Learning Through Citizen Science Enhancing Opportunities by Design (2018) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
7 Conclusions and Recommendations
7 Conclusions and Recommendations
Pages 143-158
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From page 143... ...
Finally, youth educators in both formal and informal settings represent a third community that has contributed to developing relationships between citizen science and science learning and has been active in pointing the way toward new ways of integrating them. These different histories are not mutually exclusive or complete, but they do illuminate the range of 143
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From page 144... ...
The traits identified by the committee show that, generally, citizen science projects actively engage participants, engage participants with data, use a systematic approach to producing reliable knowledge, help advance science, and communicate results. Participants in citizen science generally chose to be involved and benefit from participation.
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From page 145... ...
That is, before it is possible to plan for learning through participation in citizen science, it is critical to know who participates, what the modes of participation look like, and what kinds of learning outcomes are reasonable to expect through participation. Our efforts to identify who participates in citizen science were frustrated by incomplete data.
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From page 146... ...
We found that enthusiasm about citizen science's potential occasionally clouds what is actually known about what kinds of learning occur in citizen science. While there is some evidence that participation in citizen science projects can enhance science learning, more studies are needed that examine processes of learning and document specific learning outcomes in a wider variety of contexts including more diverse learners.
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From page 147... ...
Supporting learning in citizen science requires recognition of the various ways that people enter into and travel through a citizen science experience. Participants bring personal motivations and interests into citizen science projects, which can support and enhance science learning and may change over time.
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From page 148... ...
• Motivation, interest, and identity play a central role in learning, cre ate learning opportunities, and are learning outcomes themselves. • Most science learning outcomes will only be achieved with struc tured supports.
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From page 149... ...
. The committee acknowledges that science literacy and science learning are not synonymous but notes that community science literacy can be bolstered when some constituent individual learning outcomes (such as content area expertise, or facility with the use and misuse of scientific methodologies)
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From page 150... ...
Applied to science learning, and science learning in citizen science, modern design theory makes it clear that design for learning outcomes, and therefore learning outcomes themselves, is enhanced by designing with learners and other participants in an iterative process. CONCLUSION 13: Research on program design shows that designing with input from stakeholders and building iteratively is an effective strategy for supporting learning.
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From page 151... ...
Citizen science can provide useful activities for formal learning environments; however, educators may need to incorporate additional supports to achieve more challeng ing learning outcomes. In summary, there is clear evidence that citizen science presents opportunities for individuals to learn science, and that individual science learning can help advance a broader set of project goals and a community's ability to leverage science for their benefit.
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From page 152... ...
They are offered to all designers of citizen science projects, with the understanding -- discussed throughout -- that designers include a wide and representative range of stakeholders and that effective design extends well into implementation. These overarching recommendations for enabling learning from citizen science are supplemented by a set of evidence-based suggestions that can be used by designers (again, broadly construed)
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From page 153... ...
RECOMMENDATION 1: Given the potential of citizen science to engage traditionally underrepresented and underserved individuals and communities, the committee recommends that designers, researchers, participants, and other stakeholders in citizen science carefully consider and address issues of equity and power throughout all phases of project design and implementation. In examining existing citizen science projects, the committee found a number of projects that could take better advantage of the state-of-the art understanding about science learning.
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From page 154... ...
Strong collaborations approach citizen science design as a partnership where all stakeholders are active participants with valuable insights and contributions. Further, strong collaborations avoid positioning participants as "targets" of citizen science activities who must be managed by others who seek to help them overcome a lack of knowledge, but focus instead on understanding participants needs, expectations, and areas of expertise.
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From page 155... ...
Given the somewhat nascent nature of the field of citizen science as its own research domain, however, more research on the long-term strategies for how to support science learning is necessary in order to clarify and develop evidence-based practices and understand common elements and variations across a variety of sociocultural and practical contexts. The committee wishes to point out that design-based research may be especially fruitful here: Not only will future research inform the design of citizen science projects but also design-based research in citizen science could also offer significant contributions to developing and refining theories about learning in citizen science.
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From page 156... ...
Though the committee holds that effective collaboration remains the primary way to design for specific learning outcomes in specific learning contexts, the committee also recognizes that not all stakeholders will always have access to the best collaborators. As a result, the committee notes that it would be particularly useful if practitioners were able to rely on proven design tools to help isolate desired learning outcomes and backward map program participation to
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From page 157... ...
RECOMMENDATION 7: The committee recommends the citizen sci ence community collaborate to identify, enhance, and develop shared tools and platforms that they can use to support science learning across a large number of citizen science projects. This report represents our attempt to synthesize the best available research on citizen science and science learning.
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