A Framework for Articulating and Measuring Individual Learning Outcomes from Participation in Citizen Science

Abstract

Since first being introduced in the mid 1990s, the term "citizen science"-the intentional engagement of the public in scientific research-has seen phenomenal growth as measured by the number of projects developed, people involved, and articles published. In addition to contributing to scientific knowledge, many citizen science projects attempt to achieve learning outcomes among their participants, however, little guidance is available for practitioners regarding the types of learning that can be supported through citizen science or the measuring of learning outcomes. This study provides empirical data to understand how intended learning outcomes first described by the informal science education field have been employed and measured within the citizen science field. We also present a framework for describing learning outcomes that should help citizen science practitioners, researchers, and evaluators in designing projects and in studying and evaluating their impacts. This is a first step in building evaluation capacity across the field of citizen science. Knowledge, Awareness, Understanding: Measurable demonstration of assessment of, change in, or exercise of awareness, knowledge, understanding of a particular scientific topic, concept, phenomena, theory, or careers central to the project. Strand (2), Understanding: Come to generate, understand, remember, and use concepts, explanations, arguments, models, and facts related to science. Engagement, interest or motivation in science: Measurable demonstration of assessment of, change in, or exercise of engagement/interest in a particular scientific topic, concept, phenomena, theory, or careers central to the project. Strand (1), Interest and motivation: Experience excitement, interest and motivation to learn about phenomena in the natural and physical world. Skills related to science inquiry: Measurable demonstration of the development and/or reinforcement of skills, either entirely new ones or the reinforcement, even practice, of developing skills. Strand (3), Science Exploration: Manipulate, test, explore, predict, question, and make sense of the natural and physical world; and Strand (5): Participate in scientific activities and learning practices with others, using scientific language and tools Attitudes toward science: Measurable demonstration of assessment of, change in, or exercise of attitude toward a particular scientific topic, concept, phenomena, theory, or careers central to the project or one's capabilities relative to these areas. Attitudes refer to changes in relatively stable, more intractable constructs such as empathy for animals and their habitats, appreciation for the role of scientists in society or attitudes toward stem cell research. Related to Strand (6), Identity: Think about themselves as science learners, and develop an identity as someone who knows about, uses, and sometimes contributes to science. Also, related to Strand (4), Reflection: Reflect on science as a way of knowing; on processes, concepts, and institutions of science; and on t...

Combining formal education and citizen science: A case study on students’ perceptions of learning and interest in an urban rat project

“…In comparison, conceptual knowledge was not as well represented in students’ responses; for example, in a number of interviews students did not know what “urban ecosystem” meant. Contrary to results from previous studies (Bonney, Ballard, et al 2009; Phillips et al 2018), our participants suggested they had learned higher skills in planning and evaluating research settings, which might be because of participants’ broad autonomy in choosing sampling times and locations.…”

“…Because citizen science as an institutional practice is a novel phenomenon, the learning objectives of citizen science projects are usually not well formulated (Phillips et al 2018). Most often, observed learning outcomes are on the level of factual knowledge on the study species, environment, or phenomena (Jordan et al 2011; Silva et al 2016; N.…”

“…In recent years there has been an effort to define the educational outcomes of citizen science projects (Phillips et al 2018). The basis for this work has been informal science education frameworks such as one outlined by Allen et al (2008).…”

“…Citizen science can involve lifelong participation and sophisticated research skills, or it can be short-term with no specific skills required to participate (Shirk et al 2012). Public participation in science has been suggested to lead to a better understanding of science and scientific processes and foster positive attitudes towards science (Ruiz-Mallén et al 2016; Phillips et al 2018; Bonney et al 2016). Furthermore, the research literature suggests that doing research in one’s own near environment (i.e., environment in which a person lives or works) nurtures positive attitudes toward the environment, and specifically the studied species (McKinley et al 2017; Ballard, Dixon, and Harris 2017).…”

“…Most of the citizen science projects belong in the contributory category (Bonney, Ballard, et al 2009); thus, while there are an increasing number of citizen science initiatives and large swaths of research data have been collected by citizen scientists, the relationship between professional researchers and citizen scientists sometimes seems one-way (Shirk et al 2012; Rotman et al 2012). As citizen science projects are planned by professional researchers who prioritize their own needs, there has been unsurprisingly less emphasis on what citizens participating in research can actually learn (Phillips et al 2018).…”