Citizen Science Widening the Reach of Data Collection
Citizen Science Objectives
- List examples of activities citizen scientists can carry out to assist in developing science knowledge.
- Describe how citizen science has impacted knowledge about packrats.
The final portfolio information can be found in Canvas and also on the online portfolio page.
The portfolio is due Wednesday of final week (week #11) by 11:59 p.m. PST.
Your final portfolio has 10 sections and is worth 20 points (20% of the course grade).
The portfolio is due Wednesday of final week (week #11) by 11:59 p.m. PST.
Introduction
You will be introduced to writing a introduction page in Module 10. Basically it is an overview to the portfolio format you have selected, including how your portfolio demonstrates achievement of course outcomes and how you may use the portfolio beyond this course.
Concepts
Three sections, each with a substantial body of work demonstrating understandings of:
Science Concepts
Biology Concepts
Environmental Biology Concepts
Skills
Three sections, each with a substantial body of work demonstrating the ability to carry out the processes used to develop science knowledge:
Science Skills
Biology Skills
Environmental Biology Skills
Connections
Three sections, each demonstrating ways science connects with the “real world” including other fields of study and everyday life:
Science Connections
Biology Connections
Environmental Biology Connections
Whether your journal is in digital format or print form, it helps to lay out the sections. The introduction page is followed by nine sections, each representing a learning outcome. Start adding your media pieces and favorite quiz responses with a caption for each, explaining how it demonstrates achievement of that outcome. If you like, you could start each section with an explanation of the work you have included.
You are providing evidence that you understand the concepts, can utilize the skills, and make the connections listed above.
This is 20% of the final course grade, fill each of the nine sections with substantial evidence of your personal work.
If you use any images or text from resources outside of this course, cite the source.
Here is an example of how one of the nine journal outcomes (in this case “Science Concepts”) can be substantially populated in either digital or print format.
Citizen Science
This guide will link what we have covered in the course to future teaching and learning adventures.
Citizen science at its most basic indicates that people are contributing to the building of new science knowledge even if it is not their primary career. In many cases, people are assisting on weekends and evenings out of interest and concern.
People have resources, access, ideas, and experiences that can advance knowledge significantly. And people bring passion to the research endeavor: they work in extreme conditions for long lengths of time if they are motivated by the topic or organism.
As we saw in microhabitats, citizen scientists play a key role in combating white nose syndrome (WNS) in North American bats.
Citizen science activities include:
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monitoring wild populations
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collecting data on domesticated animals
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contributing to and analyzing large data sets
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providing labor and materials to support research projects
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funding researchers through crowd sourcing
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advocating for local and regional research projects
Citizen scientists have also played a key role in monitoring monarch butterfly populations and planting milkweed plants in gardens to support different life stages of the butterfly.
Citizen Science in Action
Packrats, also called wood rats, are not actually rats, but rodents in Genus Neotoma that are primarily found in deserts and grasslands of southwestern U.S. and Mexico. To survive in these harsh conditions, packrats have unique behaviors.
Packrats are opportunistic omnivores that have the unusual behavior of dropping whatever they are carrying when they come across something new. They are also attracted to shiny objects that they collect and take back to their elaborate multi-chambered nests.
Next to their nests, packrats have middens, structures that hide their debris, including plant materials and crystallized urine. In protected caves and under rock outcrops, some of these middens are over 40,000 years old and are a snapshot of past life in the immediate area.
So researchers wanted to locate these middens, and here is where citizen science came into play.
People were asked to report locations of packrat middens they found while out hiking in areas of the Chihuahuan Desert. The procedure was to get as specific of a location as possible, to take photographs so researchers could confirm the find, to note whether there were signs of recent packrat activity, and to try not to disturb the site.
This enabled researchers to study a variety of data sources they would otherwise not have had the time or resources to obtain.
Wherever you are, there are unique species to study, and a variety of signs to indicate animal activity.
The next section explores how to transform data into information, knowledge, and wisdom.
Check your knowledge. Can you:
- list examples of activities citizen scientists can carry out to assist in developing science knowledge?
- describe how citizen science has impacted knowledge about packrats?
Go back to the Lifelong Learning Guide Overview
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Lifelong Learning Lecture Guide Contents
This guide and lecture material are assessed on the weekly quiz.
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