Citizen Science Embedded Assessment

公民科学嵌入式评估项目将探索使用嵌入式评估来衡量参与者在公民科学项目背景下的科学探究技能发展。公民科学项目将志愿者与科学家合作，直接参与研究工作。嵌入式评估（EA）评估参与者的技能和绩效，这些技能和绩效直接集成，与日常活动无法区分。因此，EA允许学习者通过无缝集成到学习体验本身的任务来展示他们的科学能力。CS领域的自我评估工具越来越多，然而，当这些主观评估与参与者通过参与获得的知识，技能或其他资源的客观衡量相结合时，使用这种主观评估对公民科学（和其他非正式科学项目）的评估可以显着改善。科学技能，如数据收集和分析，是特别重要的CS项目，因为他们的重点是科学过程和他们需要严格的数据收集。尽管关注技能的获得，CS项目很少衡量这种改进。嵌入式评估（EAs）为理解这些参与式学习环境的影响提供了一种重要的方法。该项目将开发和实地测试环境评估，以公民科学为主题，以环境科学为重点。该项目有三个主要研究重点：（1）确定CS项目所针对的共同和独特的科学探究技能，以及目前如何衡量技能以记录项目影响;（2）确定为CS项目开发和管理评估工具以评估科学探究技能的机会和挑战;（3）评估项目的影响。以及（3）评估为CS项目创建的EA工具是否可以使项目领导者更好地理解其项目对参与者科学探究技能的影响。该项目将通过对计算机科学界的研究和评价研究的需求评估以及个案研究来解决这些问题，以便为三个已确定和感兴趣的计算机科学项目制定和测试定制的环境评估。

The Citizen Science Embedded Assessment project will explore the use of embedded assessment to measure participant science inquiry skill development within the context of citizen science projects. Citizen science (CS) projects partner volunteers with scientists to participate directly in research endeavors. Embedded assessments (EAs) assess participant skills and performance that are directly integrated and are indistinguishable from day-to-day activities. As such, EAs allow learners to demonstrate their science competencies through tasks that are integrated seamlessly into the learning experience itself. The CS field has a growing inventory of self-assessment tools, however, the evaluation of citizen science (and other informal science projects) using such subjective assessments can be remarkably improved when these are used in combination with objective measures of knowledge, skills or other resources participants gain through their participation. Science skills, such as data collection and analysis, are particularly important for CS projects because of their focus on the scientific process and their need for rigorous data collection. Despite the focus on skill gains, CS projects rarely measure such improvements. Embedded assessments (EAs) offer a critical method for understanding the impacts of these participatory learning environments. The project will develop and field test EAs on citizen science topics with an environmental science focus. It will also design training to support their use by individual projects.The project has three primary research foci: (1) identifying common and unique science inquiry skills targeted by CS projects, and how skills are currently being measured to document project impact; (2) identifying the opportunities and challenges present in developing and administering EA tools customized for CS projects to assess science inquiry skills; and (3) assessing whether EA tools created for a CS project can provide project leaders with a better understanding of their project's impact on participant science inquiry skills. The project will address these questions with a needs assessment of research and evaluation studies within the CS community and case studies to develop and test EAs customized for three identified and interested CS projects.