Author(s):
Need: Scientifically literate individuals can evaluate evidence, integrate information with prior cultural, economic, and social knowledge, and, consequently, make more informed decisions as they relate to socio-scientific issues. Despite the importance of scientific literacy, many undergraduate students in the US are still unable to distinguish between science and pseudoscience. Guiding Questions: To promote scientifically literacy among undergraduate science students in lecture-based courses, we developed interventions based on a reading-to-learn model and apply active learning strategies to the reading of primary scientific literature (Reading to Reason in Science, or RtRiS). RtRiS interventions provide students with an opportunity to think critically about the scientific process by identifying hypotheses, claims, evidence, and components of scientific argumentation in primary scientific literature. We aim to determine whether RtRiS strategies (1) improve students’ confidence in reading and interpreting primary scientific literature, and (2) improve students’ perceived ability to evaluate evidence, identify components of scientific argumentation, and understand the context for primary scientific literature. Outcomes: Our preliminary findings from ecology, evolution, and introductory biology classes at Hutchinson Community College, Colorado College, and Colorado State University, indicate that RtRiS is correlated with increased student confidence in reading primary scientific literature and perceived ability to understand scientific processes. Broader Impacts: Our results suggest RtRiS interventions can promote critical reasoning in lecture-based science courses, thereby improving scientific literacy and the ability of individuals to make well-informed decisions with long-lasting impacts on society.
Coauthors
Kimberly Dolphin, Hutchinson Community College, Hutchinson, KS; Jennifer L. Neuwald, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO; Paul J. Ode, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO; Josie Leigh Otto, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO; Andrea E. Weinberg, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; Meena M. Balgopal, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
