SCIENTIFIC INITIATION: OPEN LABORATORY AND BRAINSTORMING AS STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE SCIENTIFIC LITERACY WITH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

This article analyzes the effectiveness of the Open Laboratory and Brainstorming methodological strategies as tools to promote Scientific Literacy (SL) in high school students. The qualitative and practical study was developed with students from an urban public school in Novo Progresso (PA), motivated by their participation in the 1st International Children and Youth Conference on Education and Climate Change. The investigative research started from a real problem identified by the students themselves: What immediate impacts can be observed in a community that resides in a degraded and potentially polluted environment due to a landfill? (Nego do Bento 1) resident on a former landfill and without access to basic sanitation. The methodology followed a structured seven-step guide, including hypothesis formulation, data collection via questionnaires, photographic records, experimental analysis of water quality through microbiological projection, conclusion, and communication of the research. The results were analyzed from the perspective of the Scientific Literacy indicators proposed by Sasseron and Carvalho (2008), divided into three structuring groups: investigation of a problem, structuring of thought, and understanding of the situation. The evidence collected through reports, videos, and public presentations (including on local radio) demonstrated, according to Bardin's content analysis, the development of skills inherent to science, such as logical reasoning, evidence-based argumentation, and student protagonism. It is concluded that scientific initiation, mediated by active methodologies and connected to local reality, is an effective path for the formation of scientifically literate citizens, capable of intervening in and communicating solutions to problems in their community.