Nature Study in American Schools: 1890-1930

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A full understanding of the crisis in science teaching in the elementary and secondary schools of the United States requires a look at the historical background against which teaching of science in this country has developed. How were things done before? Why were the choices for presentation made? What were the goals of science teaching when it was first introduced? How has the situation changed? Professor Kohlstedt's project constitutes the first comprehensive analysis of the Nature Study program of teaching science in schools to consider its scientific outlook, its concern for social and environmental issues, the extraordinary diversity of its activities by region and the ways in which gender issues influenced the program and affected its stability. "Nature Study" was an international movement that came from Europe to the United States in the 1890's. It developed as a method to introduce children to the natural world in a systematic way. Professor Kohlstedt is examining the period from 1890 to 1930 when the Nature Study movement moved beyond the school system to extracurricular and public institutions. She is probing the deceptively simple clarity of Nature Study's basic proposition--learning from natural objects- -that was elaborated in textbooks and lesson plans variously directed at rural and urban children in both private and public schools. She is reassessing the outlook and activities of those administrators and teachers who established Nature Study as a curriculum and publicized it through lectures and publications. Based on the records of normal schools, university archives, school system records, and the papers of individual teachers and students as well as the numerous published books and articles on Nature Study, this research will document its philosophy, content, pedagogy, scientific outlook, and public connections. This study promises to be a most important contribution to our understanding of the processes of science teaching in the US.