Using Multivariate Image Analysis to Teach Chemometrics through Antioxidant Capacity Determination of Honey Samples: A Grounded Theory Analysis

The teaching of chemistry mediated by digital technologies favors the formation of critical and autonomous students, but there are still no laboratory activities that integrate data acquisition through digital images and partial least-squares (PLS) regression analysis. This study evaluated the contributions of using RedGIM as a technological resource for the construction of chemical knowledge in students of the subjects digital technologies for chemistry teaching and general experimental chemistry 1, in undergraduate chemistry courses at Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES). To this end, the theoretical-methodological strategy of problematized experimental activity (PEA) was adopted. This approach included the determination of the antioxidant capacity of honey samples from stingless and stinging bees using the FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power) method associated with UV–vis spectrophotometry. In parallel, digital images of the samples were recorded and processed in RedGIM, and the data were modeled using PLS. Learning was analyzed based on the experimental execution, the processing of data in spreadsheets, and the socialization and interpretation of results on a digital board (Padlet). At the end of the PEA methodological process, the analytical process followed the grounded theory (GT) model. According to the substantive theory developed, the use of RedGIM as a resource for teaching chemistry within the PEA structure effectively contributed to the development of chemical knowledge and to the interpretation of multivariate data. Evidence of this contribution was observed in students’ written responses and in their final products. The data showed that the proposal enabled the integration of chemical and digital concepts at different levels of complexity, promoting meaningful learning and demonstrating pedagogical applicability in higher education in chemistry.