‘Actions speak louder than words’, ‘Practice what you preach’, ‘well done is better than well said’.. all purported quotes used in everyday life that basically say what you do is more important than what you say. This is particularly true in the classroom – and there are many quotes about the need for teachers to set a good example or model good values and behaviours. It makes sense to me from my days in the classroom. I was reminded of these quotes during some meetings this week for a Global Education Hub initiative.

The Global Education Hub

Replacing Animal Research has been supporting the work of the Global Education Hub for animal-free education since its inception and introductory meetings in 2023. The project was initiated by TPI Utrecht (Transition  Programme for Innovation without the use of animals, a working group consisting of researchers and communication experts from Utrecht University) and PETA UK (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). The Hub has identified many stakeholder groups, from school-age students up to established researchers and regulators. I was keen to be involved as there is a heavy emphasis on education for school and university-age students. A paper published earlier this year in the journal ALTEX (Alternatives to Animal Experimentation) set out the initial objectives of the Hub as ‘co-creating, sharing and disseminating educational tools and materials for animal-free innovation in the life sciences.’ Specifically, in two areas:

1) Animal-free educational tools for training in human and animal medicine curricula and related fields

2) Tools, resources, and materials for educating students and professionals in the life sciences about non-animal methods for research and regulatory testing.

Humane teaching tools

Discussions in online hub meetings this week about initial information gathering ideas for university-level education got me thinking about these two aspects again. I am much more focused on my day-to-day work at Replacing Animal Research on how we can influence what is being taught in the classroom in terms of non-animal methods and alternatives to animal use in science, and not so much on the ‘how’.

This got an idea brewing that I would have found useful as a teacher, a curriculum-linked resource where we simply direct UK-based Science teachers to free online resources, animations, videos or simulations that provide alternative teaching tools to the use of animals for dissection or other practical work.

Choice Chambers

Now – full transparency – in my past teaching career, I have done choice chamber practicals using invertebrates with students.  The aim of these practicals is to teach students about behavioural responses to stimuli, for example, woodlice moving away from light into the dark. The woodlice, when I did them, were sourced by the school.

Surely, with an abundance of other ways of teaching students, there is no need to use live animals to learn about behavioural responses? No – but the use of a choice chamber or maze with a live animal is a ‘required practical’ in many of the current A-Level Biology exam specifications, and woodlice are a common test subject.  The main thing I appreciate now is that this is not just about avoiding animal use and potential distress or harm to those woodlice, but the example it sets to students about using live animals in experiments. Whether bred for that purpose, or worse, taken from their natural environment into the classroom… for an activity where there are alternatives that can do the same thing.

What tone is being set about the use of animals as research tools for students who pursue a career in research? Yes, some veterinary, environmental or conservation-related research may use animals, but in that lesson, the teacher is modelling ethical and scientific values that the students will pick up on. Even more so if there is also no discussion around why the animals are being used, where they came from, potential harms that could be caused to the woodlice, what happens to them afterwards and whether the use of live animals is necessary or ethical for that purpose. Avoiding animal use for science must be the priority in terms of what is being taught and what is being modelled. This is the bit I would love to help teachers understand so they can make informed choices about what they teach and how they teach it.

The alternative

The RSPCA have a educational activity for Primary School children where they look for woodlice in their natural habitat – to observe but not to experiment on. I assumed, for a practical EVERY biology A-level student needs to do or know about, there must also exist a free simulation where you can virtually change the environment and observe woodlice behaviour?

Frustratingly, I have not found one yet. Videos do exist and written information that could be used for teaching. But a simulation of some sort would help the students observe and engage more.

If anyone knows of one that exists or would like to give us the funding or donate the computer expertise to create one, drop me a message!

What you teach matters, but so does how you teach. Spread the word.