PROMOTING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC LITERACY THROUGH A SCIENCE COMMUNICATION PROJECT

Misinformation is a pervasive threat to democracy, human health, the environment, and many other spheres touched by society. This raises concern about what citizens need to know so they can identify and avoid false claims, making individual and collective decisions based on evidence. Reliable scient...

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Main Authors: Melina Murgel, Diorleno Santos, Liliana Marzorati
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Química 2025-08-01
Series:Química Nova
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-40422025000800900&tlng=en
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author Melina Murgel
Diorleno Santos
Liliana Marzorati
author_facet Melina Murgel
Diorleno Santos
Liliana Marzorati
author_sort Melina Murgel
collection DOAJ
description Misinformation is a pervasive threat to democracy, human health, the environment, and many other spheres touched by society. This raises concern about what citizens need to know so they can identify and avoid false claims, making individual and collective decisions based on evidence. Reliable scientific knowledge reaches the public through science communication. However, simply communicating ready-made claims is not enough to empower people in their daily decision-making. Aiming to contribute with possible pathways for science education for social transformation, a didactic activity in which undergraduate students designed science communication pieces was developed. It was implemented in three different undergraduate Chemistry courses, resulting in 67 science communication pieces. This study aimed to identify indications of scientific literacy in students’ productions by analyzing them for the presence of the Structural Axes of Scientific Literacy. The results showed that the majority of the pieces presented axes (1) Scientific Concepts and (3) Science, Technology, Society, and Environment (STSE), while axis (2) Nature of Science (NOS) was addressed in about one-third of them. This reinforces that epistemology of science needs to be highlighted in science education curricula and practice. Yet, based on the results, the science communication pieces complied with socially engaged scientific literacy.
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spelling doaj-art-4fa3bcd82c66423faecbb28a4a97d1192025-08-20T04:02:32ZengSociedade Brasileira de QuímicaQuímica Nova1678-70642025-08-0148810.21577/0100-4042.20250174PROMOTING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC LITERACY THROUGH A SCIENCE COMMUNICATION PROJECTMelina Murgelhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8085-3879Diorleno SantosLiliana MarzoratiMisinformation is a pervasive threat to democracy, human health, the environment, and many other spheres touched by society. This raises concern about what citizens need to know so they can identify and avoid false claims, making individual and collective decisions based on evidence. Reliable scientific knowledge reaches the public through science communication. However, simply communicating ready-made claims is not enough to empower people in their daily decision-making. Aiming to contribute with possible pathways for science education for social transformation, a didactic activity in which undergraduate students designed science communication pieces was developed. It was implemented in three different undergraduate Chemistry courses, resulting in 67 science communication pieces. This study aimed to identify indications of scientific literacy in students’ productions by analyzing them for the presence of the Structural Axes of Scientific Literacy. The results showed that the majority of the pieces presented axes (1) Scientific Concepts and (3) Science, Technology, Society, and Environment (STSE), while axis (2) Nature of Science (NOS) was addressed in about one-third of them. This reinforces that epistemology of science needs to be highlighted in science education curricula and practice. Yet, based on the results, the science communication pieces complied with socially engaged scientific literacy.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-40422025000800900&tlng=enScientific LiteracyScience CommunicationSTSE (ScienceTechnologySocietyand Environment)Nature of Science
spellingShingle Melina Murgel
Diorleno Santos
Liliana Marzorati
PROMOTING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC LITERACY THROUGH A SCIENCE COMMUNICATION PROJECT
Química Nova
Scientific Literacy
Science Communication
STSE (Science
Technology
Society
and Environment)
Nature of Science
title PROMOTING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC LITERACY THROUGH A SCIENCE COMMUNICATION PROJECT
title_full PROMOTING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC LITERACY THROUGH A SCIENCE COMMUNICATION PROJECT
title_fullStr PROMOTING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC LITERACY THROUGH A SCIENCE COMMUNICATION PROJECT
title_full_unstemmed PROMOTING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC LITERACY THROUGH A SCIENCE COMMUNICATION PROJECT
title_short PROMOTING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC LITERACY THROUGH A SCIENCE COMMUNICATION PROJECT
title_sort promoting undergraduate students scientific literacy through a science communication project
topic Scientific Literacy
Science Communication
STSE (Science
Technology
Society
and Environment)
Nature of Science
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-40422025000800900&tlng=en
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AT diorlenosantos promotingundergraduatestudentsscientificliteracythroughasciencecommunicationproject
AT lilianamarzorati promotingundergraduatestudentsscientificliteracythroughasciencecommunicationproject