Education

Think of a traditional science classroom. It’s likely that the teacher is providing instruction to the students, and the students are studying material from a textbook or following a procedure to conduct a lab experiment with an expected result. This form of instruction can be effective for teaching the fundamentals of science, but how can students learn about “real science”?

The reality is that scientific research is often inaccessible to students, especially before college. This has a number of implications for scientific literacy, defined generally as a public understanding of science. Essentially, research is relevant to everyone’s lives, and the results and implications are important for policymaking. Yet students are not equipped with the tools to evaluate this research early on.

Integrating Citizen Science into the Classroom

The Institute for Student Astronomical Research (InStAR demonstrates that it is indeed possible to integrate citizen science into the classroom. Since 2007, InStAR has been building a national network of schools and colleges offering astronomy research seminars.¹ In these seminars, students conduct research using data collected from small, affordable telescopes, which are particularly suitable for citizen science.

Citizen science can also help address the widespread lack of environmental education in places across the world. For instance, students can participate in monitoring research in their local communities to track environmental impacts while learning about the scientific context for their work.

What Tools Are Available?

Some tools, like Foldscope, are accessible tools for students to initiate scientific investigations. Existing datasets are available online through sources like Google Earth Engine. There are also online research communities like Exoplanet Watch that support amateur researchers in their scientific pursuits.

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