DIGGING SCIENCE EDUCATION: SHARK TOOTH FORENSICS AS A CASE STUDY FOR STUDENTS DOING REAL SCIENCE (Invited Presentation)

Science in public schools is often presented in one of two ways: set labs or kits that have a single prescribed answer or rote memorization of formulas and vocabulary. Whereas these experiences can form a solid base for later scientific understanding and experimentation, they leave out two fundamental needs for student engagement: inquiry and authenticity. Citizen science projects can be leveraged by science educators to fill these gaps through involving learners in ongoing research that often generates more questions than it answers.

Shark Tooth Forensics (STF) is one example of the citizen science projects that are bringing authentic research and engagement to public school classrooms. During the project, students search through sediment collected from sites on the East Coast of the United States discovering evidence of prehistoric marine ecosystems, with the specific goal of locating fossil shark teeth for a study of ancient shark ecology by paleontologists at NC State University.

Using citizen science projects like Shark Tooth Forensics in the classroom is aided greatly by lessons plans that unite core curriculum standards with data or objectives in the research project (studentsdiscover.org). One benefit of STF is that each shark tooth discovered and measured is a moment of personal discovery for students in which they are in control of their education, thereby leveling the playing field between socio-economic and academic histories. Student excitement turned into personal curiosity, and authentic inquiry was born. Additionally, students were led through a project based-learning (PBL) framework to follow their own inquiries and produce hypotheses of the prehistoric ecosystems. The PBL had greater buy-in for the students because of the authentic paleontology research happening in the classroom.

Professionally, work with STF and other citizen science projects has changed educators’ self-efficacy as science teachers. Citizen science projects push teachers’ own curiosity and drive them to new information and questions - the root of science at its core. This confidence, paired with citizen science curriculum scaffolding, makes educators more effective in teaching science as a whole. The transformation is not what educators believe students can do - it is what educators believe they can contribute.