Reframing entomology education presentations to explicitly focus on their importance and relevance to humans and human survival

Studies have shown that making classroom content relevant to students helps to better engage them with the material and care more about the information being presented. This study focuses on if reframing entomology education lessons to be more aimed at their relevance to humans and human survival increases student value of insects and decreases their disgust for insects. Groups of college students were taught two insect-specific lessons: one about their anatomy and evolution and another about their roles and importance in ecosystems. Both groups received the same pictures, videos, and content material, with the differences being in the title of the lesson, student learning objectives, and the “Importance of Insects” slide at the end. The treatment group had these differences focused specifically on the role of insects in human lives (Title example: “Why Insects are Worth their Weight in Gold”) while the control group was given more impersonal information (Title example: “Importance of Insects”). Preliminary data shows the treatment group reported significant increases in their value of insects, as well as a significant decrease in disgust for insects. This study provides insight into how educators can make small changes to insect presentations to have a potential larger impact on audiences about animals that are often overlooked or dismissed. These findings suggest that reframing entomology education presentations to include its explicit relevance to humans and their survival may be one method to increase student interest and value in insects and lower their disgust towards these important creatures.