Supporting Elementary Teacher Learning for Effective School-Based Citizen Science (TL4CS)

Organization(s): Horizon Research, Inc., North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, North Carolina State University
Funding agency: National Science Foundation
Program: Discovery Research K-12 (DRK-12)
HRI Role: Research

Project Description
Supporting Elementary Teacher Learning for Effective School-Based Citizen Science (TL4CS) is designed to generate knowledge about the factors that influence the effectiveness of citizen science (CS) when used in formal education settings, in particular the teacher-learning supports needed. This work lays a foundation for future studies that will expand the work to other grades and science topics. Applying principles from design-based implementation research and a randomized control trial, the research is investigating (1) the kinds of supports that foster teacher learning for enacting effective school-based CS; (2) how these supports for teacher learning shape the way teachers enact school-based CS; and (3) the potential of school-based CS to positively influence student learning and student attitudes toward nature and science. The study will develop the following products: (1) supports for teacher learning, which will ultimately be embedded in two existing CS projects; (2) principles for designing such supports; and (3) research instruments, including teacher surveys, student surveys and assessments, and case study protocols. A major source of data will be case studies of a subset of participating teachers; however, much of the data collection will involve all teacher participants. For example, teachers will be asked to complete a beliefs survey at three time points: when they are selected for participation (baseline), after they implement their CS project for the first time, and after they implement a second time. The survey will also collect data about teachers’ instruction to measure how heavily they emphasize NGSS practice-related objectives and how often they engage students with the practices. Teachers will also complete implementation logs to document use of supports and enactment of assigned CS project. For case studies, survey data will be supplemented by interviews and classroom observations. Assessments and surveys will be used to measure student outcomes. Study findings will be shared in articles and presentations for both scholarly and practitioner audiences, as well as briefs targeting organizations that sponsor CS projects. The study also includes a randomized controlled trial to study impacts on students’ understanding of science concepts and their attitudes toward science and nature.

Related Products
Teacher Learning for Citizen Science. Video in the STEM For All Video Showcase, May 2021.
Teacher Learning for Citizen Science. Video in the STEM For All Video Showcase, May 2022.