RESEARCH - OBSERVATION - EXPLORATION - DISSECTION - CRITICAL THINKING   I would say that the exploring, and finding, of the needed specimens are important, because you need the actual 'thing.' Be it a Lady-Bug or a water vial. Also, the science through observation and the dissection or inspection of the 'thing,' and its' scientific analysis. I am also curious how to analyze a non-scientific trait of birds. Do birds pose for a camera ? I have seen birds fly up to me, and stop, and then fake me out, and leave as I press the button. Or actually stay until I am done with a few takes. How can a person answer that question ? I would like to run a group on which types of birds can handle food produced from humans, and which cannot. Seagulls and Crows eat rubbish. But I never see a RWBB, nor a Swan, eat rubbish. But Canada Geese do. What is the affect, and why ?

My day is spent divided evenly between gifted learners, and struggling learners.  I utilize project based learning and an integrated approach whenever possible.  For example, while I have to take time to do directed instruction in phonics, I find that science is the place where students apply their reading and writing skills.  Because of the needs of the two groups I teach, my focus is on both youth as scientists and global / local connections. Especially for the struggling learner, using hands-on, meaningful and engaging lessons offers strong support to the learner in multiple ways.  The other nice thing about making it local is the opportunity for students to first see that yes, they can have an impact on their world.  Shifting then to a more global perspective helps ensuer their awareness of a greater need and opportunities. The idea is that we do not have to be Dr. King, or Bill Gates to change the world.  There are many ways to have an impact both locally and globally.

I believe all three teaching practices are important for students to truly embrace citizen science.  I use a PBL that I have called "Mythbusters: Do Try This at Home".  Students can either pick from a list of questions or come up with their own that they run by me to test.  They have to develop their own procedures and come up with how they collect data.  In 8th grade I have my students make biodegradable plastics using different starches of their choice.  I tried to develop these lessons so the students can see, they are capable of doing real science.  For our Hoosier Riverwatch program after school, I first show the kids the website where the data is collected.  It shows data from all over the state, some collected by adults who are scientists, adults that are citizen scientists, and students.  I explain to them that the state uses this as a predictor and if they see a problem they will go take a look themselves.  We are helping to find problems more quickly than the state can.  The third practice of attending to the unexpected is the challenging one for me as a teacher.  It becomes overwhelming when every student in the classroom is asking for me to come and help them with something (I literally have bad dreams about this).  Next school year, we are starting the year with the theme "Make growth mindset second nature".  The pun is definitely intended.  I have posters made, and a monthly lesson that includes a quote such as "Roads were made for journeys, not for destinations".  That lesson will be about knowing that you can improve.  I am going to make it a point to also demonstrate, that I am also still learning and am not a perfect scientist or teacher.

I will focus on youth can do science, which is part of the larger idea of citizen science, which is that anyone can be a scientist. I plan to do this through student engagement in ebird and budburst.

The key teacher practice I would choose to focus on is to position youth as people who do science. I find that most of my students really enjoy science, and I credit it to our elementary science curriculum and teachers who do a tremendous job making science hands-on and meaningful. There are so many opportunities for authentic connections to science in our area with the DNR Biology Research Station and Iowa Arboretum nearby that connecting to the natural world and finding experts working on real projects is relatively easy to do. Students can also investigate the natural world as their own scientist in our local state and county parks, Des Moines River Valley, and the many prairies and forests that are in our area. Since there are so many opportunities for students to be scientists, this is the key teacher practice I would most like to focus on.   While it sounds very dry, the key student practice that I would choose to focus on the most is the second, "Students take ownership of data quality." I choose this topic as it was an area in this year's science fair that I know could have been improved upon for some of my students. (Thankfully, these students have excellent communication & interview skills and were able to explain the little data they did have very well!) I really appreciated the comment made by Sarah Kim of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute when she said, "Kids can handle really rigorous work." For the students in my talented & gifted program, the classroom does not offer the rigor that will help them grow to their full potential. Combining the process of creating a long-term project for science fair and the freedom to design their own experiment through the State Science & Technology Fair of Iowa allows them to have access to rigor, and there are so many resources in our area for biological projects that I would love the opportunity to capitalize on this more.

