"A-Z" INDEX &   SEARCH White board method of working to describe honey bee anatomy

This teaching technique is used by Sr. Catherine to explain the digestive and respiratory systems of the honey bee and has much to recommend it. At first sight it looks a little old fashioned, but there are some subtle reasons why it is very good for its purpose and could be adapted to descriptions of honey bee dissection techniques and other lecturing.

The drawing of the internal organs takes time and by the very nature of drawing, the picture 'develops' in front of the children holding their interest whilst conversation or commentary can be provided as the drawing is going on. There is a trend to use overhead films with multiple fold in accessory panes and also a trend to use 'Power Point' style of presentation. The slickness and ease of presentation of these techniques reduces the teacher/ pupil interchange. I firmly believe that this slightly slower technique will lead to a greater retention of the knowledge imparted. Thus making very good use of the additional time.

The outline above can be 'saved as' a .gif or .bmp image and printed on overhead transparency film or a 35 mm slide can be made. Whatever method of projection is used you should project the image on to a white board that is rigidly mounted on the wall. Arrange to stand to one side while drawing the internal organs, so as to obstruct the image as little as possible.

It is possible to outline the organs using very feint light grey or light brown dots that are not noticeable at a distance, but can aid consistency of drawing while your attention may be diverted by questions.