Today is brain dissection day, and the excitement is palpable. Some students shriek when they see a brain on my desk. Questions come rapid-fire: “What does it feel like?” “Why does it look like that?” “Where do you get them?”

Once the class has settled down, I spend much of the lesson front-loading information. I go over the necessary materials, spell out the procedure, review the technique, explain how data will be collected, and demonstrate the dissection. Now, at the part of the lesson where the students are working in small groups, one group takes off ahead of the others, only to have missed a step, and now it’s too late because their brain specimen is already in pieces. Others are moving at a glacial pace, fearful of making a mistake or waiting on me to ask a question.

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