Under this `Small Grant for Exploratory Research,` (SGER) Professors Allen of Washington University, Beatty of University of Minnesota, and Maienschein of Arizona State University are trying to determine how hands on experience in biological labs and participation in field research affect the learning of graduate students and young faculty members in Science and Technology Studies. Every summer, these principal investigators (PI's) assemble a team of natural and social scientists, historians and philosophers of science to examine various aspects of the history of contemporary biology. Reading of original sources, however, does not really get at the heart of biology for biology is founded on experimental work in the laboratory and the field. In order to appreciate how biology develops, they hypothesize, one must undertake the experiments the scientists performed in order to see how these scientists actually saw nature. This SGER grant allows the PI's to determine how incorporation of a lab and field component to the course affects understanding of the science being examined. This practical hands-on component will bring into focus the practical aspects of scientific work. They expect thereby to improve the training and to create a valuable model for work in the history and philosophy of science more generally.
