Abstract

There is growing concern from consumers regarding the welfare of livestock animals. As food producers and legis- lators increase demand for welfare-friendly products, the need for future animal scientists trained in animal welfare assessment is crucial. At Michigan State University, students can enroll in Introduction to Animal Welfare Assessment. This class is a prerequisite for, but can be taken concurrently with, Animal Welfare Judging, which prepares students to participate in an intercollegiate welfare judging competition. In Fall 2017, 17 students were enrolled in Introduction to Animal Welfare Assessment. Of these 17 students, three were concurrently enrolled in Animal Welfare Judging and did not compete, and five were concurrently enrolled and competed in the competition. Active learning techniques, peer teaching, and intercollegiate competition were the primary tools used to teach the courses. Pre- and post-course assess- ments were given to document learning and compare learning across the three groups. The assessment results suggest that providing even a one-credit course in welfare assessment can lead to significant improvements in understanding the topic. Active learning and peer teaching along with participating on a judging team yielded similar improvements over the course of the semester.