About Project
This project explores the impact on student learning and engagement with science of incorporating online citizen science projects in classrooms .
- Online citizen science uses the web to let volunteers contribute to scientific projects. For example, volunteers can explore populations of species on the seafloor or on the Antarctic Peninsula . They can classify images of the formation of galaxies or suspected planets . They can help create a 3D atlas of the human brain .
- These projects can provide a range of science opportunities for participants. There is strong potential for the kind of learning required by NZC in science to be developed from participation in them.
- Research shows that people using these sites do learn about scientific challenges and develop scientific skills , but little is known about the impact of their use purposefully in schools. We are interested in how they can address the intentions of the NZC, particularly with respect to the science capabilities for citizenship.