Inspiring Investigations through Citizen Science

Of the three practices, the one that I would most like to model in my teaching is sharing findings with outside audiences. I think this practice is important because it provides purpose and significance for the students complete the work. I would like to practice this by either having the students give a presentation of their findings to other staff members around the school or by having them write a letter of their findings to an institution or entity that it may affect or be relevant to.

As a non-formal educator I think that I have the opportunity to position youth as people who do science. Having students visit our facility and learn about science that is occurring in a location besides the classroom can have a great effect on their interest level in science. Ensuing that when students are working on citizen science projects that they understand the importance of their role and how they are playing a part in research.

Our social studies curriculum explores the world, introducing different regions of the world to our students.  We often weave our study of climate change into our exploration of these regions of the world, focusing on causes and effects of climate change.  While this provides our students with a global-perspective, it lacks the impact that a local exploration or investigation can generate. The practice of framing the work globally and locally is critical to both student engagement (local connection) and perspective (creating global citizens) and catalyzes student agency in their own community.  We are focused on finding opportunities for students to engage in local climate action projects which will be driven by citizen science activities that serve to build background knowledge and foster curiosity and passion.

By positioning students as people who do science, they become actively engaged in scientific processes such as gathering valid data. I think it is a great way for them to change their perspective of what a scientist is. They can begin to see themselves as citizen scientists and realize that they can contribute globally to scientific knowledge and research. By framing the work globally and locally, the projects become more meaningful to the students since they can feel like they are making a difference in the world by participating in citizen science projects. Attending to the unexpected is important because it allows the educator and the students to learn together about their specific projects. It is important for the students to understand that their own data is used to determine the results of the project. I would like to incorporate citizen science projects such as a bioblitz and monarch monitoring into my curriculum this year. I want my students to feel like they are active participants in the world of science.

First, modeling that WE are doing science is pretty fantastic. And helping students to see that this is how knowledge is gained, by experimentation, observation, etc. can be life changing.

Reflecting on the 3 teaching practices and how to model them in the classroom. Position youth as people with science:  Students will be in charge of their own projects.  Take ownership, make a difference in their environment. Attend to the unexpected: Have resources available for the students so they can inquire. Frame the work globally and locally: Using the Citizen Science Project students will be able to look at other local students' data and also globally.

I appreciate the emphasis of a child not being an assistant, but an actual scientist. I love how this can change the perspective of the learner and create meaning, responsibility, and significance to their role. To incorporate this practice, I plan to inform them from the beginning that they are not helpers or assistants, but scientists in my class. I will give the learner control and time to process this role and explain to them what it means to be a scientist. I plan to explore the significance of this role and also engage in discussion with the learners what they believe it means. I will also have to change my perspective of the learners act as a facilitator/helper while they are on this learning experience.

I teach 7th grade and having them understand that anyone can contribute to science is powerful for many of them. It can get them away from the misconception that scientist where lab coats and only do work in labs. The outdoors is a wonderful lab that students often times do not think about. Contributing that science to something larger than their classroom can hopefully make some connections to the bigger picture.

As mentioned in some of my other posts. My job is primarily just to get kids out into nature. Reading about nature in a text books is completely different from getting out there, not taking shower for a few days and getting dirty. Many students these days might have never had an opportunity to get outside away from the conveniences of the the front country. The ability to actually see the things that they read, puts it into whole new perspective. For those who have been to the Grand Canyon know exactly what I'm talking about. After leaving the back country most of my students leave with a whole new appreciation of ancient cultures, and of the wildlife who live out there for their whole lives.

As a learner and a teacher  I have always felt the only way to truly understand is for the learners to "do the work" which is the first practice UC Davis recommends which is to have the students do the science. This can be messy and slow moving but it truly puts the learner in position to understand the work and definitely prepares them to understand the work they are doing.  The second practice is to show the students this work can occur locally as well as globally.  Helping to maintain a local healthy stream impacts habitats and the ecosystem downstream leading to improved stream quality and quality invertebrates in our streams improving the food chain down the stream. And finally "attending the unexpected" this occurs often when students are down at the stream, or at the lake, because everything is so interconnected and the questions that occur while collecting data seems to be never ending.  I  truly enjoy this outdoor data collection week with my students because of the unknown questions and information that comes up with each class is completely unique.

It's important to incorporate all three of these educator practices when helping kids contribute to science in a meaningful way. In my work, I hope to empower kids with both the knowledge and tools that are accessible in their everyday lives. Apps like eBird, Seek/iNaturalist, and Feederwatch can connect kids to nature in any habitat. It is important to help kids learn how to collect quality data so that they can contribute meaningful information to the science community, and when given the time within a lesson, I do not shy away from the unexpected "rabbit trail," which may help students make stronger connections with the lesson or experiment.

I would like to start a project that gets local students connected to their own backyards. I would like to start a monarch larva monitoring program and really empower those kids to make a difference in their community. I would like to start a collaboration with the zoo I work at, and a local science teacher. I would like them to start doing research on how to protect monarch butterflies at the zoo. I am hoping to make this a yearly project so students can see real time changes in their efforts to give monarchs more habitat.

