Abstract
The state of geoscience education, in terms of numbers of teachers, students taught, and perceived importance, has been lagging behind the other science disciplines for decades. Part of the reason for this is that geology is seen as a “derivative” science as compared to its “experimental” counterparts (for instance, physics and chemistry). However, with current global issues facing the populations of the world (climate change, scarcity of clean water, increasing fossil fuel usage), being geoscience literate is a must. We will show that, in fact, the geological sciences have their own philosophical structure, being both historical and hermeneutic, and it is the structure that makes the teaching of the geosciences for addressing such global issues advantageous. In addition, we will explore the use of historical controversies as a pedagogical tool for geoscience instruction. The history of geology is rife with controversy and the use of such a strategy has been shown to be effective for developing students’ interest in the content, sharpening critical thinking skills, as well as emphasizing the nature of science. This chapter consolidates the knowledge base by describing the structure of the geosciences in terms of its philosophical, theoretical, and cognitive frameworks. It highlights four geoscience controversies in terms of these frameworks, all the while reviewing the literature for the use of HPS in geoscience teaching. Finally it contains recommendations for possible future directions for geoscience education research within this context.
The authors contributed equally to this manuscript.
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Notes
- 1.
The nine ESLP big ideas are as follows: 1-earth scientists use repeatable observations and testable ideas to understand and explain our planet; 2-the earth is 4.6 billion years old; 3-the earth is a complex system of interacting rock, water, air and life; 4-earth is continuously changing; 5-earth is the water planet; 6-life evolves on a dynamic earth and continuously modifies earth; 7-humans depend on earth for resources; 8-natural hazards pose risks to humans; and 9-humans significantly alter the earth.
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- 6.
We do not mean to imply that the earth sciences are devoid of experimentation. Indeed, whole fields within the earth sciences including geophysics, geochemistry, and climate science have tested some of their claims using cutting-edge experimental methods which produce important research results. Philosophical classifications sometimes simplify, ignoring the overlap that occurs between categories, and this is the case in the historical–experimental dichotomy we use in this chapter. We still believe that it is a fruitful classification as many philosophers and historians of science have used it in their definition of different sciences (See Dodick et al. 2009 for a review of the development of the term historical sciences). Moreover, one of us (Argamon et al. 2008; Dodick et al. 2009) has tested this dichotomy empirically and has indeed found that the earth sciences (representing diverse fields including geology, geochemistry, and paleontology) do fall more regularly into the historical science category.
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These studies encompassed a series of experimental fields including physical chemistry, organic chemistry, and experimental physics; historical fields included paleontology, geology, and evolution.
- 9.
This section is arranged to correspond with the ordering of Table 18.1. The dimension under consideration is delineated in italics.
- 10.
In the past earth scientists were restricted to physically uncovering hidden field materials; this of course restricted their research to areas to which they had access. However, technology has revolutionized this search, for example, tools, such as remote sensing via satellite makes the invisible visible, both here on earth, as well as on other planetary bodies.
- 11.
Diamond and Robinson (2010) have also documented how natural experiments are also applied within the humanities and social sciences where controlled experimentation is impossible.
- 12.
As Schumm (1991, p. 7) notes, the term prediction in science is used in two ways: “The first is the standard definition to foretell the future. The second is to develop a hypothesis that explains a phenomenon.” Based on the second definition, such predictions have the typical form of: “if a given hypothesis is correct then we predict that the following process or phenomenon will occur.” In the case of experimental sciences, both definitions are methodologically applicable. Schumm (1991) argues that in some fields of earth science (e.g., geomorphology), prediction to the future (i.e., the first definition), based on extrapolation, is also part of their current methodology. Even so, we argue that such predictions are far less common and accurate in historical sciences, than they are in experimental sciences, in large part due to the complexity of the phenomena studied in such disciplines; instead, historical science focuses on reconstructive explanations, via the method of retrodiction, which might be defined as a specification of what did happen (Engelhardt and Zimmermann 1988; Kitts 1978). As Ben-Ari (2005, p. 15) notes “retrodiction is essential if theories are to be developed for the historical sciences.” Indeed, Schumm (1991) admits that it is only when the present conditions are understood and when the history of the situation has been established that predictions to the future (i.e., the first definition) can be made with some degree of confidence in earth science. In other words, in historical-based sciences, such as the earth sciences, reconstructing past conditions takes precedence and as a method has greater validity than predicting the future.
- 13.
In defining actualism, some philosophers and geologists separate between two definitions of the earth sciences most important, but most misunderstood concept, uniformitarianism (Hooykaas 1959; Gould 1965, 1987; Rudwick 1971).
Substantive uniformitarianism or sometimes uniformitarianism claims that geo-historical uniformity exists between present and past geological phenomena, such that the force, rates, and types of phenomena do not change over the course of geological time.
Methodological uniformitarianism or simply actualism is a method permitting an earth scientist, via analogical reasoning, to explain the geological past based on geological events observed in the present. On the basis of these observations, geologists make inferences about the types of causes and their force in the past.
These two types of uniformitarianism were conflated together by Lyell (Gould 1984, 1987) which has led to some of the modern-day confusion of the term uniformitarianism. We will discuss the impact of Lyell’s conflation when we discuss the case study concerning the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinctions.
- 14.
- 15.
See Hallam (1973, pp. 9–21) for a detailed description of Wegner’s various lines of evidence.
- 16.
Instantaneous in terms of the massive span of geological time.
- 17.
This critique of paleontology has antecedents in Ernst Rutherford’s famous quote about science in general: “All science is either physics or stamp collecting.” In his book, Wonderful Life, Gould (1989) makes a strong argument for the special nature of the historical sciences, such as paleontology, and their methods, as well the general value of epistemological diversity in the sciences. This argument eloquently recapitulates many of the points raised in our chapter in the section dealing with the nature of the earth sciences.
- 18.
- 19.
Created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environmental Programme, IPCC’s purpose is to evaluate the state of climate science as a basis for informed policy action, primarily on the basis of peer-reviewed and published scientific literature (Oreskes 2004).
- 20.
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Dolphin, G., Dodick, J. (2014). Teaching Controversies in Earth Science: The Role of History and Philosophy of Science. In: Matthews, M. (eds) International Handbook of Research in History, Philosophy and Science Teaching. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7654-8_18
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