Creative pedagogic methods for self-guided embodied thinking and learning about animal research

TL;DR

This paper explores how creative methods can help people engage with the ethical complexities of animal research by fostering curiosity and co-creating knowledge.

Contribution

The paper introduces embodied creative methods as a novel approach to engage diverse audiences with animal research beyond traditional education.

Findings

Current engagement efforts rely on self-selecting learners and emphasize defending animal research rather than exploring its practices.

Didactic communication styles reinforce hierarchical dynamics between experts and non-experts.

Creative methods like artwork and workshops foster curiosity and reduce engagement anxieties.

Abstract

A prevailing view suggests that with greater knowledge, the public might respond differently to opinion surveys. This paper examines animal research – a domain marked by ethical complexity - to explore how curiosity and creativity can be harnessed to engage people with conflicting values and emotions. Rather than focusing solely on knowledge acquisition, the paper conceptualizes and illustrates how embodied creative methods can enable the public and industry professionals to make, to co-create their own knowledges about animal research. Three critical observations of contemporary engagement efforts are offered. Firstly, while existing approaches have made notable strides in informing and educating the public, they rely on the active participation of self-selecting learners. Secondly, engagement efforts tend to emphasise defending the principles of animal research, often overlooking the diverse everyday practices that constitutes the industry. Thirdly, a didactic, mentalist communication style prevails, reinforcing a hierarchical dynamic between expert and non-expert participants. Embodied creative methods are proposed not as tools for data collection, but as means to explore experiences and knowledge-making practices in novel ways. The paper presents three examples of such engagements authored by an artist, a pharmacologist and a veterinarian including making artwork, and two workshop activities - The Mouse Exchange and Care-full stories. These initiatives sensitively surface the complexities of the human-animal relationship at the heart of animal research. The examples show how engagements centered on creative embodied methods foster curiosity and help overcome anxieties that inhibit engagement. Reflecting on these contributions prompts a consideration about whether such activities are adequately recognised within the current Concordat on Openness in Animal Research. The paper concludes by proposing a rewording to reflect a more evolved vision of openness in animal research for the decades ahead.

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