In the work that I do, I always try to make kids feel like scientists.  I may bring in experts to show them the best data collection methods so they feel like they really know what they are doing.  This way too, they are willing to take ownership of the data they collect.  Allowing them to see the data others have collected helps too--they see that their data is comparable.  Collecting data more than once to be sure the data can be repeatedly found to be the same or nearly the same helps too.  I always engage youth with outside people for presentations of what they have done.  They can do that throughout the project with their peers, students in other classes, etc. to help them improve their project boards, get more wonderings and new areas for research.  We bring in elected officials at the local, state and national level (we are located just outside of DC) and kids present to them.  We have a few examples of new state legislation put in place due to student findings.--then kids really see they made a difference.  Many of our projects are implemented at the school level so that kids see an impact there. A local non-profit NoVA Outside has put on a Student Environmental Action Showcase for 10 years now.  This is in partnership with George Mason University.  The event is on campus and college students participate as judges and volunteers.  This has encouraged many students to consider college as a next step.  The students are presented as content experts at this event.  This has been curtailed with COVID-19 but we hope to be back at some point.  We have done some virtual work the past two years.

The first practice mentioned in this article was about making the students feel like they are scientists, not just helpers. I think that this is important in citizen science because students can easily fall into the trap of just repeating the steps instead of thinking critically for themselves and learning the scientific process. One way to achieve this method is by introducing them to a citizen science outlet and as they are gathering information, encourage them to ask questions about some of their observations and do some research to help them answer them. The second practice is to frame the work locally and globally. I think of pollinators as a great topic for this. The research is important because of the global decline of pollinators and we can help collect data by looking at our own community gardens and planting some native plants. The students could participate in planting the gardens and observing which species come to pollinate the flowers, this is an example of framing science both globally and locally. The third practice is harder to prepare for but equally as important as the first two: attend to the unexpected. I think that if students find things that interest them or new curiosities then that is great! Questions always mean that the students are engaging and interested. Allowing them to seek answers on anything allows for more knowledge circulation. I wish to model all of these principles by allowing students to choose what interests them, tying those questions into global and local importance and always assisting them in  seeking new knowledge and answers to curiosities.

How I wish to model teaching is by using citizen science to increase interest in Florida's amazing flora and fauna for the kids as well as adults. I strongly agree that that involvement makes anyone participating have a sense of contribution.

1. Position youth as people who do science: I wish to model this through enabling students to not only submit their data to citizen science projects, but also to act on their data themselves, to work out what actions they can take, based on their research, to make improvements. 2. Frame the work globally and locally: as with the above, I would like to motivate students to take action on a local scale through citizen science projects to make improvements. 3. Attend to the unexpected: This is always a challenge as an educator, to allow the unexpected to happen, as it can feel like a loss of control of the learning, however, it's often when really exciting learning happens! So it's certainly an aim to model this more in my teachings.

The three educator practices that UC Davis recommends each help strengthen student learning. The first practice, "positioning youth as people who do science",  helps students see themselves as scientists. Ultimately, this is how I want students to view themselves in the classroom because by viewing themselves as scientists, they are actively doing the work of scientists. They are learning how to ask questions, collect data, analyze and share their results. The second practice, "frame the work globally & locally" helps to motivate students since they are working to solve an issue. The final practice, "attend to the unexpected", means that I need to shift from teacher to facilitator and let students drive the learning. It requires flexibility and patience. I would like to model the first practice, "positioning youth as people who do science".  I can do this best through modeling the science practices for students such as data collection, graphing and data analysis.  This can be done by working with the whole class, groups or individuals.

The students I taught were always positioned as individuals that did science. The first six weeks of the school year I would implement the scientific method to a student suggested topic. The students would learn the parts of the methodology and then conduct the experiment. The expectation for each course topic would then incorporate the scientific method so students had the opportunity to "do science" instead of "reading science" or "writing about science". Sometimes the experiment had clear flaws but those flaws provided an opportunity to further enhance learning. The students also had the opportunity to select a direction for their experiments without my influence. The students were the scientists so the power of choice was there but they were also expected to persevere any challenges they had like real scientists would do. Society would not be in the state it is today if we had citizens that were able to critical think and analyze the information presented to them to determine if it was reasonable or not.

I, like other contributors to this thread, love the idea of helping students think like or see themselves as scientists. I was never good at math, so I always thought growing up that I couldn't be a scientist, even though I really love science. If I was able to see myself as a scientist based on activities that didn't involve math, I think I would have been more motivated to pursue the field of science as more than a hobby. I now teach science at a school for students with learning differences. So, many of them struggle with either reading/writing and/or math. Helping my students understand that they too can be a scientist through different citizen science activities will definitely help build their confidence in a variety of ways and academic subjects.

I love the idea of "positioning youth as people who do science."  I think this is empowering to learners, and it really puts the students in the driver's seat.   THEY will be doing the work, and they are provided with an opportunity to learn, grow, fail, make mistakes, and succeed.  I also think it is crucial to "Frame the work globally and locally."  Seeing the big and the little picture will help them to make connections.  It is always valuable to provide students with a chance to invest in their own communities, and they can take what they learn and apply those skills to the larger world as a whole.

