Beyond Bone Dry Memorization: Using Comparative Anatomy to Better Understand How the Human Body Works

Authors

Ben Overman, Knoxville Middle School
Katherine Larson, East Des Moines High SchoolFollow

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Oftentimes students learn about the skeletal system by simply viewing pictures of bones or, if they are fortunate, by observing real bones, but then going no further than being told the names of the bones. While this approach may result in students recalling names and locations of particular bones, it does not promote an understanding of these individual structures' function and importance. Here we present an inquiry approach to teaching human anatomy that has students observe body movements, comparing these observations to other species, and then returning to look more deeply into the role of bones. This inquiry approach to comparative anatomy helps students better understand how the human body works.

Publication Date

Fall 2007

Journal Title

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Volume

34

Issue

3

First Page

8

Last Page

12

Copyright

© Copyright 2007 by the Iowa Academy of Science

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Overman, Ben and Larson, Katherine (2007) "Beyond Bone Dry Memorization: Using Comparative Anatomy to Better Understand How the Human Body Works," Iowa Science Teachers Journal: Vol. 34: No. 3, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/istj/vol34/iss3/4