Student Quotes·
“it was very educational but also so much fun. I loved meeting the dogs to seeing the necropsy take place. It’s not everyday that we see what goes on in an animal shelter, so I am very thankful for this experience…I never knew about fostering until this program told us about it…I was glad I was able to be with the dogs laying in the ‘beach’ making them feel better after their surgery” · “Y’all have a lot of work that a lot of people don’t know y’all do. I really appreciate everything y’all do for us and the animals. I hope to see you soon so you can spay my puppy. And now I know how well y’all would be treating my dog” “I had lots of fun interacting with the animals, necropsy, and learning so much about the health of the animals. I plan on attempting to volunteer there.“ “Thank you for allowing me and my class to participate in the VSI program…[it] was very interesting from the in class parodies to the necropsy. I hope to come back soon and adopt a puppy or a kitty” · “Thank you very much for letting our class come to visit the shelter. It was truly a wonderful experience for me, and probably the best I’ve had throughout my high school career…Anyways, I honestly feel like I learned a lot about the shelter and what you are all about. I realize how stressful your jobs must get. I hope more kids in high school get the change to see and learn all that my class did. Again, thank you VERY much” · “I and my fellow classmates are so grateful for the opportunity to come to your facility and work with you guys. I learned so many things like about the virus Parvo and how to check for heartworms in a dog. The part I really enjoyed with the dogs. I really liked Louey and Gracie and Chico. Another thing that was interesting was seeing the necropsy and spaying and neutering. It was cool to see the inside of a dog. I had a really fun time and plan to come back and volunteer one day. Again thank you so much for this experience.” · “I enjoyed seeing all the animals and learning how the process works there. I feel as if I know enough now to share this information to others who maybe interested…also I want to say a special thank you for taking care of rosco he is a great dog so I really appreciate what you guys do. Please continue what your doing and find rosco a good home.” Necropsy Demonstration
“Very awesome! #vetswag” “Oh yeah! I’m cool!" "I touched heartworms!” “Animals are AMAZING” “This is freaking awesome!” “This thing is kind of stinky, but cool” “OMG that was pretty cool” Dog Adoption Room “Taught a dog a trick” “I had a lot of fun and am going to come back and play with the dogs.” “I enjoyed my day…I am definitely coming back to adopt.” “Listening to a dogs heartbeat was really cool” |
Teacher ImpressionsTeachers filled out extensive surveys on each lesson. A few select quotes/comments are included below.
Lesson 1 Teachers commented they enjoyed “everything” especially the ultrasound and basic dog training skills. Lesson 2 Teachers commented how forensics, crime solving, parasites, scientific method and inquiry made this lesson especially relevant to the curriculum. They liked that “students had to make a choice about…time and money” and the case used “real evidence.” Students were “engaged and asking questions…[and] really seemed to enjoy the lesson”. The teacher from School C said “my favorite lesson…I wish I had this type of real evidence to use in my [other] classes.” Lesson 3 Teachers felt ethics, parasites, and critical thinking made this activity relevant to their classroom. They felt that “lessons about ethics were very informative and valuable” and they were “quick, informative, and lots of great images.” Lesson 4 Teachers commented how parasites and disease transfer relate to their curriculum. They felt that the lesson was “a great overview of how fast diseases spread…in a population” and “how students were able to interweave their creativity and the science of the lesson in their screenplays”. Lesson 5 Teachers commented how the students could be creative and learn how science enhances health issues and how art can be used to promote issues. All expressed, “the students really enjoyed this activity.” Lesson 6 Teachers commented how debating and discussion and humane treatment of animals were important in their classroom. Teachers said that “they did a great job” and “some students were successful with their interest groups while others…[couldn’t] keep their personal opinions out of the discussion.” For the bill itself “there were very lively discussions in the same groups and good compromises arose from them” and “they discussed and were able to negotiate.” Lesson 7 The teachers felt surgery, learning about veterinary careers, necropsies, heartworms, safety skills, and health concerns were directly relevant to their curriculum. Teachers in the program most often mentioned surgery and necropsy as their favorite part of the program. Student TweetsStudents recorded "Tweets" on boards in many areas of the shelter
during their field trip. These are some of their comments: Surgery “The surgery was cool!!! #vets” “You can tell everyone here loves what they do!” “Thinking about job shadow” “The surgery is cool, it’s nice to see them recover.” “Looking at the dog in surgery was nasty but interesting at the same time” “Cool to see the way the people take care of the animals. "They are in good care” Intake “Say no to fecal oral. #nobueno” “I am sad the dog had heartworms” “The heartworm test is cool but it makes you anxious, great job overall” “I just tested heartworms!!” Education Room “Found my purr-fect match” “It was complicated trying to keep all the dogs when we ran out of space” “Being involved in a shelter is hard work with hard decisions” “I truly love playing this game it was very challenging” “Best field trip ever!” |
Word Cloud:
What did you like about the VSI Program?

Students were asked to write about what they liked in the VSI program. A word cloud was created based on the content of the open-text box. A larger number of responses means a larger word on the word cloud. It is a fun visual of student experiences in the program.
This visual was created by software on the
QuestionPro website.
This visual was created by software on the
QuestionPro website.