The potential of palaeontology for science education

Abstract

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.

Scientific communication and scientific literacy for the public perception of the importance of environmental quality for public health

“…In this sense, museums, educational centers and developing education and communication interventions using simple and practical educational tools also display significant potential for the promotion of environmental and scientific literacy, as well as in addressing scientific misconceptions, controversial topics and dismissing fake news (de los Santos et al, 2018;Bevilaqua et al, 2020;Suarez-Fontes et al, 2022;Suldovsky et al, 2022). These actions can also comprise an efficient strategy to select structuring concepts and themes from the Natural Sciences for the development of scientific literacy processes, such as the theory of biological evolution and/or basic paleontology concept, among others (Estrup and Achiam, 2019;Plutzer et al, 2020).…”

Ethnicity and Gender in Museum Representations of Human Evolution

“…Additionally, evolution is difficult to teach in the formal science education system (i.e. in schools) because this system tends to be based on a perception of scientific practice as the experimental testing of hypotheses (Estrup & Achiam, 2019). Although this experimental modality is fundamental to the development of knowledge in many scientific disciplines, it is not well suited to developing the concepts of evolution.…”

Design and validation of a deep evolutionary time visual instrument (DET-Vis)

“…Even though the lineage of hominins leading towards our own species traces back seven million years (Stenlund and Tibell 2019;Wood 2010) this is still an extremely brief timespan in the context of the history of life. Another reason for the lack of knowledge about DET, illuminated by Estrup and Achiam (2019) is that epistemological aspects of time are often neglected in science education where deductive experimental sciences dominate, in comparison with inductive historical sciences such as paleontology and paleobiology. Furthermore, prior research (e.g., Cobern 1996;Hansson and Redfors 2006) shows that apprehending the vastness of DET requires more than mere comprehension or "knowing".…”