Author: slk2000

by: the Education Working Group CSA’s Education Working Group has taken on as its mission to enable, inspire, investigate, and facilitate effective integration of scientific and educational goals, practices, and outcomes within citizen science. We offer the CSA community a vision for what learning, and benefit to learners, is possible through participation in citizen science (CS). By “learning,” we are explicitly referring to those experiences that are designed to transforms the learner through the expansion of ideas, interests, sense of self, skills, etc. This is our vision: Through increased participation in CS, people of all ages and backgrounds contribute to…

A Blog Series for Citizen Science Educators and Coordinators by: the Education Working Group Through involvement in citizen science, people of all ages and backgrounds can contribute to science while building passion for and understanding of scientific ways to investigate the natural world. The issues facing humanity in the 21st century are diverse, complex, and demanding. Decisions are increasingly data-driven, from choosing your transportation vehicle to what to put in your mouth to which political candidate or referenda to support. Arguably, scientific literacy – the critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills necessary to science and many other pursuits –…

A Blog Series for Citizen Science Educators and Coordinators by: the Education Working Group Photo courtesy of Mike Denniston, participant in the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s Vital Signs program What can people learn through participating in citizen science? Of course not all citizen science needs to incorporate learning objectives for participants. But for projects that do have this goal, how can such learning best be supported? As the Education Working Group of the Citizen Science Association (CSA), we are launching this blog series to stimulate conversation and collaboration addressing these issues. Working together as a field, we hope to…