When Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Assistant Professor Katheryn Cerney, PhD, sought to improve student engagement in her courses last year, she knew that meant creating more opportunities for experiential learning. After all, research shows that engaging students in hands-on experiences helps them connect theories and knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world situations. Cerney’s students study topics like the physiology of reproduction in farm animals to prepare for careers in the livestock industry or apply to veterinary school; a thorough knowledge of the female bovine’s key reproductive structures, and cow reproduction in general, is essential. To help her students better understand these fundamental topics, Cerney incorporated two simulators into her Physiology of Reproduction course: the Bovine Breeder™ artificial insemination simulator and Bovine AI Cervix Training Kit. As a result, Cerney saw a measurable increase in student engagement.
Cerney documented her findings in this research poster. Download her poster, or continue reading, to learn how these experiential learning tools impacted her classroom.
Using simulation to improve student engagement
“I love using the simulator in my class!” Cerney told us when we contacted her. “I wanted to use the simulator to improve student engagement in the classroom. The poster reflected the student perception of the use of the simulator in class. Overall, the students enjoyed having this tool incorporated in labs and it helped them learn.”
Cerney surveyed her Physiology of Reproduction students on the effectiveness of integrating the simulator into her classroom. She found that:
- 78.3% strongly agreed or agreed that the simulator helped them locate key reproductive structures and the cervix simulator clarified the differences in bovine cervical anatomy
- 82.6% strongly agreed or agreed that the simulator helped them better understand bovine reproductive anatomy and increased their interest in learning more about bovine reproduction.
- 87.3% of students strongly agreed or agreed that the simulators were useful learning tools and 91.3% of students indicated that they were better able to visualize bovine reproductive anatomy in 3D.
Looking ahead
After using the simulator for the first time last spring, Cerney decided to increase the amount of time her students could practice with it. She used it in three different labs during the spring 2021 semester: learning female bovine anatomy, simulating palpation and simulation artificial insemination.
“Since I now know that students really enjoy working with the simulator, I plan to purchase other products your company makes and incorporate them into as many classes as I can.”
Learn more
Looking for more information on teaching cow reproduction and female bovine reproductive anatomy? Consider these resources:
- Learn more about our bovine skills training tools, including our Bovine Breeder artificial insemination simulator, by reading this blog, “4 Bovine Skills Training Tools You Need in Your Classroom (or Remote Learning Environment”
- Watch our recent webinar, “Bovine Care: Essential Topics for any Agriculture Classroom:”
- Explore our videos, guides, free lessons and other agriculture program implementation resources here
