January 1st, 2015 - January 1st, 2015 | PROJECT
Citizen involvement in science is part of a long history of the role of the amateur in science. Research in the USA and UK suggests that citizen science has a powerful potential to support participation in and the learning of science. Increasing research has sought to explore and measure the development of 'science literacy', science identity and learning outcomes through citizen science. The scale, focus, and organization of projects has been demonstrated to influence who participates in them, the scientific achievements, and what volunteers learn. This Science Learning+ project seeks to build upon and extend the existing work in three significant ways: (1) extend the range of contexts through which existing frameworks and instruments are used and evaluated, in particular, projects that involve families, (2) examine not only the learning outcomes of citizen science projects, but also the processes through which that learning occurs and its contribution to the building of science capital. This will help in establishing better understanding of not only what is learnt but also how learning occurs; (3) develop a better theory of informal science learning through citizen science. This will advance knowledge in informal science learning.
Project Website(s)
(no project website provided)
Project Products
Citizen Science & Science Capital: A Tool for Practitioners
http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/informallearning-citizenscience
Enhancing Informal Learning Through Citizen Science - Background Literature
Team Members
Richard Edwards, Principal Investigator, University of StirlingKatherine Mathieson, Contributor, British Science Association
Rick Bonney, Contributor, Cornell University
Tina Phillips, Co-Principal Investigator, Cornell University
Funders
Funding Source: Wellcome Trust
Funding Program: SL+
Funding Amount: 69252
Tags
Audience: General Public | Museum | ISE Professionals
Discipline: Education and learning science | General STEM | Literacy | Nature of science
Resource Type: Project Descriptions
Environment Type: Citizen Science Programs | Public Programs