Why Teach Toxicology?
Using examples from toxicology is a great way to enrich science learning at all grade levels. Toxicology-related subjects are frequently in the news and in our concerns. Thinking about questions such as “Is this product safe?” and “What evidence do we use to determine if an environmental hazard exists?” provides good experience in the application of the scientific process and weighing of evidence. Since toxicology is an interdisciplinary science drawing upon biochemistry, physiology, genetics, ecology, health science, mathematics, statistics and many other fields, topics in toxicology can be used in many areas of the curriculum, even in subjects such as ethics, political science and sociology. Teaching methods using toxicology can include laboratory activities, case studies, simulations, discussions, and other means of actively engaging students in learning. Even without a sophisticated toxicology vocabulary elementary children can understand broad concepts such as the level of dose de
