Co-teaching Botany and History

An Interdisciplinary Model for a More Inclusive Curriculum

Bibliographic Data

ID3290561
AuthorsFrederica Bowcutt (0000-0001-7428-8041, The Evergreen State College), Tamara Caulkins (Central Washington University)
Year2020
Volume111
Issue3
Pages614-622
Publication date2020-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueIsis (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-1753 • E-ISSN: 1545-6994
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/711071
OpenAlexW3085185420
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited11

This essay offers numerous ideas on how to integrate science and history into classroom pedagogy in a way that acknowledges the contributions of women and other groups underrepresented in science by highlighting the cultural and political contexts in which science developed rather than by adding token individuals to a history of science still largely defined by the achievements of a few great men. It details how students in a General Education class co-taught by a botanist and a historian of science at the Evergreen State College not only gained skills in field botany and vegetation analysis but also became more informed about how modern scientific disciplines took shape. Recognizing that race, class, and gender have played a role in how science developed, the students' understanding of the complicated legacy of scientific inquiry gave them tools to be more rigorous in their thinking about scientific practice. This interdisciplinary approach, so crucial in fostering inclusivity in scientific disciplines, also promoted a deeper engagement with historical inquiry

Class (philosophy · Curriculum · Engineering ethics · Epistemology · History of science · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Science education · Social science · Sociology · Engineering · Historical Education Studies Worldwide · Historical Studies in Science · History of Science and Natural History · Philosophy · Psychology

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