Heather Vance-Chalcraft
East Carolina University, NC·Education Research
Citizen science invites members of the public to take part in the methods of science, such as gathering and contributing data, in order to advance knowledge. It also goes by community science, participatory science, or public participation in scientific research.
- Fields
Education Research
Biology
- Topics
citizen science
community science
participatory science
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2027
What they work on
- Build a community of practice among undergraduate instructors using citizen science, the inclusion of the public in scientific research, across face-to-face and online courses and including minority-serving institutions.
- Develop and test recommended practices for implementing and assessing citizen science with undergraduates, using multi-institutional research collaborations to evaluate them.
- Map educational theoretical frameworks onto the use of citizen science in higher education and generate setting-specific recommendations for online instruction and community-engaged learning.
- Disseminate network resources through a project website, social media, videoconference drop-in sessions and peer-reviewed publications, and help citizen science projects recruit instructors.
More about the research
Used in a college course, it blends two teaching approaches known to help students: doing real research and learning through community engagement. Many instructors, though, have little guidance on how to run it well or how to assess what students learn. This research coordination network works to help undergraduate instructors use citizen science so that students practice authentic science, stay in STEM fields, and see how science connects to the places they live.
Why it matters
Clearer guidance on classroom citizen science could help more undergraduates stay in STEM and graduate as scientifically literate critical thinkers who engage with their communities, with particular benefit for student groups underrepresented in science. Communities surrounding participating colleges may also gain larger and higher-quality scientific datasets.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Mindy Reynolds
Washington College, MD·Education Research
Establish FAMNet, a structured co-mentoring network that pairs faculty experienced in evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) with faculty mentees across two-year and four-year colleges.
Julia Parrish
University of Washington, WA·Earth & Environmental Science
Run a phased program in which early-career geoscientists (Pathmakers) take part in virtual discussions, in-person community institutes on ethical best practices, and funded, mentored research produced jointly with community members.
Ann Russell
Iowa State University, IA·Education Research
Internationalize undergraduate biology teaching by supporting faculty in creating open educational resources (OERs), free online teaching modules, built on field and research data from tropical ecosystems.
The school
East Carolina University: 5 labs on PI Pages, $73M a year on research, 102 research doctorates a year.
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