Practicing Critical Thinking in Undergraduate Microbiology Classes by Presenting News Stories with Data Evidence

Developing scientific literacy is a key objective in undergraduate biology education. However, finding and accessing important primary research articles and drawing conclusions from original data is often challenging for students. The approach described here aims to alleviate these challenges by using news stories as a starting point for identifying important research findings and having students ultimately explain the findings with original data. The students identify a microbial news story, find and read the original peer-reviewed article the news story was based upon, and finally, present the key findings in class, while explicitly focusing on presenting data evidence, followed by the key conclusions that resulted in the news story. This approach practices scientific literacy and critical thinking and promotes a student-centered learning environment.