Using Shared Embedded Assessment Tools to Understand Participant Skills: Processes and Lessons Learned

Abstract

This paper describes the collaborative process for how a group of citizen science project leaders, evaluators, and researchers worked together to develop, validate, and test embedded assessments of two different volunteer science inquiry skills. The development process for creating these embedded assessments (activities integrated into the learning experience, allowing learners to demonstrate competencies) is articulated, as well as challenges encountered in assessing two science inquiry skills common in citizen science projects: notice relevant features and record standard observations. The authors investigate the extent to which the assessments were successful at achieving four criteria identified as ideal for shared embedded assessments of volunteers' skills, namely: broadly applicable, authentic, performance-based, and integrated.

Cross-Project Analysis of Volunteers’ Scientific Observation Skills

“…Funded by the National Science Foundation (DRL #1713424), our team studied volunteer skill assessment processes and impacts within the context of CS and published a series of articles based on the results. All of the papers center on the development and use of embedded assessment (EA) and activities integrated into the learning experience that allow learners to demonstrate their science competencies for assessment purposes (Becker-Klein et al 2023;Peterman et al 2022;Stylinski et al 2020).…”

“…Within the context of this larger study, we worked collaboratively with staff of 10 CS projects to identify and articulate science inquiry skills common across the projects, and then to develop and implement assessment measures for those skills that could be used by more than one project (see Becker-Klein et al 2023). Here, we examined fndings from the projects' implementation of these shared measures to explore volunteers' scientifc observation skills in natural settings.…”

“…The instruments used to assess these volunteer skills were co-developed with the participating CS project leaders. These embedded assessments are meant to determine whether an adult volunteer can accurately notice relevant features for taxonomic identifcation or record standard observations, not whether they do so consistently within the parameters of the CS project (see Becker-Klein et al 2023 for more details on the development and validation of these assessments). Brief descriptions of each instrument are included below:…”