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Decentring the central science

Teaching the history of science along with the science itself can give students greater context about the topic they are learning and a wider perspective on how it has developed. Michelle Francl, who has wrestled with how much time to spend on teaching history in the chemistry classroom for years, considers how unconventional histories can shift the curriculum.

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Fig. 1

Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo

Fig. 2: Birch tar ‘pit roll’ production technique.

References

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Correspondence to Michelle Francl.

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Francl, M. Decentring the central science. Nat. Chem. 15, 1319–1320 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01336-5

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