Full Description
How Animals Help Students Learn summarizes what we know about the impact of animals in education and synthesizes the thinking of prominent leaders in research and practice. It's a much-needed resource for mental-health and education professionals interested in incorporating animals in school-based environments, one that evaluates the efficacy of existing programs and helps move the field toward evidence-based practice. Experts from around the world provide concrete examples of how animals have been successfully incorporated into classroom settings to achieve the highest level of benefit while also ensuring the health and welfare of the students and animals involved.
Contents
Section I: The Issues
Chapter 1. How Animals Help Children Learn: Introducing a Roadmap for Action.
Chapter 2. Animals in Education Settings - Safety for All.
Chapter 3. Legal and Policy Issues for Classrooms with Animals.
Section II: The Evidence
Chapter 4. Does Animal Presence or Interaction Impact Social and Classroom Behaviors Conducive to Student Educational Success?
Chapter 5. Do animals in the Classroom Improve Learning, Attention, or Other Aspects of Cognition?
Chapter 6. School-based Animal-Assisted Interventions for Children with Deficits in Executive Function.
Chapter 7. The Impact of Animals in Classrooms Assisting Students with Autism and Other Developmental Disorders.
Chapter 8. Companion Animals as Moderators of Stress responses: Implications for Academic Performance, Testing, and Achievement.
Chapter 9. Does Reading to a Dog Affect Reading Skills?
Chapter 10. Children's Play, Self-regulation, and Human-Animal Interaction in Early Childhood Learning.
Section III: The Methods and Approaches
Chapter 11. Methods for Bridging Human-Animal Interactions and Education Research.
Chapter 12. Recommendations for Measuring the Impact of Animals in Education Settings.
Chapter 13. Selecting Animals for Education Environments.
Chapter 14. Caring for Classroom Pets.
Chapter 15. Creating an Atmosphere of Acceptance for HAI in Education - Future Directions.
