Description of artifact:

During our unit on skeletal muscle, I designed (as adapted from various online sources) a lab activity to examine the muscular anatomy of a chicken wing. The lab took approximately 2 days and led students through an in-depth exploration of the structure and function of the chicken wing. I also supplied students with an image from an old chicken anatomy lab manual for them to better-understand the various muscles of the wing.

Standards demonstrated by this artifact:

Standard 4: Classroom Practice (E. Laboratory Work)

Reflection -- How does this artifact demonstrate the standards?

The purpose of this lab activity was to get students familiar with how to dissect (they had previously dissected a pig's foot, and would dissect the fetal pig in May) as well as allow them to use some of the knowledge they had gained in class about the muscular system. Most importantly, I started the lab with a warning about proper sanitation (glove usage and cleaning with bleach solution) and the warning of possible Salmonella contamination.

I scaffolded the lab in a very structured way to allow them to work through the lab at their own pace and also to insure that they were actively answering questions about what they were doing and looking at as they progressed through the dissection. By structuring the lab this way, I prevented many of the simple questions that students often have during dissections (like, "Where do I cut? and "What do I do next?) Many of the questions and observations I specifically required students to answer and record in the lab made them combine knowledge about tendons, skeletal muscle, ligaments, and the function of muscles. These questions were quite successful in bringing together their prior knowledge with the dissection of the chicken wing. The extra time it took me to organize and scaffold this lab activity was well worth it because students were able to carefully organize their thoughts and observations.

The only change I would make to implementation of this lab is I would have given students the lab handout to look at for homework, prior to the day of the lab (as a sort of pre-lab prep.) I did not have the handout for them on the day before, and the fact that I had to go over the lab for several minutes on the first day of the lab took away some precious time that could have been used dissecting and performing the activity. Otherwise, students' prior knowledge of the muscular system had prepared them well for the dissection.

Date completed:

2/05