whole-science enso
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Whole Science addresses the challenge of consumers and citizens assessing the reliability of scientific clamis in personal and public decision making. Science education can help students inquire into the "nature of science," or how science works, through contextualized historical cases, examining how science is justified "from test tubes to YouTube."

Figure 1.

whole science pyramid

 Figure 2.

detailed-layers
Appendix:
A Partial Inventory of Epistemic Concepts
appendix page		 Figure 3.

3rd-layer-concepts

Core Bibliography
 BOOKS
  • Allchin, D. (2026). Whole Science. St. Paul: SHiPS Press.
  • Allchin, D. (2013). Teaching the Nature of Science: Perspectives and Resources. St. Paul: SHiPS Press. DOWNLOAD e-copy
ARTICLES
  • Allchin, D. (2026). Toward a Philosophy of Error in Science. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Allchin, D. (2025). The vaccine skeptics of 1721. St. Paul: SHiPS Resource Center. http://shipseducation.net/misinfo/vaccines1721.htm
  • Osborne, J. & Allchin, D. (2024). Scientific literacy in the twenty-first century: informed trust and the competent outsider. International Journal of Science Education, 47, 2134-2155. doi: 10.1080/095000693.2024.2331980
  • Allchin, D. (2024). Engaging history of biology: Why teachers care and how to succeed. American Biology Teacher, 86, 552-566.
  • Allchin, D. (2024). Transforming history into inquiry. American Biology Teacher, 86, 599-604.
  • Allchin, D. (2023). Ten competencies for the science misinformation crisis. Science Education, 107, 261–274. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21746
  • Allchin, D. (2022). Who speaks for science? Science & Education, 31, 1475-1492.
  • Allchin, D. (2021). The facts of science and the values of social justice. American Biology Teacher, 83, 199-201.
  • Höttecke, D. & Allchin, D. (2020). Reconceptualizing nature-of-science education in the era of social media. Science Education, 104, 641–666.
  • Allchin, D. & Zemplén, G. (2020). Finding the place of argumentation in science education: epistemics and whole science. Science Education, 104, 907–933.
  • Allchin, D. (2020). From nature of science to social justice: the political power of epistemic lessons. In L. Hansson and H. Yacoubian (Eds.), The Nature of Science for Social Justice, Springer, pp. 23-39,
  • Allchin, D. (2020). Using historical inquiry cases to learn nature of science skills. In W.F. McComas (Ed.), The Nature of Science in Science Education: Rationales and Strategies (rev. ed.). Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 595-608.
  • Allchin, D. (2019). Science without shiny labs. American Biology Teacher, 81, 61-64.
  • Allchin, D. (2017) Beyond the consensus view: Whole Science. Canadian Journal of Science, Math and Technology Education, 17, 18–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/14926156.2016.1271921
  • Allchin, D. & Werth, A. (2017). The naturalizing error. Journal of the General Philosophy of Science. doi: 10.1007/s10838-016-9336-x.
  • Allchin, D. (2017). Historical inquiry cases for nature of science learning. Cadernos da História da Ciencia, 13(2). http://ojs.butantan.gov.br/index.php/chcib/article/view/276/263
  • Allchin, D. (2014). From Science Studies to scientific literacy: a view from the classroom. Science & Education, 23, 1911–1932 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-013-9672-8
  • Allchin, D., Andersen, H.M. & Nielsen, K. (2014). Complementary approaches to teaching nature of science: integrating student inquiry, contemporary cases and historical cases in classroom practice. Science Education, 98, 461-486.
  • Allchin, D. (2012). The Minnesota Case Study Collection: New historical inquiry case studies for nature of science education. Science & Education, 21, 1263–1281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-011-9368-x
  • Allchin, D. (2012). Teaching the nature of science through scientific error. Science Education, 96, 904–926.
  • Allchin, D. (2011). Evaluating knowledge of the nature of (Whole) Science. Science Education, 95, 918-942.
  • Allchin, D. (2011). Teaching Whole Science. American Biology Teacher, 74, 53-55.
  • Allchin, D. (2010). Christian Eijkman & the cause of beriberi. St. Paul: SHiPS Resource Center. http://shipseducation.net/modules/biol/beriberi.htm
  • Allchin, D. (2007). Monsters and marvels. American Biology Teacher, 69, 565-568.
  • Allchin, D. (2007). Teaching science lawlessly. In P. Heering and D. Osewold (Eds.), Constructing Scientific Understanding through Contextual Teaching, Berlin: Frank & Timme, pp. 13-31.
  • Allchin, D. (2004). Pseudohistory and pseudoscience. Science & Education, 13, 179-195.
  • Allchin, D. (2004). Should the sociology of science be rated X? Science Education, 88, 934-946.
  • Allchin, D. (2003). Lawson's shoehorn, or should the philosophy of science be rated X? Science & Education, 12, 315-329.
  • Allchin, D. (2001). Error types. Perspectives on Science, 9, 38-59.
  • Allchin, D. (2001). Kettlewell's missing evidence, a study in black and white. Journal of College Science Teaching, 31, 240-245.
  • Allchin, D. (2000). How not to teach historical case studies in science. Journal of College Science Teaching, 30, 33-37.
  • Allchin, D. (1999). In the shadows of giants: Boyle's law?, Bunsen's burner?, Petri's dish, and the politics of scientific renown. St. Paul: SHiPS Resource Center. http://shipseducation.net/updates/shadows.htm
  • Allchin, D. & DeKosky, R. (Eds.). (1998). An Introduction to History of Science in Non-Western Traditions. Seattle: History of Science Society.

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