THE BIOCHEMISTRY BEHIND COVID-19: WEBQUEST DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION FOR EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING. WebQuests are inquiry-oriented activities structured in such a way that almost all resources used come from the web. The present study aims to investigate to what extent a WebQuest focusing on Biochemistry and COVID-19 can be used as an instructive tool to enhance undergraduate students’ media and information literacy (MIL). Students’ opinions on the use of the WebQuest were also discussed. The WebQuest was implemented in a BSc in Physical and Biomolecular Sciences course in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the results of this study, the WebQuest has improved the MIL competence of students and motivated them towards learning Biochemistry.

Resumo: Introdução: A importância da divulgação científica (DC) ficou em evidência diante da pandemia de COVID-19, que aproximou cientistas das mídias populares de forma sem precedentes. No entanto, a formação desses profissionais para a comunicação com públicos não-especialistas ainda é incipiente. Pensando em contribuir com iniciativas que visam suprir tal necessidade, foi simulado um ambiente de uma revista de DC na qual bacharelandos em química, no papel de jornalistas de ciência, foram convidados a redigir textos de divulgação científica (TDC) sobre a COVID-19. Objetivos: Este trabalho objetiva analisar o conteúdo textual produzido pelos estudantes, destacando as potencialidades e fragilidades dos TDC. Métodos: Para tal, foram empregados os fundamentos da Análise de Conteúdo (AC), que propiciou a caracterização dos TDC na perspectiva dos elementos recorrentes neste tipo de produção. Nessa perpectiva, o material analisado foi submetido a um processo de cinco etapas: (i) preparação das informações; (ii) transformação do conteúdo em unidades de análise; (iii) categorização do material, que emergiu de um Quadro Analítico de TDC; (iv) descrição das categorias; (v) e interpretação dos resultados. Resultados: Os estudantes empregaram recursos visuais e textuais para o apelo à atenção do leitor; mostraram preocupação com a contextualização da informação; e disseminação de uma visão não distorcida da produção científica, a partir do detalhamento das características da atividade científica. Ficou também mostrado que TDC com menor emprego de recursos linguísticos podem resultar em abordagens mais conceituais e técnicas. Conclusões: Esta experiência corroborou o potencial dos estudantes em promover informações sobre ciência para audiências leigas, já que se encontram próximos tanto do público não-especializado quanto da comunidade acadêmica; e reforçou a aplicabilidade da AC de relacionar categorias analíticas de TDC reportadas na literatura a casos mais particulares, como o aqui descrito.

Abstract: Introduction: The importance of public communication of science and technology (PCST) became evident in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought scientists closer to popular media in an unprecedented way. However, the training of these professionals to communicate with non-specialist audiences is still incipient. Thinking about contributing to initiatives that aim to meet this need, an environment of a PST magazine was simulated in which chemistry bachelor students, in the role of science journalists, were invited to write popular science texts (PST) on COVID-19. Goals: This work aims to analyze the textual content produced by students, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of PST. Methods: To this end, the foundations of Content Analysis (CA) were used, which allowed the characterization of PST from the perspective of recurrent elements in this type of production. From this perspective, the material analyzed was submitted to a five-step process: (i) preparation of information; (ii) transformation of content into units of analysis; (iii) categorization of the material, which emerged from a PST Analytical Framework; (iv) description of the categories; (v) and interpretation of results. Results: The students used visual and textual resources to appeal to the reader's attention; showed concern with the contextualization of information; and dissemination of an undistorted view of scientific production, from the detailing of the characteristics of scientific activity. It was also shown that PST with less use of linguistic features can result in more conceptual and technical approaches. Conclusions: This experience corroborated the students' potential to promote information about science to lay audiences, as they are close to both the non-specialized public and the academic community; and reinforced the applicability of CA to relate analytical categories of PST reported in the literature to more particular cases, such as the one described here.

COOPERATIVE AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING TO TEACH CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM TO FRESHMAN STUDENTS. This paper describes cooperative (jigsaw) and collaborative activities (Peer-Led Team Learning) carried out in the BSc degree in Chemistry at the São Carlos Institute of Chemistry, the University of São Paulo, Brazil. The dynamics of discursive interactions established among students in the cooperative and collaborative groups was investigated based on the Model proposed by Kumpulainen and Mutanen, by analyzing the following: functions of speech, cognitive processing and social processing. In this perspective, the influence of the level of structure of the activities was studied. The results obtained point to the possibility of adapting both types of activities in higher education chemistry courses.

THE APPLICATION OF A COMIC STRIP, TRINITY, IN CHEMISTRY EDUCATION. Faced with obstacles encountered in lessons and the search for actions that meet current educational needs, some attention has been paid to the role of comics as instructional tool. This article focuses on the use of a comic strip, Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb, to develop knowledge and promote science learning. Three case studies were extracted from the comic and implemented to a group of pre-service chemistry teachers. A questionnaire was utilized to assess their perceptions about the usefulness of comics for their learning. One hundred percent of students indicated that comics helped improve their understanding of the nature of science. On the basis of the data, comic strips may be utilized as an acceptable educational tool in science education.

Resumen Alunos de graduação em química de um curso semestral de comunicação científica, oferecido na Universidade de São Paulo, com duas horas de aula por semana, produziram textos argumentativos sobre a temática biodiesel com base na literatura científica primária. Um componente integral do curso foi o processo de peer-review, a partir do qual os alunos receberam feedback dos colegas sobre os seus textos, antes de fazer a submissão dos mesmos à avaliação do professor. Com o propósito de encorajar a elaboração de comentários de revisão proveitosos, uma rubrica foi empregada. Um questionário foi aplicado para obtenção das opiniões dos alunos sobre o processo. Este exige que os mesmos se posicionem frente a quinze afirmativas, usando escala Likert de cinco pontos (1 = concordo fortemente a 5 = discordo fortemente), e após cada uma delas consta um espaço para a redação de comentários. Os resultados dos questionários indicaram que os alunos perceberam melhoria nas suas habilidades de pensamento crítico, argumentação e comunicação científica e na aquisição de conhecimentos sobre a temática biodiesel.

Abstract In a semester science communication course that met for 2 hours once a week at the University of São Paulo, undergraduate chemistry students produced argumentative texts about biodiesel by using primary scientific literature. An integral component of the course was peer-review, whereby students received feedback on their drafts from a peer before submitting them to the professor. To encourage students to provide useful review comments, a rubric was used. A questionnaire was distributed to assess students’ opinions about the process. It asked students to answer fifteen statements using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly agree to 5 = strongly disagree). There was a space for written comments after each statement. The results of the questionnaire indicated that students perceived an increase in their argument, critical-thinking and communication skills, and on the acquisition of knowledge about biodiesel.

Although the impacts of science discoveries are relevant to society, awareness of this intellectual output is still minimal. Much of this communicative failure between researchers and the general public lies in the disclosure, which contributes to the superficiality and misinterpretations of the content served. Strategies need to be found to improve science communication worldwide, promoting well-grounded content and accessible language to a non-specialist audience. This work aims to report writing strategies used in a course about public communication of science, offered to undergraduate chemistry students. The results showed that students fully achieved the task of writing popular science texts as a science journalist, emphasizing their ease and difficulties throughout the activity.