Citizen science is a research collaboration between scientists and volunteers who provide data for education, conservation, and environmental protection. Volunteers, often the locals in the area, provide data on species occurrence while researchers perform distribution mapping or other data analysis. Social networking sites including Facebook,…

Citizen science projects have been found to increase scientific knowledge and awareness among the participants who engage in these collaborative efforts. Providing elementary students the opportunity to collect, share, and analyze data is an effective way to help them develop a deeper understanding of scientific concepts and gain competency in…

This paper describes what happened in four teachers' classrooms as a result of participating in Operation Magpie, a Citizen Science project. The range of strategies used to engage their students in observing magpies in the schoolyard and in nearby parks is the focus of the teachers' stories. "Magic spots", data collection, class blogs,…

Approaches children's learning in learning science based on skilled observation by professional teachers, rather than on tests devised by outside agencies. (Editor/RK)

Describes an extended problem-solving activity utilizing drift-bottles that encourages students to deduce probable and great-circle drift-bottle routes, to use logic based on unit calculations, and to estimate the distance traveled and the minimum velocity of these drift-bottles. Includes materials needed, learning objectives, procedures,…