The Art of Referencing as an Often Overlooked Aspect of Scientific Literacy: Study of a Classroom Intervention

Abstract

Scientific literacy is a complex topic that is often cited, but rarely fully defined. Teaching scientific literacy often focuses solely on scientific reading and writing. However, to be scientifically literate, one must also be able to distinguish between credible and non-credible sources of information. Such ability involves a thorough knowledge of referencing and the peer-review process. To incorporate such issues into the teaching of a specific aspect of scientific literacy, a two-part module was developed with one module focusing on each of the aforementioned topics. Pre-tests and post-tests assessed the efficacy of within-module assignments in terms of increasing student knowledge and confidence in understanding scientific literacy. Following completion of the modules, students were involved in a project that required the writing a scientific paper. Statistically significant gains were observed in student confidence after student completion of the module-specific assignments. Similar findings occurred in knowledge of basic formatting and peer-review after completion of the written paper. The timing in which gains occurred suggests that procedural learning occurred prior to declarative learning. Thus, a multistep process appears effective in explaining a complex topic such as scientific literacy to undergraduate students.

Psychometric characteristic of scientific literacy test among primary school pupils

“…It is a comprehensive topic, which is often quoted, but rarely de ned in full. Teaching scienti c literacy should focus not only on scienti c reading and writing, but also on the ability to discriminate credible and doubtful sources of information (Rehorek and Dafoe, 2018). In general, we can say that scienti c literacy is a constantly changing and evolving understanding of science, which starts by learning natural sciences in both formal and informal educational environments and continues lifelong (Jack and Lin, 2014).…”

Deliberative Democracy: Investigating the Longitudinal Impacts of Democratic Activities in Introductory Biology Courses

“…reported negative aspect of DD, it is not necessarily due to the modules, but because of group dynamics itselfwhich could be an unavoidable aspect in some group-learning settings, and important for instructors to consider, especially as it relates to students having equitable conversations (Tanner et al, 2003). Most undergraduates have little experience reading and using scientific literature, although it may be a crucial skill for their future endeavors (Janick-Buckner, 1997;Rehorek & Dafoe, 2018). Both majors and nonmajors found that the article and literature-search components could be positive aspects of DD.…”