DO NOT read if you DO NOT want to see worm guts – ‘artifact’ at bottom of post

Communication and Collaboration

We did several dissections in the animal unit but the worm dissection was the one that required the most collaboration. It was a partner dissection and needed to have the work divided in a functional way. Me and my partner found it easier if one person solely focused on cutting and the other focused on suction and pinning. We were easily able to complete the lab this way and it allowed for simpler communication when discussing the location of organs while proceeding with the lab. It made less need for movement while completing the lab and also meant that there was less passing of tools all contributing to a safer work space.

Critical Thinking

The worm dissection gave us an opportunity to see a digestion tract with similarities to our own. We observed diagrams and compared them to figure out where things were located inside the worm. This was slightly more difficult than I would’ve thought because every chart is obviously more clear and segmented than an actual worm where everything is slightly similar in color. We learnt most of the functions of each organ in class but when labelling some organs I had to go to the textbook to get an actual understanding of what I was explaining. Next time I would’ve loved to know a trick to dissect the worm in order to preserve the pseudo hearts.

Personal Awareness

I found dissecting the worm slightly sickening but was able to put it aside because I knew it was a great learning opportunity. At first I really hated cutting into the worm but as the lab progressed I felt less uncomfortable with the slight gore. I would say this lab was a good example of taking ownership for my learning because it was optional to participate in the actual dissection. I did not need to if I didn’t want to but I decided that I would fight my slight discomfort in order to get a valuable experience out of it. I also know that I developed this skill because I continued fighting my slight discomfort when we did the squid and mussel dissections because I knew that these were also important.

You are about to see worm guts

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