Scientific literacy through an inquiry-based multimodal teaching: outcomes from a classroom study

The study presents a multimodal inquiry-based instructional model designed to promote scientific literacy in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. The approach integrates historical narratives, qualitative experimentation, and computational simulations to strengthen students’ understanding of the Nature of Science and support epistemic agency. Implemented in a public technical high school in Volta Redonda, Brazil, the intervention involved 50 students aged 15–17 across three 100-minute lessons. Data were collected through pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, and open-ended responses were analyzed using discursive textual analysis. Results indicate that students developed a more realistic view of scientific inquiry as an inferential, creative, and revisable process, alongside increased engagement and participation in model construction. The findings suggest that combining history of science, investigative activities, and digital tools is effective in resource-constrained contexts, fosters inclusive practices, and aligns with contemporary perspectives of scientific literacy centered on epistemic agency and the social relevance of science.