A vicarious experience of the actions of contraceptive devices in birth control and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases

Teaching topics related to sex, such as sexual intercourse and contraceptive methods, has been a 'taboo' in Hong Kong schools. The consequence of this is the failure to treat those topics in a sufficiently in-depth manner, leaving a shroud of mystery which continues to envelop human sexuality. While fundamental changes to this scenario would necessitate an alteration of beliefs, values and attitudes of teachers, simple teaching technologies may help to generate interest and facilitate the teaching of these topics. In this paper, self-constructed models of the male and female reproductive systems are used to simulate sexual intercourse and the actions of contraceptive devices in preventing conception and sexually transmitted diseases. These simulation activities provide vicarious experiences to students, which would, hopefully, allow them to make sensible and informed decisions in their future sexual lives. Copyright © 2002 by the Institute of Biology.