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Undergraduate Student Experiences with Citizen Science

 

Mission

The USE Cit Sci network strives to create a diverse community of practice invested in using existing citizen science with undergraduate students to

  1. engage students in authentic science practices,
  2. improve student and instructor learning outcomes, and
  3. broaden participation in science.

This Research Coordination Network was jointly funded by the National Science Foundation (Awards #1919928 and #2120459) Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action.

 

Goals and Objectives

The Network has five broad goals, with a variety of objectives outlined to accomplish each goal over the next few years. Join us!

Goal 1: Create a broad community of practice invested in implementing citizen science in undergraduate classes and research experiences.

  • Objective: Recruit participation from various stakeholders: undergraduate instructors at various educational institution types, project developers, scientists
  • Objective: Recruit participation from diverse racial and ethnic groups and gender identities
  • Objective: Recruit network participation from instructors with a high percentage of students underrepresented in science (non-white, low socioeconomic, first-generation college)

Goal 2: Create a place for this broad community of practice to interact.

  • Objective: Build a web portal as a central hub for Network resources and interactions
  • Objective: Create digital resources to be used and modified by this community of practice
  • Objective: Ensure all digital resources are accessible and inclusive
  • Objective: Encourage interaction of individuals on a network discussion forum

Goal 3: Increase the use of citizen science in undergraduate courses/research experiences in face-to-face and distance learning environments.

  • Objective: Provide professional development and support for instructors that focuses on reducing barriers to its use and promoting best practices for using citizen science with students
  • Objective: Encourage project/platform developers to create and include tools and resources useful for undergraduate instructors

Goal 4: Communicate the educational benefits of using citizen science with undergraduates.

  • Objective: Publish and promote research on the learning objectives met by citizen science
  • Objective: Identify various educational theoretical frameworks that support its use

Goal 5: Promote evaluation and assessment of citizen science implementation with undergraduates.

  • Objective: Feature examples of evaluation and assessment methods on our digital resources
  • Objective: Compile lists of known validated assessment instruments