Pseudo-history and science teaching: the case Robert Hooke (1635-1703)

Abstract

This research analyzes characteristic features of mythical narratives on historical episodes in textbooks. The presence of these components is indicative of what Douglas Allchin called “pseudohistory”, which should be avoided in science education. The historical episode examined in biology textbooks approved in PNLEM/2009 was the observation of cork by Robert Hooke, in the 17th century. The results show that although contributes to metascientific discussion, the proposal seems inadequate when applied to very short materials, requiring an in-depth study of the historical episode in question.