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.

Instead of selecting one key practice, I considered the 3 Youth/3 Instructor best practices and how they can inform my own practice and philosophy of teaching. These best practices already play a strong role in my own teaching philosophy and daily approach to teaching young children. I suppose my "favourite" would be co-learning with my students. I learn new things every single day and share my amazement with them.

I would like to work to include all three practices, but most importantly the "position youth as people who do science". I feel that with building a CS project that my biggest hurdle is getting students engaged and so if I can get them engaged and excited about participating in a CS project that then, I can build more easily into students not only making the connections locally as they will see it as they do the project but then the referrals to reference materials that would help with making the global connections. Finally the "attend the unexpected", I feel that while yes students may feel frustrated at times because they did not get the results they expected, that this will help them to learn to be flexible and that it is okay to re-evaluate our expectations and come to new conclusions.

I would like to include all three teaching practices in my teaching, but the one that aligns most closely with my passion is the idea of using CS to affect change within our communities.  During the weeks that my fifth grade students were engaged in virtual learning, we took part in a virtual field trip with UNC Wilmington's MarineQuest Science Lab and learned about plastic trash and its affects on sea turtles.  Kids were encouraged to pick up trash within their own communities.  I'm really passionate about the topic of marine trash but since my school is in Central New York, learning about marine trash doesn't seem to fit into our community.  I liked, however, how the program linked marine trash into picking up trash wherever you are.  We talked about waterway connectedness and the great likelihood that much plastic trash ends up in our waterway and can affect marine species.  I live in the Finger Lakes region and we could certainly tie something with water quality, trash, and marine species as a meaningful learning experience. I would love to find a CS program that would allow me to tie this passion into my classroom and community in a meaningful way.

Position youth as people who do science- my students complete independent research projects.  We start in August and they present their findings at our school fair in February.  We have great expectations for them and although there is some whining and drama along the way by late February the students realize that the process made them grow. Frame the work globally and locally- In doing their projects they gather peer-reviewed journal articles.  I teach them how to properly cite their references and explain that in their conclusions they should explain how their (local) research fits in with the (global) studies they cited.  I try to emphasize that each contribution has an impact and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Attend to the unexpected- At times their clearly designed projects don't operate as planned.  Seedlings do not germinate or snow days limit access to human subjects or the results are completely contrary to their hypotheses.  That is all OK!  Modifications can be made and students need to be flexible in doing so.  This is good life lesson as well- thing won't always go as planned and it's not the end of the world.    

I believe all three teaching practices are important to incorporate when learning with citizen science. 1. Positioning youth as people who do science is important to engage the students with the CS project. If you don't see yourself as someone who can be involved with posing science related questions, participating in the inquiry process, and making discoveries then why would you want to be involved other than having to do an assignment. I would explain how the students work will have an impact on the CS project. I would find a video recordings of scientists on YouTube (SciStarter) explaining how crowd sourced data has helped advance their research. 2. Attend to the unexpected sets the stage for making discoveries, and dealing with the changes that may cause participants to rethink their hypothesis or approach to gathering data. I think this also fits into the change in attitude that experiencing "failure" is a good experience, and provides opportunity to learn to make improvements/changes for future endeavors. 3. Frame the work locally and globally provides relevance to the activity. My science learning was normally centered around rote activities, and didn't give me a long term reason to be engaged. As someone who has been involved in environmental issue activism, I find it very difficult to get people engaged why we need to save open spaces for biodiversity, or support alternative energy to help reduce global warming. If people are connected to the local and global issues with science research, we may not have the political divides on local and global environmental issues. I love the idea of presenting the information to family, and local policy makers to make suggestions or ask for change. It's important to let children know that citizens have the ability to shape change through knowledge and  community participation.

Real Science in the Palm of Your Hand is such a great resource to remind us that we as educators, are facilitors of the learning process. When the students are involved from the start of the process through the very end, the lesson's impact has the ability to grow beyond the orignial intent. Teaching students to see themselves as scientist is the most important practice for my role as an educator. In order for students to practice science in an authentic way, they HAVE to see themselves as scientist, they HAVE to engage as a scientist. In doing so they gain skills and confidence that will help motivate them to communicate and engage locally (in their school community) and well beyond. Attend to the unexpected is a practice that speaks to the beauty of discovery - taking time to observe/explore/discuss the unexpected adds layers to the entire process. New discoveries lead to new questions and new investigations!

The UC Davis article has given me insights on what I have seen working with youth and volunteers on CS projects over the years.  The three teaching practices are on target.  When youth can envision themselves as scientists,  this makes science meaningful, attainable and friendly. The actions of taking on the roles of scientists by collecting reliable  data and gaining knowledge of something that is happening in the environment can really motivate youth.  This direct experience if framed correctly can lead to an interest in science that otherwise may not happen in traditional settings.   CS  also leads to a deeper understand of the environment.  All environmental educator want to improve environmental literacy.  As the article states when youth know about the environment locally and see their interactions with the environment can be positive, then this life choice and be a life long practice which can impact the globally environment.  This knowledge is powerful which is part of the second practice. The third practice of expecting the unexpected can lead to rich teaching moments. These times of serendipity can be influential and memorable.  They are lessons that we don't seek, but when experienced, they stay with us.  They are like golden nuggets and really part of what teachers can encounter outside of the control classroom setting.  It is wonderful that researchers are provide data to support CS.  I think it is important to model all of these teaching practices.

