Birds, Butterflies, Bullfrogs, and Beyond—Bringing Biology Education to Life with Citizen Science

How can we inspire more teachers to integrate citizen science into their teaching? With that goal in mind, we recruited lesson submissions from educators nationwide and published a book containing 15 selected lessons, four... [ view full abstract ]

How can we inspire more teachers to integrate citizen science into their teaching? With that goal in mind, we recruited lesson submissions from educators nationwide and published a book containing 15 selected lessons, four case studies, and advice about implementation in a variety of contexts (Trautmann, Fee, Tomasek & Bergey. 2013. Citizen Science. NSTA Press). This poster will illustrate how the lessons we selected can meet the mandates of the Next Generation Science Standards, including engaging students in an array of scientific practices to learn about crosscutting concepts such as “cause and effect” and “stability and change.” We will show how the lessons address key science topics including habitat, adaptation, ecosystem dynamics, and human impacts. Some lessons focus on a targeted aspect of scientific investigation while others engage students in the full cycle from making observations and posing questions to collecting, analyzing, and sharing results. Options for implementation span the seasons, with some lessons conducted indoors and others requiring fieldwork in schoolyards or beyond. We aim to provide jumping-off points for discussion among educators and citizen science project leaders. This ties in with the proposed symposium entitled “Developing a framework for citizen science in education—join the conversation!” We invite you to stop by and share ideas—how can we, and the Citizen Science Association more broadly, best pursue the goal of supporting and promoting participation in citizen science by educators and students?