I came across this post during yet again– another internship search. This post talks about a group of elementary, middle school and high school students that were acting as citizen scientists as they visited the Carmans, Nissequogue, and Connetquot Rivers, as well as the Peconic Estuary to look the health of these aquatic ecosystems.
https://www.bnl.gov/education/news/news.asp?a=6042&t=today
I think that incorporating citizen science would have been a great experience when I was in high school. I think that I would have enjoyed science classes much more had I been given the opportunity to have hands on learning experience. I know that education reform is a complex problem but I think that incorporating citizen science into it would help with the STEM epidemic America is suffering from and would just help kids enjoy science. Do you think there is much hope to formally including citizen science in coursework on the federal and state level?
Great idea Emily! It would seem to me that since there is such a wide array of possible citizen science projects, it would be a slam-dunk for any K-12 teacher doing environmental science (although sometimes you need some extra resources to do things away from the school). My own anecdotal evidence is that students (including you guys) are motivated and learn most when doing something with real-world consequences. Granted it can be hard to articulate exactly what it is you learned, and it may seem like you didnt cover as much “material”. Twain said “never let your schooling interfere with your education”