Summary
Citizen science presents unique opportunities for learning:
Scientific context: Citizen science activities are authentic scientific endeavours, with real-world relevance, driven by the collection/analysis of data, which provide opportunities for participants to apply their knowledge and “learn by doing”.
Nature of participation: Participants in citizen science projects are
already motivated through personal interest or concern,
share a common goal with each other and the project team,
able to develop understanding and skills over time, and
able to progress within the project over time accordingly.
Its social and technology infrastructures. The exchange of information and ideas between the people who run and participate in citizen science projects, and also learning associated with the tools required to participate in projects.
The fundamental message of this training is that citizen science projects can be designed in ways that enhance learning for all participants. Further, there are actionable strategies that practitioners can use to promote learning in the context of citizen science and capitalize on the unique learning opportunities associated with citizen science:
Know the Audience: by understanding participants’ wants and needs, knowledge and experience, practitioners can find overlaps with the projects’ scientific goals.
Design for Diversity: increasing the involvement of diverse stakeholders improves project outcomes - including learning outcomes - especially when participants are welcomed for the contributions they can bring to the project.
Support Different Kinds of Participant Engagement: Enable repeated engagement, participation across multiple projects, opportunities for participants’ roles to evolve over time, and connect science process to science content.
Engage Stakeholders Throughout the Design Process: Iterative, cooperative engagement in design and implementation, with a diversity of stakeholders who are respected for the knowledge they bring to the design process, results in more learning for all participants, and that this learning can support other project goals.
Develop Learning Supports: think about providing many examples and frequent feedback, linking the project’s scientific goals with Its learning goals, encouraging social interaction, and supporting participants to communicate and apply what they learn.
This training has covered a very wide-ranging subject, so I encourage you to save any links and follow up at your own pace. The next step for anyone interested in learning outcomes from citizen science is to explore how you can evaluate any learning outcomes you set. This topic is covered extremely well in Phillips et al. (2014, 2018), which are excellent places to start.