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Why Teach Toxicology?
Using examples from toxicology is a great way to enrich science learning at all grade levels. Toxicology-related subjects are frequently in the news and in our concerns. Thinking about questions such as “Is this product safe?” and “What evidence do we use to determine if an environmental hazard exists?” provides good experience in the application of the scientific process and weighing of evidence. Since toxicology is an interdisciplinary science drawing upon biochemistry, physiology, genetics, ecology, health science, mathematics, statistics and many other fields, topics in toxicology can be used in many areas of the curriculum, even in subjects such as ethics, political science and sociology. Teaching methods using toxicology can include laboratory activities, case studies, simulations, discussions, and other means of actively engaging students in learning. Even without a sophisticated toxicology vocabulary elementary children can understand broad concepts such as the level of dose determining the effect.
Toxicology concepts and activities fit well with many of the science education standards outlined in the AAAS Benchmarks for Science Literacy, the National Science Education Standards, and state and local curriculum standards. Examples include science as inquiry, science as a human endeavor, the nature of scientific knowledge, life science content such as structure and function in living systems, regulation and behavior, organization in living systems, unifying concepts and processes such as change, equilibrium, models and explanations, understanding about science and technology in society, personal health, changes in environments, natural hazards, risks and benefits, natural and human-induced hazards.
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