The Dill Pickle Autopsy Inspires Innovative, Scientific Thinking!
Last week Ms. Erin Grimsley’s Anatomy and Physiology class walked into what appeared to be a crime scene! Yellow caution tape stretched across the classroom separating the students from the scene in front of them, a scene that many of our students will never be able to forget, a scene where numerous innocent pickles lost their lives, and it was the job of Grimsley’s students to determine the cause.
The "Autopsy of a Dill Pickle," is a fun and creative way for students to learn about anatomy and physiology. “This lab introduces students to a career that utilizes anatomy and physiology in very applicable, every day practice," explains Grimsley. "It goes beyond the typical career that we think of when we think of anatomy (nursing, PT, PA, AT, MD, etc.). It introduces other career options for those interested in human sciences. It also helps to introduce the skill of dissection as well as to introduce how to properly and safely use dissection tools.”
There were many other valuable applications of this unique science lab. Here are just a few:
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To lift the theoretical concept of anatomical terminology from head knowledge and to put it into principled practice.
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To learn anatomical reference points and terms (ie: distal/proximal; superior/inferior; medial/lateral) and also regions (ie: axillary, lumber, sternal, orbital, etc).
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To introduce different injuries, pathologies, and conditions common to certain organ systems that students will see later in the course
But Grimsley believes there's no reason that learning these applications can't also be fun!
“Science should be enjoyable! And today we had a blast as the students took on the role of coroners, performed autopsies on their pickles, and learned more about the body!”
At the end of the lesson, students wrote stories about how their pickle died and used the evidence from their dissections to write the fictional story. “Being a book nerd and lover of humanities, it was so refreshing and fun to incorporate some creative writing into my science course.”
Senior Charlee Olson agreed, “Normally science is not my strength but Ms. Grimsley made it fun and that makes me want to go to class.”
Mary Grace Booker said, “I was so surprised when I walked into class on Tuesday to find a crime scene! My class and I performed autopsies on our pickles, all of which had different injuries and ailments. I am so grateful for the work Ms. Grimsley put in to give my class an opportunity to learn the basics of dissection while doing something so interesting and fun!”
Through project-based learning such as this, students often have a greater appreciation and evaluation of the material they are learning, and further develop innovative thinking!
