The Case for Natural History

King, Heather; Achiam, Marianne

doi:10.1007/s11191-017-9880-8

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 71 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…In summary, the exploration of the divergence of historically and experimentally oriented sciences points to the following conclusion: Although the historically oriented sciences seem to be at a disadvantage in contemporary society in terms of perceived relevance and validity, there is no reason to exclude the historical approach from our discussions of science. On the contrary, the historical sciences have an important role to play in creating a more realistic and complete version of science and scientific method among learners (King & Achiam, 2017). In the following, we substantiate this argument employing the discipline of palaeontology, but we believe our thesis could be supported by any of the historically oriented sciences.…”

Section: Epistemological Reasons For the Historical/experimental Divementioning

confidence: 60%

“…Although the tangible and macroscopic nature of many palaeontological objects means that there are many ways to conduct authentic, hands-on activities without expensive equipment or laboratory apparatus (King & Achiam, 2017), a potential obstacle to implementing palaeontological inquiry in the classroom is that schools do not always have access to specimens and objects. Even though casts and models can be relatively cheaply obtained, we acknowledge that school budgets are restrictive.…”

Section: Science Classroomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The potential of palaeontology for science education

Estrup

Achiam

2019

NorDiNa

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Science education frequently portrays science as a monolithic and experimental endeavour. Here, we argue that to counteract this simplistic conception of science, a reintroduction of the historically oriented sciences is in order. To this end, we analyse the discipline of palaeontology and its educational relevance. Using Kuhn's disciplinary matrix, we deconstruct palaeontology into elements for educational purposes, and subsequently examine how these elements can be utilised to enrich contemporary science curricula. We conclude by discussing how including palaeontology in science education encourages diversity, pluralism, and ultimately, public interest in science.in schools, teacher professional development, and in out-of-school environments. We conclude by discussing the implications of a reintroduction of palaeontology for increased inclusion in science education. The intended readership of this text includes not just science teachers, whom we hope will be inspired by the richness of palaeontology and the historical sciences, but also out-of-school science educators, teacher trainers and curriculum developers at the national level.

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Section: Epistemological Reasons For the Historical/experimental Divementioning

confidence: 60%

Section: Science Classroomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potential of palaeontology for science education

Estrup

Achiam

2019

NorDiNa

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“…Natural history is broadly defined as the direct observation of organisms in a natural environment (Able ). Different definitions exist for natural history, but most focus on the methods of natural history being descriptive observation of organisms without experimental manipulation (Greene ; King and Achiam ). The decline of natural history within biology is not a new concept and has been discussed in detail in many places (Able ; Dayton ; Greene , ; Greene and Losos ).…”

Section: Natural History and The History Of Primatologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet, others have argued that new methods in biology, such as genomics, are only expanding the way in which natural history is described rather than leading to a decline (Arnold ). In this sense, natural history is being complemented by new methods, and these methods are removing many of the biases in natural history that come from a lack of experimentation (Greene ; King and Achiam ). Entangled within these disciplinary shifts is an increase in complexity and decrease in the readability of published scientific research, making scientific knowledge less accessible to nonspecialists entering the field or those with limited resources (Cordero et al.…”

Section: Natural History and The History Of Primatologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Anecdotes in Primatology: Temporal Trends, Anthropocentrism, and Hierarchies of Knowledge

