Escherichia coli as a model for evaluating the progress of learning undergraduate students in microbiology

To assess the progress of undergraduate students in the Biomedical Sciences course at USP, we implemented the "Adopt a Bacteria" methodology within the bacteriology course. We focused on Escherichia coli as a model to explore fundamental concepts in bacterial genetics, morphology, and pathogenesis. To validate this active learning approach, we collected metrics related to the richness and complexity of the discourse generated by students through their social media posts during 2022 and 2023. We analyzed these metrics using Shannon indices and Python. The results indicated that the posts on the three topics were complex and showed an increase in the richness of the students' discourses. It is concluded that this teaching strategy, based on the methodology, enhanced the repertoire of concepts and the complexity of discourse, reflecting increased student engagement and interest in microbiology.