Wallace in the Amazon: A Case for Teaching Taxonomy & Scientific Practices

This work presents a teaching and learning sequence (TLS) that aims to engage students in learning core biological knowledge and well-informed conceptions about the nature of science through a historical case study: Alfred Russel Wallace’s (1823–1913) research on palm trees in the Amazon. He observed, illustrated, described, and collected several specimens to understand the region’s biological diversity. We took it as a starting point for students to use a dichotomous identification key and develop a phylogenetic tree. We also mention an evaluation of the TLS applied in second-year high school classes involving sixty students from a public school in the city of São Paulo in 2013. The activity produced several positive effects, especially regarding motivation for learning phylogenetic classification from exemplary historical contexts. The experience illustrates in a more general way how the use of nature investigations carried out in the past can contribute to a more complete scientific education, as described in the new curricular standards.