CITIZEN SCIENCE AS A GATEWAY

To explore the influence of citizen science on students’ science literacy and interest in the major, a citizen science project assignment was implemented in the 2017-18 academic year in an undergraduate general education course “Sustainable Environments”. The 4 sections were composed of 66% females, 32% males, and 0.8% other. Additionally, 68% were White, 15% were African American, 6% were Hispanic, 4% were Asian, and 5% mixed race/other. In the two-part assignment, students chose a citizen science project from a list of sustainability related projects. They had to participate in the project and reflect on their involvement in the scientific process. Citizen science involves a change of format of science communication, from passive to more active means. Therefore, participating in a citizen science project may encourage students who are not scientists to feel engaged in the discussion and feel they are contributing to science and a larger cause. Surveys of self-reported knowledge gains and interest in the project in 2017, and discussion board posts from 2018 provide insight into the use of citizen science in a college classroom. Overall, trends in the post survey show that students report increased understanding of the science process (61%), and enjoyment of the activity (57%), and feeling that the project made them feel as though they were contributing to help solve an important problem (58%). The codes identified in the discussion board are based on Self-Determination Theory, which states that intrinsic motivation is heightened in situations where there are increased feelings of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Science literacy is of growing relevance in daily life, influencing many everyday decisions, and therefore the need to understand scientific information has never been more pronounced. Our results suggest that citizen science, in particular the autonomy it supports, can be an inclusive way to foster knowledge gains and enjoyment of science in general. Additional targeting is needed to see benefits as a recruiting tool.