Article Introducing Undergraduate Students to Science Received for publication, April 16, 2009, and in revised form, August 26, 2009 Paulo De A ´ vila Jr. and Bayardo B. Torres† From the Department of Biochemistry, Chemistry Institute, University of Sa ˜ o Paulo, Sa ˜ o Paulo, Brazil Understanding the scientific method fosters the development of critical thinking and logical analysis of information. Additionally, proposing and testing a hypothesis is applicable not only to science, but also to ordinary facts of daily life. Knowing the way science is done and how its results are published is use- ful for all citizens and mandatory for science students. A 60-h course was created to offer undergraduate students a framework in which to learn the procedures of scientific production and publication. The course’s main focus was biochemistry, and it was comprised of two modules. Module I dealt with scien- tific articles, and Module II with research project writing. Module I covered the topics: 1) the difference between scientific knowledge and common sense, 2) different conceptions of science, 3) scientific meth- odology, 4) scientific publishing categories, 5) logical principles, 6) deductive and inductive approaches, and 7) critical reading of scientific articles. Module II dealt with 1) selection of an experimental problem for investigation, 2) bibliographic revision, 3) materials and methods, 4) project writing and presentation, 5) funding agencies, and 6) critical analysis of experimental results. The course adopted a collaborative learning strategy, and each topic was studied through activities performed by the students. Qualitative and quantitative course evaluations with Likert questionnaires were carried out at each stage, and the results showed the students’ high approval of the course. The staff responsible for course planning and development also evaluated it positively. The Biochemistry Department of the Chemistry Institute of the University of Sa ˜ o Paulo has offered the course four times. Keywords: scientific methodology, science, research projects, scientific articles. Being well-informed requires more than access to in- formation. It implies being able to select, relate, and build new knowledge based on the information available. Offi- cial documents [1, 2] and scientific articles [3, 4] refer to the need for change in the education of recent college graduates in terms of the development of these abilities. Nonacademic corporations also indicate similar needs in the professional education of citizens and workers [5]. At the university level, an answer to these guidelines is to get undergraduate students acquainted with the ways of producing and spreading scientific knowledge systematically, regardless of their future careers. Sci- ence is not a body of information to be mastered, but rather a way to construct new knowledge [6]. Therefore, learning science entails not only the expansion of knowledge, but also learning a way of thinking about the world and interpreting it. In other words, it is desira- ble to develop the students’ scientific literacy as an essential element for their full participation in society. Quoting Rodger W. Bybee, ‘‘The understanding and abilities associated with scientific literacy empower citi- zens to make personal decisions and appropriately par- ticipate in the formulation of public policies that impact their lives. Assertions such as these provide a rationale of scientific literacy as the core purpose of science edu- cation’’ [7]. Although the definitions of scientific literacy may vary from author to author, according to the OECD Programe for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006, scientific literacy refers to an individual’s scientific knowledge and the use of this knowledge to identify scientific questions, explain scientific phenomena, and draw evidence-based conclusions. The capacity to judge and formulate hypotheses and/or explicative models for the phenomena observed and to analyze the available data are not restricted to scientific research but are also necessary for citizenship. The scientific investigation of problems is a multi-step process that requires rigor in the search, logical analysis, and articulation of information. Mastering this process allows the development of the abovementioned skills and abilities. However, the literature reports few initiatives of systematically treating scientific principles specifically aimed at Biochemistry undergraduate students. A litera- ture search done strictly in Biochemistry journals that did not include general science education journals uncovers only one outstanding example, the work of Tang and Gan [8], on a scientific research course aimed at senior students intending to pursue an academic career. ‡To whom correspondence should be addressed. Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 748, Departamento de Bioquı´mica, USP., Sa ˜o Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil. Tel.: 55-11-30913810; Fax: 551130912186. E-mail: bayardo@iq.usp.br. DOI 10.1002/bmb.20335 This paper is available on line at http://www.bambed.org 70 Q 2010 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 70–78, 2010