Citizen CI-TEAM Demonstration Project - Expanding the Zooniverse: Refining Resources to Support Educator Use of Citizen Science in the Classroom

参与真实的研究项目可能是让学生参与科学并向他们介绍科学研究中使用的计算工具的一种强有力的方式。然而，对于教育工作者来说，找到一个学生可以参与的真正的项目是非常耗时的，无论是从寻找合适的项目还是准备课程以支持其在课堂上的使用都是如此。公民科学？非专业人士参与研究企业的情况？已被康奈尔大学S鸟类学实验室等项目成功适应课堂。目前公民科学项目的努力往往集中在学生报告田野调查工作，或者停止提供与研究性研究主题相关的学科领域教案。因此，它们与研究人员随后进行的分析没有很强的联系：没有介绍学生贡献数据得出研究结果后科学家使用的重要计算工具。此外，课程计划通常是作为项目设置的一部分制定的，在没有额外资金流入的情况下，无法持续地继续扩大或应用于新项目。在与Adler的合作下，Zooniverse公民科学联盟开发了一个名为ZooTeach的框架，以支持教育工作者开发和共享课堂课程，这些课程可以很容易地在Zooniverse研究项目中实施。在这个示范项目中，团队首先提炼现有的ZooTeach资源，播种试点资源，与正式和非正式的教育工作者一起扩展和传播这个框架。在这样做的过程中，该团队正在开发一套最佳实践，说明如何在课堂上使用公民科学项目，以鼓励在真实的科学劳动力环境中探索计算。智力价值阿德勒团队由互动媒体总监南希·罗斯·德里宾领导，与阿德勒教育部门和公民科学倡议主任、Zooniverse创始成员克里斯·林托特博士合作。一个由七人组成的顾问委员会为该项目提供咨询，其中包括芝加哥公立学校、教育技术和计算科学教学的领军人物。随着这个项目的成功完成，阿德勒将：？评估和改进现有的ZooTeach结构，以确保它支持和鼓励教育人员使用。预期结果包括访问以寻找资源，并作为直接作者和审查者为资源开发作出贡献。与教育工作者合作提供这样的环境将为希望鼓励教育工作者贡献材料的项目提供有价值的信息。？创建一个支持使用Zoos的交互界面，作为在科学研究中使用计算工具的入门。通过支持非项目教育者作为课程的主要贡献者，这打开了利用未来资金创建更具体、更复杂的资源的可能性，这些资源有助于将学生完成的公民科学任务与科学家团队进行的计算工具和分析联系起来。更广泛的影响该项目将：？在适当的正式和非正式教育工作者会议上以及在阿德勒的专业发展中促进动物园教学的使用。除了鼓励教育工作者和非正式教育专业发展计划使用Zoo Teach外，这还将使团队成员能够将项目结果传播给同行。？评估与公民科学项目有关的教案制定的开放式、贡献性方法的有效性。如上所述，本评价将通过会议以及通过阿德勒？S网站和与同行的电子交流进行传播。它将提供关于遵循这一方法的有效性和最佳做法的宝贵信息。

Participation in authentic research projects can be a powerful way to engage students in science and introduce them to the computational tools that are used in science research. However, finding an authentic project in which students can participate is time consuming for educators, both in terms of finding an appropriate project and preparing curriculum to support its use in the classroom. Citizen science ? the involvement of non-professionals in the research enterprise ? has been successfully adapted to the classroom by programs such as Cornell University?s Lab of Ornithology. Current efforts across citizen science projects tend to be focused on students reporting back fieldwork or stop at providing subject area lesson plans that relate to the topic of the research study. Thus, they do not have a strong connection to the subsequent analysis conducted by the researchers: there is no introduction to the significant computational tools that are used by scientists after students contribute data to arrive at research results. Additionally, the lesson plans are generally developed as part of the setup of the project, and have no sustainable way to continue expanding or be applied to new projects without additional influx of funding. In collaboration with the Adler, the Zooniverse Citizen Science Alliance has developed a framework called ZooTeach to support educators in the development and sharing of classroom curriculum, which can be easily implemented across Zooniverse research projects. The team in this demonstration project is first to refining the existing ZooTeach resource, seeding with pilot resources, expanding, and disseminating this framework with and to formal and informal educators. In doing so, the team is developing a set of best practices for how citizen science projects can be used in the classroom to encourage exploration of computing in an authentic science workforce context. Intellectual MeritThe Adler team is led by Nancy Ross Dribin, director of interactive media, in collaboration with the Adler education department and Dr. Chris Lintott, director of citizen science initiatives and founding member of the Zooniverse. An advisory board of seven people, including a mix of leading figures in Chicago Public Schools, educational technology, and computational science instruction, inform the project. With the successful completion of this project, the Adler will: ? Evaluate and refine the existing ZooTeach structure to ensure that it supports and encourages educator use. Expected outcomes include both visiting to find resources and contributing to resource development as direct authors as well as reviewers. Working with educators to provide such an environment will provide valuable information to projects looking to encourage educator-contributed materials. ? Create an interactive to support the use of the Zoos as an introduction to the use of computational tools in science research. By supporting non-project educators as the primary contributors of curriculum, this opens the possibility of using future funding to create more specific, complex resources that facilitate connecting the citizen science task completed by students and the computational tools and analysis conducted by the team scientists. Broader ImpactsThis project will:? Promote use of Zoo Teach at appropriate formal and informal educator conferences and in professional development at the Adler. In addition to encouraging use of Zoo Teach by educators and in informal education professional development programs, this will also enable team members to disseminate project findings to peers. ? Evaluate the effectiveness of an open, contributory approach to lesson plan development in relation to citizen science projects. As noted above, this evaluation will be disseminated via conferences as well as via the Adler?s website and via electronic communications with peers. It will provide valuable information about the effectiveness of and best practices for following this approach.