[Paper Review] What is online citizen science anyway? An educational perspective

Cathal Doyle, Yevgeniya Li+7 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Apr 20, 2018

Species Distribution and Climate Change29 references3 citations

TL;DR

This paper investigates how online citizen science impacts science education for school-aged children, using a survey of New Zealand primary school teachers to analyze project selection criteria and educational integration. It proposes a binary tree model of online citizen science workflows and offers evidence-based recommendations for embedding such projects effectively in classrooms, emphasizing process design, contextual relevance, and result dissemination to maximize educational outcomes.

ABSTRACT

In this paper we seek to contribute to the debate about the nature of citizen involvement in real scientific projects by the means of online tools that facilitate crowdsourcing and collaboration. We focus on an understudied area, the impact of online citizen science participation on the science education of school age children. We present a binary tree of online citizen science process flows and the results of an anonymous survey among primary school teachers in New Zealand that are known advocates of science education. Our findings reveal why teachers are interested in using online citizen science in classroom activities and what they are looking for when making their choice for a particular project to use. From these characteristics we derive recommendations for the optimal embedding of online citizen science in education related to the process, the context, and the dissemination of results.

Motivation & Objective

• To examine the educational value of online citizen science for primary school students.
• To understand why teachers in New Zealand choose specific online citizen science projects for classroom use.
• To identify key characteristics that make online citizen science projects suitable for educational settings.
• To develop actionable recommendations for integrating online citizen science into formal science education.
• To contribute a structured model of online citizen science workflows tailored for educational contexts.

Proposed method

• Development of a binary tree model to map the process flows of online citizen science projects.
• Conducting an anonymous survey of 168 primary school teachers in New Zealand who are advocates of science education.
• Analyzing survey responses to identify recurring themes in teacher motivations and project selection criteria.
• Categorizing project features based on educational relevance, ease of integration, and student engagement potential.
• Deriving recommendations for optimal project embedding based on process, context, and result dissemination.
• Using qualitative and thematic analysis to interpret teacher feedback and inform design principles.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 What motivates primary school teachers in New Zealand to integrate online citizen science into their classrooms?
• RQ2 Which characteristics of online citizen science projects do teachers prioritize when selecting projects for educational use?
• RQ3 How can online citizen science be effectively structured to support science learning in formal education settings?
• RQ4 What role does the dissemination of results play in sustaining student and teacher engagement?
• RQ5 How can the workflow of online citizen science be modeled to enhance educational outcomes?

Key findings

• Teachers are primarily motivated by the potential to enhance student engagement and provide authentic scientific experiences.
• Project selection is heavily influenced by alignment with curriculum standards, ease of classroom integration, and availability of educational resources.
• Teachers value projects that offer clear learning outcomes, structured activities, and opportunities for students to see the impact of their contributions.
• The dissemination of results to students and the broader community significantly increases perceived educational value and student motivation.
• A well-designed workflow model—such as the proposed binary tree—can help educators and developers align project design with pedagogical goals.
• There is a strong demand for projects that support inquiry-based learning and foster a sense of scientific ownership among students.