Learning outcomes in online citizen science communities designed for inquiry

Aristeidou, Maria; Scanlon, Eileen and Sharples, Mike (2020). Learning outcomes in online citizen science communities designed for inquiry. International Journal of Science Education, Part B: Communication and Public Engagement, 10(4) pp. 277–294.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2020.1836689

Abstract

The purpose of most citizen science projects is engaging citizens in providing data to scientists, not supporting citizen learning about science. Any citizen learning that does occur in most projects is normally a by-product of the project rather than a stated aim. This study examines learning outcomes of citizens participating in online citizen science communities purposely designed for inquiry learning. The ‘Citizen inquiry’ approach adopted in this study prioritises and scaffolds learning and engages people in all stages of the scientific process by involving them in inquiry-based learning while participating in citizen science activities. The exploratory research involved an intervention with two design studies of adult volunteer participants engaging in citizen-led inquiries, employing a mixed-methods approach. The findings indicated that, in both design studies, participants engaged in an inquiry process, and practised inquiry skills alongside other kinds of knowledge and skills not directly related to science. Differences between the outcomes of each study highlighted the importance of the design on learning impact. In particular, participant understanding of research processes and methods, and developing more experimental studies were more evident with the support of a dynamic representation of the inquiry process. Furthermore, in the second study, which was hosted in a more engaging and interactive learning environment, participants perceived science as fun, were involved in inquiry discussions, and showed progress in scientific vocabulary. The paper concludes with some considerations for science educators and citizen science facilitators to enhance the learning outcomes of citizen inquiry and similar online communities for science inquiries.

Viewing alternatives

Metrics

Item Actions

Export

You can export this page using these formats Digital Object Identifier - DOI

About

• Item ORO ID
• 73312
• Item Type
• Journal Item
• ISSN
• 2154-8463
• Project Funding Details

• Funded Project Name	Project ID	Funding Body
  Not Set	Not Set	The OpenScience Laboratory
  Not Set	DUCY1343737172	The Nominet Trust

• Keywords
• citizen science; inquiry learning; citizen inquiry; design-based research; online communities; public engagement
• Academic Unit or School
• Institute of Educational Technology (IET)
• Research Group
• eSTEeM
  Education
  OpenTEL
• Copyright Holders
• © 2020 Maria Aristeidou, © 2020 Eileen Scanlon, © 2020 Mike Sharples
• Related URLs
• • https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
• Depositing User
• Maria Aristeidou