I wish to practice more all 3 of these points in my teachings, especially the "framing the work globally and locally". Because what we do individually can have effects on many other things, putting things in perspective will help students being more responsible. On the flip side, showing them that there are things we can do at the local level that help solve global issues will be very empowering, help them to be pro-active as well as to learn beyond reciting given knowledge. To model this in my teaching, for every activity we have in the garden, I would have a part maybe called "Seeing the big picture" and ask students to discuss together how the activity can have affects on other living things beyond our immediate surrounding. Also, we can discuss about how these activities can help address global issues that they are learning in class, or are in the news these days (air pollution is a big issue often talked about in our city, for example).

Position you as people who do science is the first key teaching practice. Students need to understand that they can be scientists and contribute to scientific findings at a young age. Giving students a purpose makes them feel more involved and allows them to begin to learn about scientific processes in an authentic way.   The second key practice is framing the work globally and locally. In my opinion, this is one of the most important practices. It gives students knowledge about how what we are doing is not only impacting what is going on in our community but how it it is connected to the state, country or even the word. Letting students know that things we do in one place can have a larger effect on our global community as a whole is very important. If they have this understanding when they are young, they may make more responsible decisions as adults. This is the area where I most need to improve and incorporate more in my classes with my students. In grade one, students will be completing a Marvelous Marine Animals science unit. In this unit, students learn about our local marine ecosystems and what we can do to contribute to keeping them healthy. This is an area where I think I can connect with the global picture regarding pollution and how what we put in our water locally can travel and impact species in other places.   The third practice is attend to the unexpected. It is important for our students to understand we are not experts at all we do and we are learning with them. Taking time to explore wonderings together and discover things shows students your enthusiasm and that you can be a lifelong learner.

Position youth as people who do science - engaging students in decision-making and trouble-shooting processes! Frame the work globally & locally - looking for interconnections/crossover which is easy for something like butterfly migration or groups like  lab of O that monitor nationally or beyond. But this is still possible with anything: doing water monitoring? - see if there's citizen science or community groups working on water quality downstream, visit their website or contact. Monitoring bats in central PA? Look up other bat monitoring groups in NM or NZ! What species of bats are they seeing, what are environmental/habitat/disease issues they're facing, what monitoring issues have they run into? Embrace the unexpected - discuss process vs product. If product/results aren't what you expected/robust/usable, have students review the process - what could be changed if the project were done again? Design solutions!      However,  don't invite the unexpected - be sure to have the groundwork in place to proceed. I'm embarrassed to admit the first time I did the Great Backyard Bird Count (with my own kids who were very excited about it after visiting friends with a very active feeder), we got a feeder but I kept forgetting to get bird seed. And when I did remember I forgot the local Agway closed at 5. And then there was a snowstorm. And so forth. I finally got some the day before the 4 day start counted. We got the feeder filled and hung the 1st morning. And....not a single bird all four days. It can take them several weeks to discover  a new feeder. Oops!

Since I am already using Citizen Science in the classroom, here is what I do- 1.  Students develop science understanding by doing science. This includes gaining new information and using the data. 2.  Students become the scientist. 3.  As students become aware that they have to share their findings, then there is increase ownership of actions and understanding in order to explain.

The three concepts are to develop an understanding of environmental science content and inquiry practices, self identify as experts, and allowing students to create change whether it be large or small in their own lives or in their community. For me where I struggle is encouraging students to self identify as experts. Confidence in their knowledge of the subject and confidence in being able to find the right resources. I recently heard Neil degrasse Tyson speak about giving our students the tools to find the right resources and that as educators providing them opportunities to explore and distinguish between good and poor resources.

The three key teacher practices are: position youth as people who do science, frame work globally and locally and attend to the unexpected.  Without knowing it, I think I kind of attend to the three practices, but I definitely want to be more intentional about it now.  I was really fascinated by the term ESA, or Environmental Science Agency.  I had never heard that term before and I'd like to think some more about that.  I looked at the citation and want to do some of my own inquiry around ESA now.  Great article!

Great article!  Having our own garden of plants native to our area have given our students the power to "do science", explore, observe and have ownership.  I always say "the more we go out, the more we will discover, investigate, and learn."  We get a lot of surprises on our 7 acres.  The students are naturally excited to share, and these three practices allow us to teach across disciplines.  We need to start a citizen science project right from the beginning of school to maximize learning.  They can extend/compare to what they observe in their own yards.  We can do the ladybug, butterfly and bird projects.  We have iPads, and the children have learned how to take photographs.   Our students also use nature journals and take great pride in their drawings and observations.  Doing the citizen science projects will elevate their learning and make it even more meaningful.

