Citizen Scientist: All-Sorts-of-Science

Host a website or e-assemblage for media, science links, data-gathering activities, tutorials, and the like focused on topic-based, field-science studies that can support real scientists

Develop, model, create, peer-review, define-assessments, and promote the initial project and website from a graduate course

Extend to the public – evaluate, improve, continue, & sustain: delegate ownership to later course, a school

partnership, or a professional organization seek ongoing oversight; use badge system to

ensure quality & encourage sustainability

BENEFITS & MOTIVATION

REAL connections with & support for science (Cornell; www.globe.gov; www.nasa.gov)

Science literacy; science sharing; extending & creating new knowledge and understanding; helping other nations

BADGES – to reinforce, validate, value, & sustain

Use badges to promote, extend, monitor, and support the endeavor;

For examples, badges for: 10 Great Pictures or Videos of Bugs or Crazy-

landforms or Star-clusters or Red Oaks Badge Bronze Helped-Fellow-Researcher Badge (entry

level # of Likes by other citizen-scientists who found this badgees discussion-boards tips to be helpful)

5 Useful Science Data Points Badge (generated by scientist who assert validity / utility of data gathered)

Can I get a Best Brain Badge?

Citizen Scientist: Assorted Topics (launching an ongoing “open” resource from a graduate course) This Citizen Scientist: project is an open resource that would be initiated and originally vetted during an course in science-education within the MAT program where the initial concept, design, exemplars, project criteria, links, contacts with scientists, alignment with national standards, course-level criteria, and input-assessment standards would be developed and would be required within the course itself. Then, during the course, collaborative student teams would conduct the research, talk to scientists about what would serve their purposes, make the startup materials, directions, assessment criteria, establish the input and participation venues (would citizen scientists upload pictures? or videos? or gather data from the field? or write narrative reports?), and develop the e-framework. Along with the project directions embedded within the course, the instructor would create a sketch-up or model to help students understand the complexity and breadth of the Citizen Science project. A component of the graduate assignment would be the dissemination portion where the student team would research how to bring this information forward to the larger public – what school, public, web-based, organization, or venue would be best suited to launch this project to the general public? The student team would also establish the larger evaluation envelop that they would use to determine if the work from these budding field scientists was high quality. And, they would consider the badges (see below) that would be needed to motivate, document, support, and maintain the project. In other words, the student teams would be required to consider the entire project – from meaningful science through meaningful assessment, and through continuing the effort after they leave the project themselves. This project would serve as an ideal collaborative project for a preservice or inservice K12 science teacher; the work-for-school could serve a large community need. The project work would be evaluated by the instructor using the rubric that was developed for the assignment. Students in the class would also conduct a similar criteria-prompted peer review to determine what Citizen Science project was ready to be brought to the public – as good science and as a good representation of the quality of the work from ESC. Future classes could be tasked with reviewing, assessing, modifying, and revitalizing the project based on the results since the last class. Badges could be available for different tasks within the project and could be used to facilitate the ongoing support and maintenance of the project – badges can validate the many different aspects of the project that need to function properly if the open resource is to be maintained, interesting, valid, and generative. Badges could document and support key areas such as: quality data input (from peers and from scientists); effectiveness of peer support (who is best at helping each other online); recruitment (who enlists the most new citizen scientists); maintenance/ governance (who attends & supports e-meetings (virtual / Google+) that look at the overall open-resource management). This model of higher-education launched, local-citizenry, open-resource could support the implementation of other project-like tasks – humanity helpers; a reading club; home architecture hounds; cross country cuisines.Examples of citizen science efforts: http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2008/0410/p14s01-sten.html ; http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/news/spitzer20120307.html ; www.globe.gov CITIZEN SCIENTISTS. Higher-ed initiated, field-data gathering and input. Encourages learning science and supports science. Badges ensure rigor and maintenance.