Research activities produced by undergraduates in Biological Sciences: challenges and possibilities

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze inquiry activities produced by undergraduates of a Natural Sciences course regarding the presence of investigative elements. The research is qualitative and descriptive. Eight undergraduates from a Natural Sciences course at a federal university in the state of Paraná, Brazil, participated in the study. The undergraduates attended the training course on Teaching by Investigation given by researchers from three public universities and, at the end, produced inquiry activities that were the object of studies in this research. The criteria established for analyzing the activities were the organization of their structure and the relationship between the investigative elements present. The results show that there was greater clarity in the organization of the structure of activities and elaboration of the problem. The challenges were in terms of coordinating the investigative elements called formulation and confrontation of hypotheses, obtaining data and elaborating a conclusion.