Citizen science in educational settings and outreach activities: Collaborating with schools for effective citizen science engagement

Citizen science in educational settings and outreach activities

This module equips learners with the knowledge to effectively integrate CS into school curricula and public outreach. It guides them through the development of communication strategies, leveraging storytelling and various tools to engage with stakeholders and the broader community, while also emphasizing collaboration with schools for educational CS projects. By incorporating elements such as curriculum alignment and problem-based learning, learners learn to create educational experiences that enhance scientific literacy and foster environmental awareness. The program culminates with an interactive session where learners create detailed communication plans, ensuring they can convey their projects' objectives compellingly and foster enduring community connections.

1. Collaborating with schools for effective citizen science engagement

This module focuses on integrating CS projects into school curricula, addressing the unique challenges and opportunities of working with students. It emphasizes the need for adapting activities to suit students’ abilities and ensuring that these activities align with educational goals and contribute to the overarching research objectives. The module provides examples of successful school-based projects, such as the Mass Experiments in Denmark, and discusses design principles for curriculum-based citizen science, including problem-based learning and teacher collaboration, highlighting the diverse learning outcomes achievable through such engagements.

Module description:

What?	How?	Why?
Why is it important to learn about collaboration with schools in CS?	Engaging in CS within school settings can yield scientific results, and schools, educators, and students can experience valuable advantages by participating	Explaining to the learners why it is important to consider schools in CS projects
Example of a successful school-based project: The Mass Experiments in Denmark	Describing the idea behind the Mass Experiment in Denmark and the 2023 experiments on microfauna	Demonstrating that citizen science can successfully be integrated into schools and curricula
The impact of CS projects in schools such the Mass Experiments	Describing the benefit of integrating CS into schools in terms of scientific and educational impact: authentic science experience, scientific literacy, inquiry-based learning	Demonstrating that CS holds great promise for school collaboration
Collaborating with schools for effective citizen science engagement	Outlining four basic values of CS in schools: Enhanced learning and understanding of science, Community engagement and civic responsibility, Scientific literacy, informed decisions, and STEM careers, and Environmental awareness and sustainable practices	Encouraging the learners to reflect over important values involved in engaging with schools to do citizen science
Two other examples of CS projects in schools: The LETS Study Leysin and ReGAME	Introducing two other CS projects in school settings: the teacher-initiated LETS Study Leysin and the Research-Enabling Game-Based Education (ReGAME)	Demonstrating that there are various ways to integrate CS in schools
Guiding design principles for CS in schools	Introducing three basic design principles for CS in schools: Curriculum alignment, Problem-based learning (PBL) design, and Collaboration with teachers (teachers are important gatekeepers, team leaders, and data quality filters)	Allowing learners to understand three important design principles for CS in schools
Developing materials for education and learning opportunities in CS	Addressing three relevant socio-cognitive contexts for educational material: The science context, the context of participation, and the project-specific context	Encouraging reflection on relevant contexts for educational and learning material
Recognizing the diversity of learning outcomes	Explaining that learners can acquire a range of skills and knowledge from scientific understanding and skills to collaboration, empowerment, and advocacy	Enabling learners to recognize the diversity of learning outcomes from CS in schools

Slide (available in slide deck)