I believe that all three practises are important for different reasons. Having the students know that they are doing science and that their findings are actually getting used, gives them a wonderful sense of empowerment. It's amazing what kids can come up with if we give them the independence. Framing the work globally and locally helps them see how they can make a difference as an individual. Attending to the unexpected can be a challenging mindset to get across, but an important one to learn early on. I really like the philosophy of "there is no right answer" and "we don't know what we will find", to me, that is the excitement of science!

I definitely already use the first practice, as I frequently have participants contribute data to larger projects and emphasize why their work is so important., framing with "You guys are going to help scientists by giving them information". I have also worked to connect the local with the global - as a land trust, we are conserving land locally, but we are contributing to the conservation of an important migratory corridor that spans the US. Canada, and the Great Lakes system. I try to enforce that in a lot of my programming. I think that I really need to work on the final principle of attending to the unexpected. I want to be less rigid in my programs and expected outcomes, and instead be better at adapting to nature (as it is always changing and surprising us!)

The three best practices for teachers include: position youth as people who do science, frame the work globally and locally, and attend to the unexpected.  I liked the idea mentioned during Tuesday's webinar in connecting to scientists via Skype, Zoom or other methods.  With students interacting with scientists and understanding the importance of their jobs, I think students will be excited to develop expertise and join the ranks.  I plan on using the SciGirls videos to increase student awareness of jobs available in science and to discuss interests.  The two Citizen Science projects I would like to start at my elementary school are Project Bird Feeder and eBird.  Both of those projects would help students go from local perspective to a more global perspective.  As far as attending to the unexpected, I think we allow learning to steer us in various directions.  Therefore, I don't think I can describe this until after I see the many paths our learning may take.

After I introduce myself to the students and before I take them out into the field, I always say to them "today you are the scientist." I think this encourages them to take pride in their observations. It's not just another assignment, it's their personal observations that they can use to make their own conclusions. At the end of the day we discuss what we learned about being a scientist, how did we make observations and use those to answer questions. Before they leave I remind them that when they are out investigating the world, they are always scientists. Them being a scientist does not end when they get back on the bus. I would like to find ways to incorporate citizen science lessons into my organization's current field studies. So that the students can take what they've learned during the day with me and continue it after they have returned back to their school and even their homes.

I would like to improve on and model the  "Attend to the Unexpected" teaching practice for the students. I want the students to know that failing is okay and part of the learning process. I would like to use the unexpected failures they encounter as teachable moments and be able to encourage them to continue pressing on.

I would like to model for my students the ability to see themselves as "people who do science" not just as students who have to learn science. Many of the students I teach feel a since of defeat before they even get started with certain academic subjects like reading and writing. However, I have seen that glimmer in their eyes when science and discovery enter the picture. Science topics (animals, the planets, plants, etc ) provide interest for my students and are a entry point for getting students to be more vested in their own learning. If I can show students that they " belong to the club" so to speak they will begin to feel more comfortable taking risks as well as feeling that they have something important to contribute to any group, project, or discussion. I also want to extend that self confidence to the extent that students develop themselves as experts who are in charge and take ownership of their learning and do so with a vested attitude.

Reflection:

• Positioning Youth as People Who Do Science - This helps students to build upon their natural curiosity to become scientists. It's a way of learning that builds intrinsic value to observe, show data, and share conclusions with their community.
• Attend to the Unexpected - Teachers need to take the unexpected and use them as teachable moments, not hurdles but rather slight detours that address related topics. Young scientists should understand that this is part of the process.
• Frame the Work Locally and Globally - Having students work framed in their community gives them a purpose beyond the grade. They are scientists providing information for the good of their school, neighborhood, or world. Learning that they can make a difference in the world is a valuable lesson to learn early.

I feel that all of these practices are important to model, but my primary practice to model would be Positioning Youth as People Who Do Science. Teaching students to be scientists who gain the confidence to observe, question, collect data, and come to conclusions to share with others - these are all skills that can be used and grown throughout a lifetime. Students have the curiosity and can come up with the questions. Once they wear the hat of a scientist, it will never come off. Nurtured, it will continue to grow, giving students the power of their own learning.

The three teaching practices that UC Davis recommends are a great framework to teaching citizen science.  Positioning Youth as people who do Science as the first suggestion needs to be taught at an early age, youth need to see themselves as able to do science, make personal connections to science, find the interconnectedness of the community in which they live.  Getting youth engaged in science at a young age will allow them to see that they can in fact do science, and it is fun.  “Think Globally and Act Locally,” a quote one of my colleagues uses frequently.  Framing the Work Globally and Locally, stepping up the open-ended critical questions with how this data they are collecting can be used, why is it important, how can they make a difference locally that will play a larger role.  This gives youth an understanding on how they can make a difference, doing science for the larger good.  Allowing them to take responsibility for their community, creating understandings on how things work together to create the beautiful world in which we live. Finally, Attend to the Unexpected, as the last recommendation to teaching science allows youth to take on more of an inquiry based approach to learning.  Giving students time to ask questions and research why something may have happened during their research.  This allows youth to take charge of their learning, finding out things that matter to them, making more of a personal connection. The three teaching practices show the stepping stones to inquiry-based learning using three steps instead of four as mentioned in The Many Levels of Inquiry, by Heather Banchi and Randy Bell.   I see, Positioning Youth as People who do Science as aligning with the confirmation and structured inquiry levels mentioned by Banchi and Bell, where youth are given the question, procedure and possibly the conclusion.  Work Globally and Locally as a guided inquiry approach where youth are allowed time to think about how their findings effect the world in which we live.  Finally, Attend to the Unexpected as open inquiry allowing students to ask questions and have time to research their “I wonder statements.”

