A New Instrument for Measuring Geographic Reasoning Skills in Citizen Science: What is Geo-Reasoning? How Can We Measure It?

This poster will describe a measure of geographic reasoning as well as seek feedback on how this instrument could be useful for evaluating citizen science programs. Geographic reasoning is a concept that is deeply relevant to... [ view full abstract ]

This poster will describe a measure of geographic reasoning as well as seek feedback on how this instrument could be useful for evaluating citizen science programs. Geographic reasoning is a concept that is deeply relevant to many citizen science programs, such as programs that focus on issues of air or water quality, species distribution, and plant phenology. The field of citizen science would benefit greatly from having a common instrument – an instrument that is validated, reliable, and fits many different programs – to measure this common program goal.
As a way of focusing much of the previous research emerging from learning sciences, psychometrics, and studies of geographic education, researchers at the National Geographic Society and The Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an instrument that measures geographic reasoning and is designed for use in citizen science programs.
The first purpose of this poster is to describe this new instrument by defining geographic reasoning and through providing examples of how it fits with many citizen science programs, samples of currently developed items and relevant technical information. The second purpose of the poster is to collect feedback about how this measure could be improved or expanded for use in evaluations of citizen science programs. The instrument is designed to be used in a variety of contexts, scored without specialized skills or knowledge, and interpreted without requiring statistical expertise. The poster will be used to trigger discussion with attendees about the following: 1) The types of instruments that would be useful for evaluators of citizen science programs; 2) Technological and administrative barriers that citizen science programs face in evaluation; 3) What is required of an instrument to make it useful for evaluations of citizen science experiences, such as ease of administration.