Citizen Science In the Classroom

Pedagogy Discussed

• Students are essentially volunteered to participate rather than volunteering to participate themselves, which can affect their motivation

• Up to the teacher to manage and encourage engagement of students

• Teachers may have to explore topics outside of their expertise to be able to fully engage with a citizen science project

Implementing in the Classroom

• Teacher should show personal excitement towards the project to help motivate students

• Teacher can help with engagement of students by emphasizing the importance of their research

• Teachers should become experts in the topic of the research to the best of their ability to be best able to engage in a citizen science project

Pedagogy Discussed

• Teachers should ensure that they let the families of their students know about their citizen science projects

• Setting aside specific time for research is important

• Ensure students have accsess to the necessary technology, tools, or equipment to conduct their research with

Implementing in the Classroom

• Send out emails or letters to students families explaining the project and what it may consist of

• Make a cinsistent schedule of when and where research will be conducted

• Provide the necessary tools for research for your students to use

Pedagogy Discussed

• Students often do not know why they are collecting the data they are

• Students may also not understant why they are collecting data in a particular way

• Students may not know what makes their data valuale or what it could mean when it is used or analyzed by other peopele

• It is important that researech sites are easily accesable

Implementing in the Classroom

• Teachers must be sure that their students understand why they are collecting the data they are and what it will be used for

• Research must be done in areas easily accessable to students to make participation easy and reasonable

• Teachers should help students understand why their data is valuable to research

Pedagogy Discussed

• Developing student interest in the research is vital

• Everyone should be encuraged to contribute data

• Make the research meaningful for the students

• Share the students work with others

Implementing in the Classroom

• Learning from experts or field guides can help build interest

• Assigning different roles and frequently comparing data can give everyone a chance to participate

• Further investigating students questions about a roject can make it feel more meaningful to them

• Presenting work to other classes, parents, or other groups can build a sense of pride in their work

Pedagogy Discussed

• Guide students to understand significance/relevance of their research to their own lives and the lives of others

• Explore what it means to be a scientist and to do science, talk about preconceived ideas about what a scientist does and looks like

• Make the students believe that they themselves are scientists and are fullu capable in doing science

• Check in with students on how their research is going and what it means to them

Implementation in the Classroom

• Ask students to come up with their own lists of reasons why what ther are doing is important to them and to other people

• Ask student what they think a scientist is, talk about different types of scientist that may differ from their expected definitions of what a scientist is

• Every so often, do a check in with the students to not only see how their research is going but to also evaluate their level of understanding about the importance and reasons for their research