I'm completely biased about how awesome UC Davis is: I did my undergrad in Geology there, and almost chose to do my PhD in citizen science there too! Ok, back to the question. I wish to model all of them because they are equally important. 1. Positioning Youth As People Who Do Science: Even though I don't teach science, I feel like 'doing science' is actually about building the capacity for inquiry and the confidence to investigate a phenomenon.  I apply this in geography (in topics like environmental sustainability, urban environments, quality of life, etc.).  This also instills a sense of independence and open-mindedness, because CS project answers/conclusions aren't often "google-able" and it takes some critical and creative thinking to find answers.  These are transferable skills of value across disciplines, and students of any age can appreciate this mindset.  I would do this more by creating opportunities for mini-investigations throughout my topics based on their own issues of interest. 2. Frame the World Locally and Globally:  I would actually put the 'local' first, and then the 'global' because so often in international school education (where I've taught) we look beyond our own neighbourhoods and consider the big, often-used case-studies that have caught media attention, but forget to recognize opportunities closer to home.  This can then expand on opportunities for experiential learning, place-based learning, project or challenge-based learning addressing issues that are arguably even more relevant to students because it's about their place/school/neighborhood/culture, etc.  If projects involve addressing local issues, then this is where some tangible impact can be measured (measuring it at a global scale is rather difficult in the time frames of schools years/terms/lessons).  But this isn't to say that recognizing one's place in the global context is not as important - it is very important.  The key lesson about how one's actions impacts others is one of the most important values to teach in a variety of contexts and disciplines.  This applies in social sciences as well as the natural sciences. 3. Attend to the Unexpected: Being ready for the unknown and being comfortable in that space allows for honest reflection, motivated inquiry and open-ended discussions.  It is often hard to build time for these in regular lessons because of the need to cover curriculum (external examination pressure, etc.) though I do often go down these types of tangents to see how far the students want to go, but I find that field trips and field experiences provide easier opportunities for this.  Otherwise, in order to try to 'make time', I would try to use online tools to garner ideas and discussions that stemmed from unusual discoveries in the classroom.  It takes skills to recognize when these 'teachable moments' can be grasped by teachers and students alike, so I would like to support my students more in being able to follow a line of thinking, with peer feedback, modelling and reflective discussions.

Youth As People Who Do Science -  I think if all teachers took their lessons from lecturing students on science content to  people who do science, there would be a much different look  in a lot of science classrooms. When students know the work they are completing is meaningful and relevant, they are much more engaged and motivated to learn. Frame the Work Globally & Locally - Once again, work that is meaningful and relevant to the learner will lead to  students who are intrinsically motivated to learn and  participate in activities and projects that do lead to greater knowledge and possibly environmental changes.  Students need to know that their work is valued and important. Attend to the Unexpected - some of the most meaningful lessons are taught when the unexpected takes place. Student misconceptions can be discussed and  the power of an educator to say, " I do not know why, how can we find out," can be a powerful learning experience for students. I believe the educator needs to be a facilitator of knowledge rather than the source.  Students need to recognize that they must play an active role in their learning. That their questions, gathering of data and conclusion have merit and are valued.

In my high school biology class - I would like to model the practice “frame the work globally and locally.” Since I do not live in the immediate community of my school, it will take some time and research in order to figure out what would be the best application to the local environment. An idea that came to mind is, habitat destruction due to development or how development leads to an increase of travel in the immediate community -- and how these things can affect the environmental quality. To connect to the global aspect, we could use various current events to establish a connection between the student’s CS investigation to other areas in the globe. We do an environmental short film study throughout the year with the hope of exposing students to various things happening in the US and across the globe that we don't necessarily have time to fully explore throughout the school year. We have four main themes: species restoration, everything water, pollution and climate change. I think we could use the film study to make connections to a citizen science project. If students gain an understanding about how our environment is not a closed system, that everything is connected, can help students see the importance in caring about what is happening to your local environment and how it affects nearby environments as well as implications for environments around world.

