A Three Rs Learning Scenario

Author(s)

José Luis Saavedra Míguez - Spain

Summary

Please summarize your learning scenario in 1-3 sentences. This will be used as a description when publishing your learning scenario on our websites and repositories.

This learning scenario aims to stimulate students to think critically about animal welfare in science. This critical thinking is induced by organizing a discussion on animal welfare in the class.

Key elements

Overview

Subject

3Rs, debate, animal welfare, sustainability, critical thinking

Topic

Critical thinking - Debate on acknowledging emotions and facts

Age of students

15-16 years

Preparation time

1h, reading of website

https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/1892/189217283010.pdf

http://oep.umh.es/files/2010/02/M%C3%A9todos-Alternativos-2014.pdf

https://www.eara.eu/el-principio-de-las-3rs

Teaching time

150 min - 250 min (depending on the amount of optional assignments that are selected from the lesson plan).

According to the feedback received during the implementation of the learning scenario during the testing period from teachers, up to two additional lessons (45’ each) might be needed in order to implement the learning scenario.

Online teaching material

30 min	What makes an animal adorable/cute
30 min	Optional: resources + presenting to peers
90 min	Option A: PlayDecide Game
50 min	Option B: Preparing the Debate
50 min	The Actual Debate
50 min	Option C: Preparing the Socratic Seminar
50 min	The Actual Seminar
30 min	Closing question: “Time for action”
10 min	Evaluation

Offline teaching material

https://sites.google.com/labonderwijs.be/3rs/introduction

https://create.kahoot.it/share/90a7ca5c-e0c6-41da-a36d-9079d7bde15b

Resources used

Tech Insider, The science of cuteness, YouTube, 26 Dec. 2015,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqX2IzzVAcU

Ecsite, PlayDecide, 2018, Retrieved from

https://playdecide.eu

Deborah Lamer, Introduction to the Debate, YouTube, 17 Mar. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB3vEzu6gUo&t=35s,

LimaIndiaAlfaMike, STeP Structure of Debate, 25 Apr. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juuiZPQ1ZWk&feature=youtu.be

Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, OJ L 276, 20.10.2010, p. 33-79, Retrieved from

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32010L0063

Alternatives to animal testing, PETA, n.d., Retrieved from https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-experimentation/alternatives-animal-testing/

Facts and figures on animal testing, Cruelty free international, n.d., https://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/why-we-do-it/facts-and-figures-animal-testing

European Commission statistical information: Animals used for scientific purposed

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/lab_animals/index_en.htm

How many animals are used in experiments around the world? The Lush Prize, n.d., https://lushprize.org/many-animals-used-experiments-around-world/

Animal Testing In China: Required For Foreign Cosmetics Companies, Suzana Rose, 11 Apr. 2019, Retrieved from https://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/cruelty-free-101/animal-testing-china/

Animals used for scientific purposes, n.d., Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/lab_animals/related_topics_en.htm

License

Attribution CC BY 4.0

The Commission’s reuse policy is implemented by Commission Decision 2011/833/EU of 12 December 2011 on the reuse of Commission documents (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39 – https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2011/833/o

Unless otherwise noted, the reuse of this document is authorised under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

This means that reuse is allowed, provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated. For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the EU, permission may need to be sought directly from the respective right holders.

Aim of the lesson

Students can illustrate the relation between science and society on an ethical and philosophical base.

● Students can illustrate the importance of scientific research in a healthy lifestyle.

● Students can create answers on sustainability problems concerning animal welfare.

● Students can think critically about emotions vs facts in animals used in science.

● Students can formulate well-build arguments in a critical debate.

Trends

Project Based Learning, Peer Learning, Playful learning, visual search & learning, BYOD, Open Source Learning.

