Charles Darwin has been extensively analysed and written about as a scientist, Victorian, father and husband. However, this is the first book to present a carefully thought out pedagogical approach to learning that is centered on Darwin’s life and scientific practice. The ways in which Darwin developed his scientific ideas, and their far reaching effects, continue to challenge and provoke contemporary teachers and learners, inspiring them to consider both how scientists work and how individual humans ‘read nature’. Darwin-inspired learning, as proposed in this international collection of essays, is an enquiry-based pedagogy, that takes the professional practice of Charles Darwin as its source. Without seeking to idealise the man, Darwin-inspired learning places importance on: • active learning • hands-on enquiry • critical thinking • creativity • argumentation • interdisciplinarity. In an increasingly urbanised world, first-hand observations of living plants and animals are becoming rarer. Indeed, some commentators suggest that such encounters are under threat and children are living in a time of ‘nature-deficit’. Darwin-inspired learning, with its focus on close observation and hands-on enquiry, seeks to re-engage children and young people with the living world through critical and creative thinking modeled on Darwin’s life and science.

In this work, Richard Weikart explains the revolutionary impact Darwinism had on ethics and morality. He demonstrates that many leading Darwinian biologists and social thinkers in Germany believed that Darwinism overturned traditional Judeo-Christian and Enlightenment ethics, especially the view that human life is sacred. Many of these thinkers supported moral relativism, yet simultaneously exalted evolutionary 'fitness' (especially intelligence and health) to the highest arbiter of morality. Darwinism played a key role in the rise not only of eugenics, but also euthanasia, infanticide, abortion and racial extermination. This was especially important in Germany, since Hitler built his view of ethics on Darwinian principles, not on nihilism.

“If you’ve ever fantasized walking and conversing with the great scientist on the subjects that consumed him, and now wish to add the fullness of reality, read this book.” —Edward O. Wilson, author of Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life James T. Costa takes readers on a journey from Darwin’s childhood through his voyage on the HMS Beagle, where his ideas on evolution began, and on to Down House, his bustling home of forty years. Using his garden and greenhouse, the surrounding meadows and woodlands, and even the cellar and hallways of his home-turned-field-station, Darwin tested ideas of his landmark theory of evolution through an astonishing array of experiments without using specialized equipment. From those results, he plumbed the laws of nature and drew evidence for the revolutionary arguments of On the Origin of Species and other watershed works. This unique perspective introduces us to an enthusiastic correspondent, collaborator, and, especially, an incorrigible observer and experimenter. And it includes eighteen experiments for home, school, or garden. Finalist for the 2018 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prizes for Excellence in Science Books.

Darwin is credited with discovering evolution through natural selection, but Alfred Russel Wallace saw the same process at work in nature and elaborated the same theory. Dispelling misperceptions of Wallace as a secondary figure, James Costa reveals the two naturalists as equals in advancing one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time.

This book demonstrates how the outdoor environment is enriching learning opportunities for children and deepening their connections with the natural world.

Enhance your teaching with expert advice and support for Key Stages 3 and 4 Biology from the Teaching Secondary series - the trusted teacher's guide for NQTs, non-specialists and experienced teachers. Written in association with ASE, this updated edition provides best practice teaching strategies from academic experts and practising teachers. - Refresh your subject knowledge, whatever your level of expertise - Gain strategies for delivering the big ideas of science using suggested teaching sequences - Engage students and develop their understanding with practical activities for each topic - Enrich your lessons and extend knowledge beyond the curriculum with enhancement ideas - Improve key skills with opportunities to introduce mathematics and scientific literacy highlighted throughout - Support the use of technology with ideas for online tasks, video suggestions and guidance on using cutting-edge software - Place science in context; this book highlights where you can apply science theory to real-life scenarios, as well as how the content can be used to introduce different STEM careers Also available: Teaching Secondary Chemistry, Teaching Secondary Physics

Enhance your teaching with expert advice and support for Key Stages 3 and 4 Biology from the Teaching Secondary series - the trusted teacher's guide for NQTs, non-specialists and experienced teachers. Written in association with ASE, this updated edition provides best practice teaching strategies from academic experts and practising teachers. - Refresh your subject knowledge, whatever your level of expertise - Gain strategies for delivering the big ideas of science using suggested teaching sequences - Engage students and develop their understanding with practical activities for each topic - Enrich your lessons and extend knowledge beyond the curriculum with enhancement ideas - Improve key skills with opportunities to introduce mathematics and scientific literacy highlighted throughout - Support the use of technology with ideas for online tasks, video suggestions and guidance on using cutting-edge software - Place science in context; this book highlights where you can apply science theory to real-life scenarios, as well as how the content can be used to introduce different STEM careers Also available: Teaching Secondary Chemistry, Teaching Secondary Physics