Developing Young Watershed Citizen Scientists through Professional Partnerships in the Classroom

Abstract

What’s in Our Waters Jr. (WOW Jr.) is an environmental outreach program designed to teach fourth grade elementary students about watershed protection. This program is unique because of the partnership that brings together students, teachers, scientists, and water resource professionals to promote science education and environmental stewardship in the classroom through mentorship and hands-on learning activities. WOW Jr. is co-led by the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service (4-H Youth Development and Water Resources Programs) and Clemson University Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program. The major themes covered in WOW Jr. are watersheds, water pollution, and water conservation and protection. The curriculum is designed to help teachers meet several South Carolina academic standards for fourth grade science. Pre- and post-surveys administered to students to assess program effectiveness and progress over time show that engagement with science professionals increases achievement of state standards and knowledge of watershed protection by environmental stewardship, and it alters students’ perceptions of scientists.

Revolutionizing informal education: Intersection of citizen science and learning theories

“…Citizen science projects provide both problem-oriented and project-oriented learning experiences that can be integrated into formal and non-formal education settings. Several studies have indicated that citizen science programs can be effective learning activities when incorporated into the classroom (Aristeidou et al, 2022;Godfrey et al, 2022;Lüsse et al, 2022). By incorporating citizen science into general education, educators can provide authentic research experiences while reducing resource consumption (Vitone et al, 2016).…”