Herodotou_citizen science_20-11_17
- 1. LEARN CitSci: Youth learning in citizen science programmes: How can Natural History Museums (NHMs) design citizen science projects to maximise learning outcomes for young people? Dr Christothea Herodotou 1
- 2. 2
- 3. 3
- 4. 4 The project team: Researchers and practitioners United Kingdom Partners Left to right: Lucy Robinson The Natural History Museum, London Dr. Christothea Herodotou The Open University Dr. Grant Miller University of Oxford United States Partners Left to right: Alison Young and Dr. Rebecca Johnson California Academy of Sciences Prof. Heidi Ballard University of California, Davis Lila Higgins and Dr. Greg Pauly Natural History Museum of Los Angeles Image of Thea
- 5. Current state of citizen science ● Rapidly-growing field ● Millions of volunteers, thousands of citizen science projects ● International activity ● Most with learning goals 5 What we do not know yet Unique focus on youth participants (5-19) Learning outcomes not well documented yet Identify project settings and features that lead to learning outcomes Multiple overlapping settings
- 6. 6 Research Questions What is the nature of the learning environments, and what activities do youth engage in, when participating in NHM-led citizen science? To what extent do youth develop the following three science learning outcomes: a) an understanding of the science content b) identifying roles for themselves in the practice of science c) developing a sense of agency for taking actions using science through participation in NHM-led citizen science programs? What program features and settings in NHM-led citizen science foster the three science learning outcomes (a,b, and c above)?
- 7. Environmental Science Agency 7 (Based on Basu and Barton (2009) “critical science agency”) Aligns with the values and goals of making science more accessible, equitable, and generative for youth. Science content Processes, norms Roles Own expertise Science as foundation for change
- 8. Year 1: research objectives 8 ●To describe the learning settings where citizen science takes place e.g., physical or digital space, staffing, structures What is happening What young people do (e.g., roles) What resources they access ●To describe the process of participation in learning settings Social interaction, family communication, staff, scientists etc. ●How? Interviews with museum staff.
- 9. 9 Year 1: Existing Programmes Online Outdoor Ongoing One day outdoor events
- 10. One day programmes: BioBlitzes ●‘Bio’ = ‘life’ ●‘Blitz’ = ‘to do something quickly and intensively’. ●‘BioBlitz’= collaborative race (scientists, students, public etc.) discover as many species of plants, animals and fungi as possible a set location over a defined time period (usually 24 hours) ●(BioBlitz Guide, NHM London). 10
- 11. Ongoing programmes • Ongoing: June 23rd-July 2nd 2017 • Aim: document all coastal biodiversity • Search for animals and plants in the west coast • Take pictures and share online 11
- 13. 13
- 14. 14
- 16. NHM London: Miniature fossils 16 • Marine fossils preserved in thin slices of rock, collected by scientists during the 20th century • Reconstruct environmental change, climate change and geological history of the area
- 17. Next steps Year 1 – describe settings Year 2 – capture learning Year 3- redesign and design new citizen science programmes Year 4 – data analysis and dissemination ●Guidelines: ●how to design online and offline citizen science programmes that scaffold learning and participation of young people. ●Museums - free admission: ●lower the barriers to engagement with science ●allow young people from diverse backgrounds to participate in STEM activities through citizen science. 17
Editor's Notes
- #3: Learn stands for…
- #4: This is a 1.7 m pounds project collaboration funded by..through the science learning plus scheme, started in April 2017…early days of its development
- #6: Why this project? What is the rationale behind it? Need for research Science outcomes of cs are well-documented Many claims about learning outcomes, only starting to be studied What settings and practices lead to learning outcomes? Gap in current understanding of the learning outcomes for youth participants
- #8: Sociocultural understanding of learning Vygotsky theory Learning as situated – cop - wenger and understood as an activity – everyday interactions with tools, people, community etc. As scaffolded through interaction with others more experts Our theoretical understanding of learning originates from Basu and Barton and critical science agency. a) what environmental science content process and norms youth take up, b) what roles they take up and where they find their own expertise in science, c) and how they see themselves using science and citizen science for a foundation for change. Overall, we are focusing on science learning that aligns with the values and goals of making science more accessible, equitable and generative for youth
- #9: We are at the process of documenting. This How we collect data? Interview museum staff at the 3 NHMs. I will talk you through an example relevant to online programmes and what learning settings look like
- #10: *ALL of these citizen science projects and programs have been designed, refined, and administered by the members of our team. *Some of these projects and programs have been in existence for years (is this the stat we want to use??).
- #13: Citsci Social network Owned and managed by cal academy.
- #16: Uk based platform Owned and managed by the uni of oxford The largest cs platfom in the world
- #17: How do you complete the task Not publicly available