Ramsay

Teichroeb

2019

American Anthropologist

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Formal narrative descriptions of primates have long been used by primatologists to describe novel events that are not captured by other data collection methods. However, there has been a shift away from narrative accounts toward more quantitative methods both within primatology and more broadly in the natural sciences.Our objective was to investigate the shifting use of anecdotal evidence in primatology. We systematically reviewed anecdotal accounts published in the four major primatology journals since the year 2000. We found 163 published anecdotal accounts out of 3,960 total articles published between 2000 and 2016. There was an overall decrease in the rates of anecdotes published during this time. Those published covered a wide range of topics and taxa but were skewed toward larger, diurnal primates-in particular, apes. We suggest that anecdotal evidence should continue to be published but that the publication of these data should better reflect the taxonomic diversity of primates. We also suggest potential venues for anecdote publication that may compensate for their loss from formal scientific journals. [narratives, qualitative data, anthropomorphic, primates, observation] RESUMEN Las descripciones narrativas formales de primates han sido utilizadas por largo tiempo por primatólogos para describir eventos novedosos que no son capturados por otros métodos de colección de datos. Sin embargo, ha habido un distanciamiento de los relatos narrativos hacia métodos más cuantitativos tanto dentro de la primatología como más ampliamente en las ciencias naturales. Nuestro objetivo era investigar el uso cambiante de evidencia anecdótica en primatología. Revisamos sistemáticamente los relatos anecdóticos publicados en las cuatro revistas académicas principales de primatología desde el año 2000. Encontramos 163 relatos anecdóticos publicados de un total de 3.960 artículos. Hubo una disminución general en las tasas de anécdotas publicadas durante este tiempo.Aquellas publicadas cubrían un amplio rango de temas y taxones, pero estaban sesgadas hacia primates diurnos, más grandes -en particular, simios. Sugerimos que la evidencia anecdótica debe continuar siendo publicada, pero que la publicación de estos datos debe reflejar mejor la diversidad taxonómica de los primates. También sugerimos lugares potenciales para la publicación de anécdotas que pueden compensar por su pérdida de las revistas académicas formales. [narrativas, datos cualitativos, antropomórfico, primates, observación] RÉSUMÉ Des descriptions narratives formelles ont longtempsété utilisées par les primatologues pour décrire des phénomènes nouveaux observés. Toutefois, une transition vers l'utilisation de méthodes quantitatives plutôt que de comptes-rendus narratifs a progressivementété observée en primatologie. L'objectif de cette recherché etait d'examiner cette transition en faisant une revue systématique des comptes-rendus anecdotiques publiés dans

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“…But, unfortunately, these observations, sometimes called “natural history” observations, remain scarce and our ignorance in the ecology or behavior of numerous taxa is colossal (Greene, ). This unfortunate situation must be advertised to be comprehended and resolved (e.g., Able, ; Greene, ; King & Achiam, ; Page, ; Tewksbury et al., ), which would speed up progresses in all biological disciplines, including sociogenomics, as they all somehow rely on natural history and taxonomy (Grandcolas, ; May, ; Troudet, Grandcolas, Blin, Vignes‐Lebbe, & Legendre, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of sociality in termites from cockroaches: A taxonomic and phylogenetic perspective

Legendre

Grandcolas

2018

J Exp Zool Pt B

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Despite multiple studies and advances, sociality still puzzles evolutionary biologists in numerous ways, which might be partly addressed with the advent of sociogenomics. In insects, the majority of sociogenomic studies deal with Hymenoptera, one of the two groups that evolved eusociality with termites. But, to fully grasp the evolution of sociality, studies must obviously not restrict to eusocial lineages. Multiple kinds of social system transitions have been recorded and they all bring complementary insights. For instance, cockroaches, the closest relatives to termites, display a wide range of social interactions and evolved convergently subsocial behaviors (i.e., brood care). In this context, we emphasize the need for natural history, taxonomic, and phylogenetic studies. Natural history studies provide the foundations on which building hypotheses, whereas taxonomy provides the taxa to sample to test these hypotheses, and phylogenetics brings the historical framework necessary to test evolutionary scenarios of sociality evolution.

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The Case for Natural History

Cited by 15 publications

References 71 publications

The potential of palaeontology for science education

The potential of palaeontology for science education

Anecdotes in Primatology: Temporal Trends, Anthropocentrism, and Hierarchies of Knowledge

The evolution of sociality in termites from cockroaches: A taxonomic and phylogenetic perspective

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