Students Discover Project: Partnerships and Citizen Science in North Carolina Classrooms

The overarching goal of the Students Discover project is to improve STEM education in middle schools by developing a model for engaging students with real science. Over the past three years, the project has brought together teachers, scientists, district leaders, and other institutional partners to facilitate the successful implementation of citizen science projects in the classroom. Project activities aim to create a context for student engagement with real, ongoing scientific research by making citizen science projects accessible to the formal classroom environment. Citizen science lessons are codeveloped by teachers and research scientists to allow students across North Carolina to participate in cutting-edge research through data collection, analysis, and digital communication.