COASSTal Communities of Science

COASSTal科学社区是一个公民科学项目，其目标是通过增加一个关于海洋垃圾的新数据模块，扩大一个非常成功、面向行动和严格的公民科学项目-海岸观测和海洋调查团队(COASST)的科学和教育影响，该模块将采用创新的技术方法，包括移动应用程序和基于网络的众包。海洋废弃物模块将补充关于搁浅鸟类的现有模块，使COASST能够更全面地评估沿海环境健康。例如，海洋废弃物数据特别侧重于入侵物种、对野生动物的危害和废弃物来源等问题，将立即在海洋科学和资源管理中发挥作用。一旦由专业科学家和科学教育工作者设计和审查，新模块将由公民科学家在从加利福尼亚州北部到阿拉斯加海岸的整个COASST地理范围内进行的100多项社区内培训中实施，包括获取科学信息有限的偏远沿海社区。超过1,000名新参与者将加入该计划，使该项目4年内的活跃志愿者总数达到2,000人。一个补充的社会科学研究部分将以COASST为榜样，侧重于促进公民科学项目中招募和留住人才的因素，从而推动STEM非正式学习领域的发展。目前非正式环境中的科学学习模式将通过将它们与发展兴趣、实践社区和活动理论的概念性方法结合在一起而得到扩展。研究将特别关注加入COASST的个人动机的差异；跟踪参与者进入项目并最终成为COASST实践社区的核心成员；评估个人、方案和社会文化因素对参与者留住的影响程度。关联的独立评估将评估个人学习的深度，作为他们所接受的培训和材料，以及他们收集的数据量和类型的函数。研究和评价部分都将利用事前/事后调查、访谈和纵向日记记录。

COASSTal Communities of Science is a citizen-science project whose goal is to increase the scientific and educational reach of a highly successful, action-oriented and rigorous citizen science program - the Coastal Observation And Seabird Survey Team (COASST), by adding a new data module on marine debris that will feature innovative technological approaches including mobile apps and web-based crowdsourcing. The marine debris module will complement an existing module on beached birds, allowing COASST to more completely assess coastal environmental health. For instance, marine debris data, focused particularly on issues of invasive species, harm to wildlife, and debris sourcing, will be immediately useful in marine science and resource management. Once designed and vetted by professional scientists and science educators, the new module will be implemented by citizen scientists in over 100 in-community trainings conducted throughout the COASST geographic range, from northern California to the coast of Alaska, including remote coastal communities with limited access to scientific information. Over 1,000 new participants will join the program, bringing the total number of active volunteers to 2,000 within the 4 years of the project. A complementary social science research component will advance the field of informal STEM learning by focusing on the factors facilitating recruitment and especially retention in citizen science projects, using COASST as a model. The current models of science learning in informal contexts will be extended by bringing them together with conceptual approaches to the development of interest, communities of practice, and activity theory. Research will specifically focus on differences in individual motivation to join COASST; follow participants as they enter the program and eventually become central members of the COASST community of practice; and assess the degree to which individual, programmatic and socio-cultural factors contribute to participant retention. A linked independent evaluation will assess the depth of learning individuals experience as a function the training and materials they receive, and amount and type of data they collect. Both research and evaluation components will utilize pre/post surveys, interviews, and longitudinal journaling.