Developing and Evaluating Animal Welfare Case Studies for Veterinary Students.

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Education
• Animal Welfare Science
• Pedagogical Methods

Background:

• Case studies are valuable tools in veterinary education for developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Animal welfare is a complex, multidisciplinary topic that benefits significantly from case-based learning.
• Existing literature offers guidance on case study creation for various disciplines, but specific resources for animal welfare educators are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide animal welfare educators with a practical resource for developing effective case studies.
• To describe a systematic process for creating and evaluating farm animal welfare case studies tailored for veterinary students.

Main Methods:

• Development of farm animal welfare case studies using a structured pedagogical approach.
• Evaluation of the developed case studies through a defined assessment framework.
• Focus on creating multidisciplinary problems relevant to future veterinary practice.

Main Results:

• The study outlines a replicable process for case study development in animal welfare education.
• Evaluation metrics were established to assess the effectiveness of the case studies in promoting student learning.
• The developed case studies address complex scenarios encountered in farm animal welfare.

Conclusions:

• The described methodology provides a valuable framework for animal welfare educators to create robust case studies.
• Effective case studies enhance veterinary students' ability to address real-world animal welfare challenges.
• This resource supports the advancement of animal welfare education within veterinary curricula.