Insects and Education:

Entomology is a foundational subject in the sciences and is often required in curriculum standards for K-12 education because insects allow students to learn about animals in a controlled way. As a result, entomology education is a common yet frequently overlooked aspect of academic learning. To better understand the role an interactive insect presentation has on student understanding of insects, 68 students from Will Rogers Elementary School, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA were split into two treatment groups. Treatment group one was given an insect presentation with limited interaction while treatment group two had a more in-depth interactive insect presentation. Both groups were asked to draw what they thought an insect looked like before and after the presentation, with additional questions given to treatment group two. Drawings had higher accuracy in post-assessments for both groups, with higher improvement found in treatment group two. Even though a similar diversity of insects was drawn in post-assessments, the majority of answers were neutral or positive towards insects rather than negative. Overall, insect education can increase a student’s understanding of insects, especially when accompanied by an in-depth interactive presentation.