Anyone can study anatomy and physiology, learning hard-to-pronounce names of bones, muscles and organs. But how do you put these subjects into practice?

Alvin Smith, science teacher at Temple High School South, is bringing real world science experience and practice to the classroom.

“This is 3-D learning,” he said. “The kids get involved with their brain and their hands.”

This semester Smith is teaching anatomy and physiology through a new approach: forensics. The class is structured in the student-centered classroom principles in wihch all subjects at Temple South are taught.

Students have been given an animal carcass donated by Lott Taxidermy in Rogers. Along with inspecting entry and exit wounds, students are dissecting various anatomy parts to explore physiology makeup and hypothesize how the animal was killed.

“The students have a say in everything that goes on here,” Smith said. “The students have a chance to grow and be creative here.”

For years, Temple South has been considered the “derelict” school in the district, the place where students who couldn’t handle the rigors of “regular” classes went. The labeling couldn’t be further from the truth.