Primary literature as an active tool in Biotechnology education

This study aims to report and analyze a pedagogical experience based on the reading and critical analysis of scientific articles in the Fundamentals of Biotechnology course, within a Biological Sciences undergraduate program. Characterized as qualitative and descriptive research, the methodology consisted of document analysis of critical summaries and directed questionnaires developed by the students. The results showed a solid conceptual understanding of the historical-technological evolution of classical and modern biotechnology, as well as the development of a strong critical perspective regarding biosafety, ethics, and sustainability. Furthermore, the students demonstrated an excellent capacity for didactic transposition by proposing experimental practices and active methodologies for high school education. It is concluded that the use of primary literature as an active methodology in higher education promotes scientific literacy, overcomes the purely transmissive model, and enhances the formation of the pedagogical praxis of future biologists.