21^st century skills

The lesson plan corresponds to the 21st century skills, since it is created in order to make students think critically about the use of animals in science. To achieve this critical thinking, communication among students is necessary, that is what a debate is all about. Collaboration is important as well, if students want to support their colleagues in formulating an answer. Finally, creativity is important, because the debate is set up as a roleplay, in which students get a certain point of view from which they have to debate

STEM Strategy Criteria

Elements and criteria	How is this criterion addressed in the learning scenario
Instruction
Personalization of learning
Problem and project-based learning (PBL)
Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE)
Curriculum implementation
Emphasis on STEM topics and competencies
Interdisciplinary instruction
Contextualization of STEM teaching
Assessment
Continuous assessment
Personalized assessment
Professionalization of staff
Highly qualified professionals
Existence of supporting (pedagogical) staff
Professional development
School leadership and culture
School leadership
High level of cooperation among staff
Inclusive culture
Connections
With industry
With parents/guardians
With other schools and/or educational platforms
With universities and/or research centers
With local communities
School infrastructure
Access to technology and equipment
High quality instruction classroom materials

Examples:

Connections >> With industry: in the context of this learning scenario, a school visit to a Three Rs research center will be scheduled, either physically or virtually, so students can directly discuss with professionals about the recent developments in the field.

Interdisciplinary instruction: in this learning scenario, we will examine and implement a variety of activities in a wide spectrum of subjects, ranging from ethics and philosophy (non-STEM) to biology and chemistry (STEM).

Lesson Plan

Name of activity	Procedure	Time
1.	Warming up: Kahoot Use the questions from this link: https://create.kahoot.it/share/the-3rs-project-critical-thinking-debate-on-emotion-and-facts/669d0127-4c37-4dc2-9a7a-b59d125fa4ee	20 min
1.b	Optional: retrieving answers on Kahoot questions See website for optional instructions via this link: https://sites.google.com/labonderwijs.be/3rs/1-warming-up/optional-instruction	30 min
2.	What makes an animal adorable/cute? See website for the instructions: https://sites.google.com/labonderwijs.be/3rs/2-what-makes-an-animal-adorablecute	30 min
2. b	Optional: resources + presenting to peers See website for optional instructions: https://sites.google.com/labonderwijs.be/3rs/2-what-makes-an-animal-adorablecute/optional-instruction	30 min

Assessment

Describe here the assessment method of the lesson, if any. For example, if you plan on assessing your students with a quiz, include here questions and answer options with color-coding the correct answers.

Student feedback

Student feedback

• • This Learning Scenario has received mixed feedback when it comes to the level of difficulty, but very positive feedback on how students enjoyed the debate and the activities, prompting the teachers to use even more creative questions.

• • Students emphasized on how this lesson made them think topics and issues they had never considered in the past and on the importance of science.

Teacher’s remarks

Teacher’s remarks

• • Due to the lack of time, some teachers discussed the topics in the classroom and did not divide students in group

• Certain teachers chose to dedicate up to two additional lessons in order to implement the scenario.

• • Due to the general interest about the topic, some teachers chose to add materials like infographics in order to inform the other students and teachers about the project.

• • On some occasions, teachers had to dedicate more time reviewing the recommended resources in order to be more prepared and avoid losing time researching and explaining their content in class.

• • Some teachers suggested that more time should be allocated to the Padlet and Kahoot activities specifically

About the Three Rs

This Learning Scenario has been created in the framework of the 3Rs project. The 3Rs project is building learning activities for secondary schools to introduce the principles of the 3Rs - the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animal use in science. Students will develop their critical thinking and science literacy skills by exploring topics such as ethics in science, how the European Union is protecting the welfare of laboratory animals, and what high-tech non-animal tools are available as alternatives. The learning activities are available for teachers in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), organized by the European Schoolnet Academy.

The 3Rs project has been funded by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre under a European Parliament Pilot Project. This document has been prepared by European Schoolnet (a network of 34 European Ministries of Education which aims to bring innovation in teaching and learning), in collaboration with ECORYS (international company providing research, consultancy and management services) and SYRCLE (Systematic Review Center for Laboratory Animal Experimentation)