Integrating civic scientific literacy skills in a Biochemistry course

Abstract

Individuals and organizations have to make regular decisions about biochemical data in their everyday lives. At many higher education institutions, all students are required to take science courses with the goal of developing scientific literacy. Scientific literacy has several distinct meanings, but this project emphasizes civic scientific literacy, the understanding of contemporary science‐related issues necessary for informed community engagement. The hypothesis is that consumer and citizenship skills for evaluating data sources can be integrated into Biochemistry courses, specifically a one semester survey course of biochemistry for non‐science (liberal arts) majors. Parallel strategies were integrated to teach students to access biochemical and health related scientific information, analyze arguments, and decide on personal or community action. Students were taught how research studies are conducted and the limits of each model through a website called Study Design 101 (https://himmelfarb.gwu.edu/tutorials/studydesign101/) and to evaluate arguments with the Claim‐Evidence‐Reasoning model. These approaches were integrated into classroom activities and homework assignments. Personal and community action opportunities were provided through outside of class activities that students chose for themselves. The impact of these activities was assessed through performance on the activities, open ended exam questions, and an end of course survey. Students gained both biochemical content and skills in evaluating claims with evidence, and reported the course helped them better understand what scientists do and how to make decisions based upon scientific evidence.Support or Funding InformationThanks to the Haines Fund for the Study of Biochemistry at Wabash College.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.