Digestive and reproductive systems, AI techniques, injection placement and calf care… these are essential bovine care skills to address in any agriculture classroom, but coordinating live practice opportunities is not always feasible.
Earlier this month, we hosted a free webinar on how instructors can provide today’s students with the realistic, hands-on learning opportunities they crave without leaving the classroom. Hosted by longtime Realityworks Product Manager Jamey McIntosh, the webinar reviewed our favorite learning aids for teaching bovine care skills. Keep reading to learn how these tools can help you grab — and keep — your students’ attention.
BONUS: To assist educators in these unprecedented times, we’ve made the entirety of our curriculum available – whether you currently use our learning aids or not. Click here to access the lesson plans, activities and assessments that accompany each of our agriculture learning aids.
Topic: Digestion
Recommended learning aid(s): Cow Model, Ruminant Model
With our Cow Model or Ruminant Model, you can demonstrate and provide an up-close, detailed look at the bovine ruminate system. As students open each model and remove the pieces to study how each organ relates to other parts of the animal, you can emphasize key concepts related to bovine digestion and reproduction. Both models feature realistic details to give students an accurate, true-to-life understanding of these important bovine care concepts.
Topic: Reproduction
Recommend learning aid(s): Cow Model, Uterus Model
With our Cow Model and Uterus Model, you can give your students a chance to see, touch and feel a realistic model of the bovine reproductive system. Both feature realistic details and removeable parts so students can enjoy a hands-on learning experience as they learn about reproduction.
Topic: Artificial Insemination
Recommend learning aid(s): Bovine Breeder™ artificial insemination simulator
With our Bovine Breeder AI simulator, you can demonstrate or provide opportunities to practice proper AI techniques. This interactive tool lets students see inside the reproductive tract to identify reproductive system landmarks. They can also palpate the uterus to identify stages of corpus luteum development and pregnancy. Students will love competing with each other as they remove the faux feces, feel for the cervix and other landmarks, then insert the AI gun to complete the insemination process.
Topic: Bovine Injections
Recommend learning aid(s): Bovine Injection Simulator
With our Bovine Injection Simulator, you can provide realistic demonstrations of, or coordinate lifelike practice opportunities, on bovine injections. This interactive tool gives students hands-on practice administering jugular injections and IVs, intramuscular injections and subcutaneous injections. They can also practice ear tagging and growth implant.
Topic: Calf Care
Recommend learning aid(s): Calf Simulator
With our Calf Simulator, you can give your students hands-on opportunities to practice addressing a variety of major calf issues. Topics include tube feeding, ear tagging, hormone implantation and hormone injection, tail blood draws and castration.
Teaching in an e-learning environment? Use these models to provide realistic demonstrations, and keep students engaged with activities from the included curriculum.
Resources for learning more
Looking for additional resources for teaching bovine care skills? Use the links below to:
- Watch Jamey’s entire webinar (and access handouts and activities), “Bovine Care: Essential Topics for any Agriculture Classroom:”
- Catch up on the recording of another recently recorded webinar, “New Agriculture Learning Tools from Realityworks: Models to demonstrate simulation for hands on and remote skill learning“
- Download our free agriculture career exploration curriculum