As I reflect on the Educators Key Practices recommended by UC Davis to maximize youth learning, I am intrigued by all three.  Position Youth As People Who Do Science, Frame the Work Globally & Locally, and Attend to the Unexpected, each have merit and each have a place as a best practice. I enjoy the thought of even furthering developing my students as scientists.  As sixth graders this year will be the first time they will have science every day for the entire year.   In elementary school it is rotated with social studies every other day for half the year. In the beginning of the year, I introduce science to my sixth graders as 'Who is a scientist?' 'What makes a scientist?' 'What does a scientist look like?'.  I further discuss, 'Am I a scientist?' and 'Are you a scientist?'.  They leave knowing scientists are all around us and they could be scientists, as well.  I feel that CS will feed into this and support my teaching. My students, our students, are the promise of tomorrow.  I constantly tell my students, they are here to fix our world problems.  I love the idea of framing the work globally and locally, and how minor changes can effect a much bigger result both positively and potentially, negatively. Their ideas and suggestions are the solutions of tomorrow. When running a lab, one thinks they know how the data should look, but there are surprises.  For me, they are always welcomed. I tell my students, I do not know all and they are here to discover and teach me! So I welcome the unexpected, that is joy of science! I think I model all three of these practices, but I hope to further develop my students as people who do science.  I strongly believe that all people are scientists.  If you recycle, sign a petition for clean water, or rescue a turtle stuck in the middle of the road, you are a scientist, you find value in our Earth!  I feel that as we develop, we are all citizens of science and the sooner we empower our youth as leaders in science, the better our Earth will be!

Of the three teaching practices that are recommended in Real Science in the palm of your hand the one I will model in my teaching is "position youth as people who do science". Creating various roles within groups and providing students with leadership opportunities is one way the authors shared could assist in this. I have found that many students are not confident about themselves and this can be seen in their resistance to engage in new academic challenges. Engaging in a citizen science project where they learn to identify the quality of the data and get to learn from each other could be a great opportunity for them to gain confidence and see themselves as active participants in science. The second practice of framing the work globally and locally helps affirm a student's identity as a person who does science. If they are answering a question and providing some type of feedback on the local level it can affirm a belief that they are scientists.

While each of the three teaching practices recommended by UC Davis are important I chose to focus on “positioning youth as people who do science.”  I teach 1st grade and some children in my class have lacked confidence, motivation, and perseverance when working on STEM and science experiments and investigations.  To begin the school year I think it’s important to teach children about what a scientist is, what they do, and how they help our world.  Through the use of literature, examples from our STEMscopes science curriculum, and by inviting scientists from the community into the classroom students would gain some valuable insight before our units or citizen science projects begin.   Through our science investigations and STEM activities students write or draw their ideas and findings and communicate with their classmates.  It tends to stop there when it doesn’t have to.  In the article, “Real Science in the Palm of Your Hand” it stated that we want children to be capable investigators alongside scientists.  We want them to understand and see that they are indeed scientist’s helpers!  Even though they are six or seven years old…they can still be a scientist!  Through citizen science projects my students would learn that the observations and investigations that they do at school and throughout the community are helping real scientists around the country.  These projects provide authentic learning opportunities for students and teaches them that the data they collect and the observations that they make will be shared with a scientist or organization outside of our school district.  I think that through incorporating citizen science into the classroom alongside our district’s curriculum, students will be more motivated to learn, gain confidence, work cooperatively with their classmates, and will understand that the work they are doing is being shared and used by a real scientist.  What a powerful thing for a young mind to experience!

The UC Davis article, “Real Science in the Palm of Your Hand”, provided three important practices for teachers to consider as they begin planning citizen science projects for their students.  As I read the article, I thought it was important that this information was included in the article.  Much of what we read in citizen science is focused on the projects and how to engage students in the projects.  I appreciated these paragraphs dedicated to the practice of teachers as they incorporate citizen science projects in their classes. The first practice is for teachers to conduct the projects in a way that students recognize themselves as people who do science.  I thought this was a great practice to encourage in teachers.  I often remind my students that anyone can practice science.  All they need is an inquisitive mind and the initiative to take time to observe what is happening around them.  Citizen science projects will instill these practices in students. In the second practice, we are encouraged as teachers to frame the citizen science project on a local and global scale.  With the variety of databases available to teachers today for citizen science projects this should not be an issue.  When students see that their data is being added into a global database for scientists around the world to use in their research projects, this will make the classroom project a real science project for the students.  Being able to share locally and to have the attention of school and community leaders will give value to the project for the students.  To see their community, act based on the work of the students will give the students encouragement to continue citizen science projects. For the third practice encouraged for teachers, I was reminded of some of my own experiences in field projects with students.  I like the way the authors described this in saying, “attend to the unexpected by paying attention to surprises that emerge.”  I refer to these as teachable moments.  I have had a few of them with my students.  As a teacher, we must always be aware of what is happening around us when we are with our students, this is especially true when we take our students outside the four walls of the classroom.  There is much to be seen and experienced in outdoor projects and we must be ready to answer questions or explain the unexpected to our students. I value all these practices and have varying degrees of experience with incorporating all of them in projects with my students.  I believe the first practice of helping students to recognize themselves as people who do science is the practice that I will focus on for citizen science projects.  If this is a trait that is strongly instilled in students, then it will hopefully stay with them throughout their lives, at least to some degree.  This will be planting a seed of appreciation and care for natural surroundings in young people whose lives will take many different directions.

