Using live animals in environmental education programs creates an entertaining and memorable experience for learners. Incorporating these live animals into lessons can help educators teach about a variety of topics and improve learning outcomes. If environmental educators can help people learn about native animals, participants in educational programs may be more likely to act in a pro-environmental manner. However, a debate exists around the value of naming the wild animals used during education programs. Some argue that giving those animals human names gives people the idea that the animals are pets and may be handled. Others believe that giving demonstration animals human names allows audiences to connect with the animals and better understand their biology. This study examined the effect of using the named barred owl, Henry, during presentations in college classrooms on knowledge retention.
This study took place at a university in the southeastern U.S. The participants were over 100 undergraduate college students in six different courses at the university. An author of this study gave a 50-minute presentation to students in each of the six classes. The presentation was on the topic of owls and involved storytelling about a particular barred owl. For 20 minutes of the presentation, the presenter used a live barred owl for demonstration. For the three control group classes, the owl was called by its common name, barred owl. For the other three, treatment classes, the owl was called by a name, Henry. After the presentations, students in all classes filled out a questionnaire to measure their knowledge of the ecology and biology of owls. A final open-ended question asked respondents to write a postcard to a family member describing what they had learned about owl conservation. The researchers used statistics to determine knowledge differences between the classroom groups.
Students in the treatment classrooms in which the owl was referred to as Henry had higher average scores than the students in the control group. This suggests that the group who witnessed the presentation in which the owl had a name remembered more information about owls. However, the researchers found that it was possible that the difference in scores was caused by chance. More research is needed to better understand the impact of naming animals in presentations on retaining knowledge.
The study also explored the differences between genders and found that male participants in the treatment classrooms remembered more than those in the classrooms in which the owl was not named. This suggests that male participants may have felt more connected to the owl when it was referred to as Henry.
The lack of meaningfully different scores between the control versus treatment group and the male versus female groups may be a limitation of the study. This study is also limited by the fact that the researchers only used owls, so the results may not be applicable to presentations with other animals. For example, learners may connect more with charismatic mammals, such as panda bears or elephants, than with owls.
Even though the relationship between naming a demonstration animal and improved knowledge retention is unclear, giving demonstration animals human characteristics can help audiences connect with wild animals. The authors recommend that educators name these animals as a way to create a relationship between audience members and the animal. In addition, educators should tell a story about the life of the demonstration animal. This connection can lead to a sense of care, and caring about an animal makes learners more likely to take action to protect wildlife and wildlife habitat.
The Bottom Line
Naming wild animals in educational presentations can help participants remember more of what they learned, but there's a risk they may view these animals as pets. This study showed that naming the demonstration animal increased average knowledge retention rates among college students. When environmental educators give animals human names and involve storytelling during presentations, learners are more likely to connect with the animal and better understand its life history. This type of engagement is critical for improving conservation efforts.