I wish to model all three teaching practices, but the one I will focus on first is positioning my students as people who do science. In the classroom, whenever we are doing science experiments, observations, or activities, we tend to call our students scientists, but now I want to do MORE than simply call them scientists. We have to make them feel like scientists. Make them feel like the work that they are doing is important, valuable, and can really make a difference.

I want to focus on the practice that youth are people who do science. I feel that many students see scientists as white men like Bill Nye and Einstein and that it's something only "really smart" people do. By engaging students in citizen science early on, hopefully this mindset will shift and a more diverse group of people will become scientists in the future. I plan to model this with students through doing a citizen science project like Feeder Watch and exposing them to the website iamascientist.org.

1. Curiosity.  Being curious leads to questions which leads to investigations. 2. Being open to possibilities.  Citizen science doesn't have to be purely collecting quantitative data.  The idea of pictures and art (drawing) as a way of observing that can then lead to questions and inverstigation.  In other words, there are different points of entry that connect to science, and citizen science. 3. Encourage students to share their information with real sources.

I love the idea of having students share their findings with external audiences. I think providing students of any age with a feeling of empowerment to learn, to teach and to make valuable contributions to science and conservation are so important. We use eBird to record our bird sightings, but watching this video and reading the article has opened my eyes to so many other possibilities for expanding citizen science projects with our learners.

I really like the Taking Ownership of Data Quality... I am a hands on learner and I get excited when others interests are sparked by hands on learning. To see the lightbulb go off, their curiosity peaked, or joy of a question being understood. I also like to let others find out for themselves rather than just giving the answers. I like to give a spoken lesson out in nature, ask the group for their take or input, then to enhance memory, give a short written (on paper) quiz to see what they have retained. We then go over the answer together and save in a progressive journal to refer back to. Throughout the semester I usually throw out a question or two as they come back up in nature.

I want to work on positioning youth as people who do science.  I work with a group of kiddos who needs to feel empowered to make changes in the world.  They come from homes where they are often just along for the ride.  By making them feel like experts and teaching them they can make a difference  I hope to get their buy-in.  I want them to see themselves as people whos actions matter and who have important roles to fill.  Instead of them talking about science class I want to understand that they are involved in being scientists.

• Positioning youth as people who do science, framing the work globally and locally and attending to the unexpected are all key educator practices that I wish to model my citizen science programs and teachings.  I want our local students and participating citizens to take ownership and meaningful roles and to be real citizen scientist making an impact and contributing locally but making a global impact also.

I was delighted to read about research that supports students, as citizen scientists, connecting their investigation data with an environmental agency. This an idea I strongly support. When learning is relevant, meaningful, and engaging students will feel successful and value their findings. Best of all- they gain ownership of their learning!

Framing the work globally and locally is of tremendous value to all of us today, as many young people lack a connection and understanding of how their food, clothing, and residence come to be available to them. This will be my first year teaching science in a classroom; I previously have only taught through informal educational venues. In my previous life making connections was the greatest contribution I could give and after teaching math last year in a classroom setting I started to see where the structure is and why there may be teachers skipping the connections; tying learning back to our local communities and the world will benefit us all.

The practice I strive to model in my teachings, whatever the subject, is to attend to the unexpected.  I am always showing my students how I am learning right alongside them, even with texts I have taught many times, because each time you approach any text, or any learning situation, the outcome and responses will vary according to the readers or observers.  What is created between the observed and the observer is the learning, and this is the thing that is always unexpected, and why teaching never gets old!

The UC Davis teaching practices are practical and concise. Global connections are always amazing way to connect students with projects that are relevant and in turn provide a solid connection. Making that connection can definitely reinforce community education and discovery.

I find the “position youth as people who do science” to be the practice I would like to model in my teaching. The example given of students “helping scientists” as the opposite of this concept was clear and easy to understand. In the classroom I have seen my students react with great responsibility and seriousness when I have honestly shared information and expectations with them about a project or activity, especially when I add that I’ll be learning with them. We all roll up our sleeves and get busy with the task at hand. It is so rewarding to work with them and discover new information together. I’ve also become an expert at admitting I have made a mistake or I was wrong so that they can feel comfortable doing the same. I’m not saying that is easy to do, it’s not. But it is a lot better than trying to balance up there on that pedestal. No one is perfect! Plus it is impossible to teach or learn if your mind is closed because you know everything. As a person who does science if I can make mistakes, be a learner in our classroom and keep an open mind, why can’t they?

