昏器对模型头部进行致昏。参与该模块后，所有学生都强烈同意“致昏”是畜牧屠宰的关键组成部分（29人，占100%），大多数学生同意“致昏是一个人道的过程，可确保屠宰过程中的动物福利”（25人，占86.2%）。大多数受访者强烈同意“人道致昏模拟对他们学习畜牧屠宰有益处”（21人，占72.4%）以及“增进了他们对屠宰的理解”（16人，占55.2%）。几乎所有参与调查的受访者都同意或强烈同意“模型头部和 captive bolt 演示让他们对屠宰过程更放心”（分别为14人，占48.3%；14人，占48.3%）。这项研究表明，体验式学习机会可能是向本科生讲授屠宰过程的有效教学策略。未来的研究应侧重于将新教学方法融入现有动物科学课程的实际方法，因为这对于就畜牧生产中的重要主题教育学生以及提高学生对敏感内容的接受度至关重要。
