#548: Remote and face to face - the support we'll need

When the specification is (finally) released, along with SAMs and other support materials and guidance there will be a year or so to prepare teachers to teach the new specification. 

This will require them to upskill themselves (and I include myself in that).

Official and 'unofficial' support and textbooks and other material will start to appear, and the various organisations who have been involved so far will no doubt have their own idea.

There are already some organisations offering free online training - here are a few examples from November 2023 for example, from different organisations... they will of course be offering many more in the years to come...

On 16th Nov at 1:45pm, tune into our next STEM Live lesson, 'How to Classify a Sea Monster', brought to you by @LinneanSociety.

Here you'll learn how to study life in the wild, name living organisms and even draw imaginary creatures!

Sign up here: https://t.co/QgnSkAKaDv pic.twitter.com/5wqw1qw48q

— STEMLiveLessons (@STEMLiveLessons) October 24, 2023

Ever wondered what life is like on a historic estate? Join us @unisouthampton to hear from the team at Beaulieu Estate.

📍Southampton, 8 November 👉 https://t.co/W5TjyAusuK pic.twitter.com/GV4iIph7tI

— Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (@RGS_IBG) October 26, 2023

What do you think will be the most useful types of support that teachers and schools that decide to offer the new specification will need to be provided with - whether by the awarding body or external bodies including publishers, subject associations, charities etc.

#494: Tautonyms

Check out the Triple Tautonyms website to help practise your latin naming of flora and fauna.

#490: How Zoologists organise things

Taxonomy will probably feature in the GCSE Natural History. Knowing how different species can be compared and differentiated and the structures that biologist, zoologists and ecologists use will be important.

#448: Tom Gauld cartoon

I've added a few mentions of Tom Gauld here previously. Along with Ben Jennings, I love his style and wit...

A recent New Scientist cartoon shared on Instagram was excellent and also connected with an important element of any GCSE Natural History: the classification of organisms, and Fungi in particular....

Image copyright: Tom Gauld

#296: Thought for the Day

"We know nothing. We look daily at the mystery of plain stuff. We stand where any upright food-gatherer has stood, on the edge of our own unconscious"

William Golding (1965), reviewing Gavin Maxwell's 'Ring of Bright Water'

#34: Linnean Society and Carl Linnaeus

There will be a list of people whose work students should be introduced to during their studies in Natural History. The specification will no doubt include a list of these prominent people and we will also suggest one here on the blog and in the resources that emerge for teachers using the new specification.

Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) is one of the people who will appear on the list.

He is the father of modern taxonomy: a system for classifying organisms.

This New Scientist profile is a useful summary of his life and work, and the importance of taxonomy for biologists.

The Systema Naturae is another name for this.

The Linnean Society is based at Burlington House - to the left as you head towards the Royal Academy through the arch off Picadilly.

I last visited in 2019, just ahead of the lockdowns.

The Linnean Society of London is the world’s oldest active society devoted to natural history. Founded in 1788 by Sir James Edward Smith (1759–1828), who was its first President, the Society takes its name from the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) whose botanical, zoological and library collections have been in their keeping since 1829. 

As the Society's website says:

These unique collections are of continuing fundamental importance as a primary reference for naming of plants and animals. They are enhanced by the Society's own rich library which provides key resources for scientific and cultural research.

Our vision is a world where nature is understood, valued and protected. To do this we aim to inform, involve and inspire people about nature and its significance through our collections, events and publications. Thanks to the wide ranging expertise of our Fellowship and our unique collections, we are a hub for science communication through interdisciplinary learning and engagement.

The Society encourages the debate and discussion of natural history including taxonomy, evolutionary biology and ecology. We strongly support all efforts to address some of the most urgent issues facing the natural world, such as climate change and biodiversity loss. We also support the implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We aspire to inspire by bringing together diverse communities and increasing engagement with scientists, historians, artists and all those interested in nature.

#10: The Special Species game

The Special Species game is on the Linnean Society website.

It is a fun introduction to the idea of taxonomy and the different elements of the latin names of species and what they mean. 

Mix up some elements of species' names to create your own strange new species of animal and then design what you think it might look like. A useful little activity to introduce the idea of taxonomy, and how plants and animals get their 'proper' names. Knowing these proper names for key species was part of the original idea behind the new specification, with a feeling that young people no longer had that knowledge, and its acquisition was missing from the curriculum.

Combine the various stems and segments of words to produce new animals which match that taxonomic description.

Taxonomy is the science of naming, describing and classifying organisms and includes all plants, animals and microorganisms of the world. Using morphological, behavioural, genetic and biochemical observations, taxonomists identify, describe and arrange species into classifications, including those that are new to science.

The "father of taxonomy" was Carl (Carolus) Linnaeus. His will be a name which will emerge at numerous times during the development of materials.