Citizen Science as Part of the Primary School Curriculum: A Case Study of a Technical Day on the Topic of Noise and Health

Abstract

In this paper, we summarise lessons learned conducting citizen science (CS) activities within the CitieS-Health H2020 project on the topic of noise exposure and health at a primary school in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Activities were organised in the form of a School Tech-Day Event (STDE) as part of the school’s curriculum involving second-grade pupils, ages 7–8. The STDE was aligned with the project’s methodological framework, which is based on co-creation and co-design principles. To this end, the pupils initially were involved in identifying noise-related issues and translation of selected topics into research questions. Next, together with mentors, they participated in the process of hypothesis formulation and the designing of data collection protocols. Finally, they participated in three focussed noise measurement experiments, as well as data analysis and presentation. We report and critically evaluate the whole chain of activities, focussing on the participant dimension using selected components of the citizen science evaluation framework. The event was very well-received by both pupils and teachers, and their active participation and hands-on experience with scientific processes contributed to their improved scientific literacy. Overall, the demonstrated concept of CS activities has great potential for ongoing inclusion in the school curriculum in its current format, or else adjusted according to specifics from other science and technology fields.

Measuring the Outcomes of a Participatory Research Study: Findings from an Environmental Epidemiological Study in Kaunas City

“…Previous citizen science studies also showed the participants' abilities to recognise environmental-level problems, but they had little influence on changes in the participants' behaviour or the socioecological system [20,40]. The participatory action research found that an increase in scientific knowledge increases public awareness and contributes to scientific literacy [41]. Participation in citizen science could contribute to the SDGs by defining local targets, monitoring the progress, and having the potential to implement action [3,39,42,43].…”

Interactive Learning in the Preparation of Students 1-4 Grades

“…The scientific literature provides examples of the implementation of an interactive learning model in educational practice. For example, (Kocman et al, 2020) describes the experience and results of the implementation of the method of joint design of scientific research of natural phenomena in the second grade. The relationship between learning style and interactive methods and student achievement is noted (Tomuletiu et al, 2011).…”

Proyectos de ciencia ciudadana. Una oportunidad para la alfabetización científica y la educación en sostenibilidad

“…The benefits of citizen science can also relate to formal education, through the implementation of classroom practices in school curricula (Kocman et al, 2020;Queiruga-Dios et al, 2020;Vitone et al, 2016). Thanks to this, students can participate from an early age in projects that improve their attitudes towards science and help to break stereotypes about scientists, increasing their interest in science and technology (Benavent et al, 2020;Queiruga-Dios et al, 2020).…”