Studying K-12 and post-secondary teachers’ reflections on the value of a citizen science project for fostering learning: The case of a winter stream project

Abstract

Citizen science programs offer the public opportunities to be involved in hands-on scientific data collection and study. Despite a history of incorporating citizen science in the K-12 classroom, little research has focused on projects that are appealing to both K-12 instructors and higher education faculty. Our study investigates initial barriers and motivations for participation in citizen science at multiple education levels using a winter, stream ecology citizen science project. Our findings indicate a growing interest in citizen science programs in winter, as they provide opportunities for collaboration, encourage flexible data collection, and offer tangible results for participants to reflect on their local ecological habitats.