Training and raising awareness about citizen science: Strategies for training and raising awareness among researchers, volunteers, and other stakeholders

Training and raising awareness about citizen science

This module centres on the development and execution of CS training and awareness within RPOs. It equips learners to conduct impactful inreach and outreach activities, distinguishing between internal training programs and external public engagement efforts. The module showcases exemplary CS educational initiatives, like the Citizen Science Talent Program at the University of Southern Denmark and the MOOC from UCL’s Extreme Citizen Science Group, demonstrating the range of training formats available. It emphasizes the train-the-trainers methodology, preparing learners to both learn and teach CS concepts effectively. The interactive session uses the logic model to guide learners through designing their own CS training, fostering a practical understanding of planning, executing, and evaluating educational programs.

1. Strategies for training and raising awareness among researchers, volunteers, and other stakeholders

This module focuses on developing effective citizen science training and awareness programs within RPOs. It guides learners through the nuances of inreach (internal training and learning) versus outreach (public engagement) activities, using examples from diverse programs like the Citizen Science Talent Program and online courses from the UCL’s Extreme Citizen Science Group. The module emphasizes the importance of understanding different audience needs and tailors its content to ensure learners can design impactful training sessions and public events that effectively promote citizen science.

Module description:

What?	How?	Why?
Overview of inreach and outreach activities	Explaining the difference between in- and outreach in terms of target groups and formats	Providing the learners with an overview, which is useful for the following examples
Example one: Citizen Science Talent Program (Master’s level course offered by the University of Southern Denmark)	Describing an on-site Master’s level course for students (including group projects on citizen science)	Demonstration of what can be achieved with a course specifically designed for university students and involving researchers as supervisors
Example two: Citizen Science and Scientific Crowdsourcing: An Introduction (MOOC offered by UCL’s Extreme Citizen Science Group)	Describing one of the many available online courses for researchers and others that would like to know (more) about citizen science	Demonstration of what can be achieved with in introduction course on citizen science
Example three: The EU-Citizen.Science Training Platform with one example (Storytelling for citizen science)	Describing the scope of the EU-Citizen.Science Training Platform and providing one example of a free 2,5-hour course designed to introduce storytelling and give practical tools to shape narratives to communicate about and engage with citizen science	Demonstration of free training resources already available and one example, which is also relevant to the topic of this training program
Example four: Open Citizen Day held at the Steno Museum in Aarhus, Denmark	Describing an open-day activity designed to promote a variety of citizen science projects to the general public	Demonstrating the potential of outreach awareness-raising activities outside the RPO
Overview of what can be accomplished by inreach and outreach activities	Bringing the stories together and elaborating on some key terms for citizen science education and awareness such as inreach program and initiatives (curriculum-based courses, capacity-building trainings, informal mutual learning events) and public outreach activities (open days, festivals, happenings, science cafes)	Enabling the learners to think about pros and cons of inreach and outreach activities

Slide (available in slide deck)