Integrating visual pedagogical components in Developmental Biology: using 3D plaster models and histological sections to teach embryogenesis to undergraduate students
Ritu Sarpal
Advances in Biology Laboratory Education, 2026, Volume 46
Embryonic development is a dynamic and complex process that involves a series of precise and coordinated events. It can be challenging for undergraduate students to visualize and comprehend the sequential structural changes that occur during different stages of embryonic development depicted in textbooks as 2D diagrams. In this mini-workshop, I will present a laboratory activity where students examined successive embryonic stages of North American leopard frog Rana pipiens ranging from a 1-cell stage egg to a tadpole both in the form of (i) 3D plaster models of schematically colored whole embryos and cross-sections to highlight important visible structures and cell fates, and as (ii) histological sections. This activity was designed to complement lectures on frog development in our 3rd-year undergraduate ‘Animal Developmental Biology’ course. By examining 3D plaster models, students were able to visualize the spatial relationships between embryonic structures and gain a deeper understanding of how tissues and organs develop over time. Furthermore, histological sections provided students with a microscopic perspective, allowing them to observe the cellular and tissue-level changes that occur during embryogenesis. As a part of the activity, students worked in groups and submitted an in-class assignment for credit where they were asked to identify various embryonic stages, draw specific stages, and label embryonic axes, cell fates, and visible embryonic structures in their drawings. Student surveys showed that this lab activity led to a comprehensive and engaging learning experience.
The workshop participants will be introduced to the lab activity. Following this, they will examine the 3D plaster models as well as histological sections of frog embryos. Lastly, the participants will complete an assignment that students could be asked to do as part of the lab activity.
Keywords: Developmental biology, frog development, undergraduate biology lab, active learning
University of Manitoba (2025)
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