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Objectives: To describe the implementation of a hybrid and an online active-learning-based science activity originally designed for face-to-face instruction. The goal was to verify if students used appropriate science practices while engaged in a problem solution through hybrid and fully online modalities. Epistemic practices are important markers of scientific literacy because they reflect ways of thinking and working that are similar to those performed by scientists. Methods: Numerical experimental data related to two topics of immunology were provided to students through virtual learning environments. The groups of students met on WhatsApp© mobile application to negotiate the construction reports containing graphs, discussion, and conclusion to the inquiry problem. Members of our research team coded and analyzed the reports for evidence of epistemic practices. The presence of epistemic practices in the students' writings is presented and discussed qualitatively in this paper. Results: Results show the emergence of epistemic practices in the written discourse of the students participating in online and hybrid modalities. Implication for theory and/or practice: Bringing examples from our experience teaching online and as pre-pandemic researchers allowed us to engage, inspire, and assist other teachers who are facing the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presents to science education. Conclusions: Findings suggest that it is possible to promote student engagement in scientific practices related to biology through online and hybrid instruction.

This study is a follow-up to the analysis of an inquiry-based learning activity applied to students in a public university in Brazil. We advocate that an effective education in immunology must incorporate elements that are essential to research in the area, such as generating and analysing data. These elements would empower students to apply science reasoning to face professional challenges. Our protocol included two of these elements: experimentation and abstraction. The utmost aim was to examine the production of argument by groups engaged in three different activities: 1) performing experiments and analysing the data generated; 2) reading papers on the subject (activation of complement) prior to the activities in (1), and 3) reading papers on the subject and analysing data generated by others. Our analysis reveals that guided scientific paper presentation was more influential than performing an experiment in terms of production of complex arguments. Additionally, we found that some groups merely described the data rather than relating the obtained data to the original question that led to the experiments. The findings described herein show the importance of engaging students in procedures that actually generate knowledge and thus incorporate scientific reasoning and discourse in higher immunology education.

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Copyright of Review of Science Mathematics & ICT Education is the property of Library & Information Center and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)