NDLI: The Portrayal of Industrial Melanism in American College General Biology Textbooks

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Fulford, Janice Marie Rudge, David Wÿss
Copyright Year	2016
Abstract	The phenomenon of industrial melanism (IM) became widely acknowledged as a well-documented example of natural selection largely as a result of H.B.D. Kettlewell’s pioneering research on the subject in the early 1950s. It was quickly picked up by American biology textbooks starting in the early 1960s and became ubiquitous throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. While recent research on the phenomenon broadly supports Kettlewell’s explanation of IM in the peppered moth, which in turn has strengthened this example of natural selection, textbook IM entries have actually declined in recent years in favor of other examples. In a previous paper, we drew attention to the pivotal role visual aspects played in the introduction of IM into (and its subsequent removal from) textbook accounts. The present article continues this investigation by analyzing textual passages on industrial melanism within a stratified random sample of textbooks from the 1960s to the 2000s. The fact that this example of natural selection was included by multiple publishers independently, in a short period of time, makes it uniquely qualified for a textbook study of this kind. The purpose of the present project was to determine whether these textbooks contain what has come to be known as the standard peppered moth story. Three complete series were also inspected for change across time. Our analysis focused on (1) the amount of text devoted to industrial melanism; (2) what specific science content elements were present; and (3) what, if any, nature of science (NOS) aspects were included. The study documents an increase in the amount of text devoted to industrial melanism over the decades. In spite of this increase, only modest changes in science content and NOS aspects were found.
Starting Page	547
Ending Page	574
Page Count	28
File Format	PDF
ISSN	09267220
Journal	Science & Education
Volume Number	25
Issue Number	5-6
e-ISSN	15731901
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2016-03-14
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Science Education Philosophy of Science History
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Education

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Retelling Experiments: H.B.D. Kettlewell's Studies of Industrial Melanism in Peppered Moths

The Role of Photographs and Films in Kettlewell's Popularizations of the Phenomenon of Industrial Melanism

“Sex Hormones” in Secondary School Biology Textbooks

Representing the Portrayal of Pilgrims in Elementary History Textbooks and the Myth of the Founding of the American Nation

Portrayal of the History of the Photoelectric Effect in Laboratory Instructions

Gaia Theory in Brazilian High School Biology Textbooks

Biology textbooks and the decentering of the Scopes Trial : Adam R. Shapiro: Trying biology: The Scopes Trial, textbooks, and the antievolution movement in American schools. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013, 193pp, $35.00 HB

Translation Studies and the History of Science: The Greek Textbooks of the 18th Century

Textbooks at the Crossroads: Scientific and Philosophical Textbooks in 18th Century Greek Education

The Portrayal of Industrial Melanism in American College General Biology Textbooks

Similar Documents

Retelling Experiments: H.B.D. Kettlewell's Studies of Industrial Melanism in Peppered Moths

The Role of Photographs and Films in Kettlewell's Popularizations of the Phenomenon of Industrial Melanism

“Sex Hormones” in Secondary School Biology Textbooks

Representing the Portrayal of Pilgrims in Elementary History Textbooks and the Myth of the Founding of the American Nation

Portrayal of the History of the Photoelectric Effect in Laboratory Instructions

Gaia Theory in Brazilian High School Biology Textbooks

Biology textbooks and the decentering of the Scopes Trial : Adam R. Shapiro: Trying biology: The Scopes Trial, textbooks, and the antievolution movement in American schools. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013, 193pp, $35.00 HB

Translation Studies and the History of Science: The Greek Textbooks of the 18th Century

Textbooks at the Crossroads: Scientific and Philosophical Textbooks in 18th Century Greek Education

The Portrayal of Industrial Melanism in American College General Biology Textbooks