In my Global Environmental Issues course, the students do a rendition of the One Square meter project to take a closer look at biodiversity.  However, we only report out findings with each other.  I would love to try to incorporate more of the CS projects into this project.  I am currently working on a community project with High School and Middle School students in both my school as well as inner city schools which will connect food systems, bees, and environmental education. One of the best things I can do right now in making that a success, is allowing the programs to grow organically with nature and LET GO of the control. What great advice!   I am taking this course so that creating, monitoring, and continuing CS programs at my school can happen. As I previously mentioned, I sometimes struggle with fitting it in, or keeping it going, or even getting it started. I think that the pandemic is going to allow me more freedom with my curriculum this year, so I am looking forward to stepping back and getting students more involved in "real" science.

Probably the one I could be better at is: frame the work locally and globally. My students have presented their field study results locally: school and community but it's the Citizen Science piece that I need to get better at. This will have more of an impact on my students.

I relate most to attending the unexpected in my work as an informal outdoor educator. Although I will offer a program focused on a particular topic for youth and families outside, the multitude of environmental stimuli outdoors usually leads to all sorts of questions, discoveries and investigations. I find that I will connect with different learners over different interests, and I love experiencing and bonding with others' enthusiasm about something we encounter on the trail. We stop and investigate things together as co-learners, and it becomes a joyous, inspiring memory with learning applications that extend beyond the particular outing.  I find that I do need to improve my question-framing so as to better position participants as scientists rather than being the source of knowledge, and that I need to make sure and discuss potential actions they can take in their communities more explicitly with my groups.

I love the local to global connections as that on is one I emphasized our watershed studies. We make a point to cover the larger watershed through the 3 years of science that I have them. We start with the school yard and wetland, connect it to the stream across the street (field trip). We continue exploring the bigger watershed with 3 field trips to areas along the Potomac River. Eventually make it to the Chesapeake Bay. We try to do water quality testing along the way. I need to help them make more connections with their data-- comparing it to the buoy data, comparing it more from site to site and analyzing it form year to year. They will then take on more of the scientist role besides just collecting the data and using instruments. Expecting the unexpected seems to always happen so I am comfortable learning about things along with the students. My focus will be to maximize the students' role as scientists.

The practices mentioned by UC Davis will help me create more contextual experiences for my students as it relates to their own environment. The  ability to develop expertise, contribute data, make meaning, and share the work and take action will allow for students to take ownership of their projects and its importance to their community.

The three teaching practices are so concise and understandable. I think that I hope to model further "attend to the unexpected" and realize that "failure" or even no data, can be just as important of a result as a successful expedition. I think that teaching and focusing on this mindset is important as an educator, because it puts value back into the process of citizen science.

Because I teach programs in a park, I believe that I often engage students with complex systems and also connect them to their local environment. However, I need to work harder to model the first practice, "position youth as people who do science." With a limited time for programs, I don't often engage the kids as scientists as much as just help them experience science and nature. I need to do a better job of facilitating inquiry and data collection instead of directly telling or leading them to what I'm trying to teach.

The three teaching practices that UC Davis recommends just seem like common sense to me. If you are working with students and they are the learners then they should be doing the "science", and taking ownership of it. However, I would say it is more meaningful for students to drive the project or investigation out of their own observations or interests rather than just solely having a teacher assign a project/investigation to them. When I was a kid my favorite game was to role play that I was Jacques Cousteau  in my own submarine, in charge of my own crew and out there making observations of sea creatures. This was a very elaborate imaginative role play game that I engaged in pretty much every day in my room. It is fun to direct your own learning and find your own project so it makes complete sense to allow the children to take that on. This is also why I prefer to generate investigations out of nature walks and organic experiences. I have tried it the other way, being teacher directed and it just ends up with me having to back pedal so much content language that puts me in the "knowledge holder" role. That is not really my thing. I am comfortable with messy and opportune so I am totally down for attending to the unexpected. I think the teacher lingo is " teachable moments", and just go with it. Thumbs up on that. I definitely frame our learning locally, and certainly connect it to national issues, but I think I probably need to look at how help my students make better connections between "local" and "global" connections/interdependence both in terms of what is common across the world and what impacts others around the globe more directly.