Teaching resource: the use of animals in research

The Nuffield Foundation Curriculum Programme and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics have worked together to produce a range of resources which are designed to fit into science and citizenship lessons.

The objective of this suite of materials is to help students make informed decisions about the use of animals in research. There are 10 activities to choose from, made up of individual starters, activities, plenaries and an assessment exercise which can be dropped into your lessons or used as a whole according to your programmes of study.

In science, for example, they could give an applied dimension to study of the nervous system. In citizenship they provide a context for looking at pressure groups, the media or a topical, controversial issue which provides a basis for ethical discussion.

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• Pathways

• Additional resources

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Pathways

The following pathways give some guidance on the use of the resources if there is not enough time to do them all. Equally, feel free to pick activities that you know will work well with your students.

In a Citizenship classroom

The activities can be used as a group or individual ones can be used as contexts for particular topics.

Activity 6 - What are the motives? – pressure groups
Activity 7 - Putting on the pressure – pressure groups
Plenary 8 - What do people think? – ethical issues and perspectives
Plenary 9 - The role of the law – a context for looking at legislation
Assessment 10 - Active citizenship – developing a campaign

In a Science classroom

Starter 1- What animals? – the types and numbers of animals used
Starter 2 - What do we know? – questioning an image
Activity 3 - What is animal research? – types of research
Activity 4 - Are animal experiments painful? – the costs of research
Activity 5 - Reducing the impact – an introduction to the ‘Three Rs’
Plenary 8 - What do people think? – ethical issues and perspectives

In a Science and Citizenship classroom

1 to 5 plus 8 as above combined with one or both of these activities on pressure groups.

Activity 6 - What are the motives? – pressure groups
Activity 7 - Putting on the pressure – pressure groups

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Additional resources

Nuffield Council report on animal research

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics published a report on the ethics of research involving animals in 2005. The activities in this set of resources are based on the findings of the report. 

Podcast on animal research

Y Touring, the Central YMCA’s national touring theatre company, produces plays for young people that explore the issues of health, sex education and science ethics. It has produced a podcast of its play about the use of animals in medical research, entitled Every Breath. Download the podcast at: http://www.everybreathpodcast.org.uk

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