School of Ants goes to college: integrating citizen science into the general education classroom increases engagement with science

Citizen science has proven useful in advancing scientific research, but participant learning outcomes are not often assessed. This case study describes the implementation and tailoring of an in-depth assessment of the educational impact of two citizen science projects in an undergraduate, general education course. Mixed-methods assessment of citizen science within a college classroom demonstrates that public participation in scientific research can positively alter attitudes towards science. The timing and type of assessments yielded significantly different results and qualitative assessment provided depth and context. However, disentangling the impact of the course from participation in the projects is the biggest challenge. Abstract

[1]  Krista G. Hilchey,et al.  A review of citizen science and community-based environmental monitoring: issues and opportunities , 2011, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[2]  Candie C. Wilderman,et al.  Public Participation in Scientific Research: Defining the Field and Assessing Its Potential for Informal Science Education. A CAISE Inquiry Group Report. , 2009 .

[3]  From Local to EXtreme Environments (FLEXE): Connecting Students and Scientists in Online Forums , 2014 .

[4]  Michael A. Jenkins-Guarnieri,et al.  Career Development Among First-Year College Students , 2013 .

[5]  Christine Nadel,et al.  Case Study Research Design And Methods , 2016 .

[6]  C. Steele.  A threat in the air. How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. , 1997, The American psychologist.

[7]  Jennifer Preece,et al.  Dynamic changes in motivation in collaborative citizen-science projects , 2012, CSCW.

[8]  Rajul E. Pandya,et al.  A framework for engaging diverse communities in citizen science in the US , 2012 .

[9]  Kristen C. Nelson,et al.  Volunteer Macroinvertebrate Monitoring in the United States: Resource Mobilization and Comparative State Structures , 2004 .

[10]  H. Sauermann,et al.  Crowd science user contribution patterns and their implications , 2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[11]  J. Besley,et al.  Education, outreach, and inclusive engagement: Towards integrated indicators of successful program outcomes in participatory science , 2014, Public understanding of science.

[12]  R. Bonney,et al.  Next Steps for Citizen Science , 2014, Science.

[13]  Candie C. Wilderman,et al.  Public Participation in Scientific Research: a Framework for Deliberate Design , 2012 .

[14]  D. Wink,et al.  Inquiry-based and research-based laboratory pedagogies in undergraduate science. , 2008, Nature chemical biology.

[15]  Hee-Sun Lee,et al.  Changes in participants' scientific attitudes and epistemological beliefs during an astronomical citizen science project , 2013 .

[16]  J. Mallow.  Science Anxiety: Research and Action , 2006 .

[17]  Kevin Crowston,et al.  From Conservation to Crowdsourcing: A Typology of Citizen Science , 2011, 2011 44th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[18]  Carl Auerbach,et al.  Qualitative Data: An Introduction to Coding and Analysis , 2003 .

[19]  R. Bogdan.  Qualitative research for education , 1981 .

[20]  R. Dunn,et al.  Ecologists, educators, and writers collaborate with the public to assess backyard diversity in The School of Ants Project , 2014 .

[21]  Johanna Varner,et al.  Scientific Outreach: Toward Effective Public Engagement with Biological Science , 2014 .

[22]  L. Sechrest,et al.  How Does Undergraduate Research Experience Impact Career Trajectories and Level of Career Satisfaction: A Comparative Survey. , 2014 .

[23]  Rick Bonney,et al.  The current state of citizen science as a tool for ecological research and public engagement , 2012 .

[24]  Rick Bonney,et al.  The history of public participation in ecological research , 2012 .