I believe that work locally and globally is important. Not only does it allow for clear cross-curricular connections, but it also provides them with an understanding of the community. They are scientists that are a part of a broader scientific community they can participate in. We will do this by exploring some of the maps/data which are submitted from global citizen scientists. Understand how the data which we collect can make changes. Perhaps provide examples of how citizen science has created structural changes in the past.

Of the three, the practice that best suits and supports the work we are doing is to frame the work globally and locally. Many children are naturally drawn to animals, but for some children, particularly those in urban areas, the only animals they may identify with are domestics such as dogs and cats, or zoo animals. We think it is very important to nurture any and all respect for all animals, and recognize and relay there are things we do or use that affect wildlife in other countries or continents and that habitat loss is a global issue. However, knowledge of the wildlife in their own backyard is fundamental to them understanding and being good stewards of our local natural environment and how to best support it wherever they live.

I wish to model all of these practices in my teaching, but I especially want to focus on positioning youth as people who do science. I work with newcomer students who have little to no previous formal education, and my colleagues and I have found that developing a "growth mindset" around school-related work can be especially challenging for these students. By positioning my students as people who do science, and helping them become experts and active participants in citizen science, I hope to make my students feel proud, confident, and empowered. I think it's also important to make their science learning more authentic. I hope to model this in my teaching by finding real citizen science projects for my students to participate in, helping them see their roles as important and real, and supporting them by giving them the skills to become experts.

All three of the teaching practices that UC David recommends are important, but the one that stood out to me the most was "position youth as people who do science". This really resonates with me as an educator, because I have witnessed students feeling powerless or incapable of accomplishing different subject matter, and I think that citizen-science is really great for empowering students. By helping students take on meaningful roles in the citizen-science projects, they will value their contributions more and value themselves as well. I want to focus on modelling this teaching practice because I want my students to feel empowered and work on ways they want to contribute to their local and global community. One way I think I can incorporate this more is by taking my students outside more, and providing them with more opportunities to collect data and create their own procedures for doing so. In this sense it would be more student-lead than me just telling them exactly what to do.

1."Positioning youth as people who do science" seems integral but needs to be acknowledged and intentional as seen from the 2 questions asked of students in the article. How the CS project is approached can directly effect how engaged the students are in the collection of the data and the quality of the data. 2. "Frame the work both globally and locally" highlights how the students are helping make a difference in their world.  I think we, as teachers, can get caught up in our local project and all the good it will do and not share the global nature of the science or visa versa!  I like how the researchers make this a point to be attended to. 3. " Attend to the unexpected" is an essential part of environmental education, especially with young children.  Our job is to encourage the sense of wonder and love of science and the natural world- what better way than to give time and attention to new findings, mistakes and being upstaged by nature! As a whole, I'd like to model all three practices in each of my encounters with students.  In subsequent encounters, I will try to focus more on giving the students more control of the data collecting processes and engaging in the science and engineering practices offered through CS projects. This will  reinforce their role as true scientists and encourage them to view themselves in this role not just at school but in their broader experiences outside school.

Youth Share Findings  with Outside Audiences (Youth Key Practices) and PositionYouths as People Who Do Science (Eduacator Key Practices). The first is through the contribution including university degree theses that have to do with the subject, that is to say to somehow involve the school with a little more advanced research such as that of the university, in this way it will be a feedback where Both parties will benefit. It will allow children to approach and learn a bit about the structure of a more elaborate work or investigation, such as a university thesis, and in the case of the University, it will allow them to meet the observational optician who will undoubtedly be supportive and contribute material. additional for the support of the investigations. In the second point and continuing a little with the previous idea, it will position the children as researchers and not only as observers, since they will be providing first-hand very useful material for hypothesis formulation and research.

1. "Youth as people who do science." I thought it was important in how you frame this to students when beginning a citizen science (CS) project. The example used was a question that you could ask students: Could a scientist use this information? By the way this question is asked, gives students a sense of responsibility in the quality of the data they collect if they know someone else is going to use it. 2. "Frame the work globally and locally." Connecting science to a students sense of place is so important here. Depending on the socioeconomic status of students you serve, might mean that some students have not had experiences beyond a local geographic area. Therefore, it's critical to focus locally to help motivate students and give them a sense of ownership. For me personally, I do not reside in the area in which I grew up but compared to my students who are from here, I've been astonished about what they don't know of their "home." I'm constantly trying to bridge that gap and I think CS projects will help. 3. "Attend to the unexpected." This can be such a powerful teaching moment especially when doing CS in the natural environment when anything goes. It appears that many CS projects are conducted outdoors anyways, but if not, an outdoor learning environment would be critical for this to be able to happen.

I believe that all three of these teaching practices are important. The second, framing the work globally and locally, is essential. At my school, we have established or restored sustainable wildlife habitat around our campus. This transformation is giving students the opportunity to study animals and insect up close and have a hand in their ensuring the survival and conservation of these habitats and creatures. We've focused our efforts on Monarch Butterflies and Ladybugs, establishing two large gardens specifically designed to be habitat for them. Through the efforts of our students, we were able to get these areas certified as Schoolyard Habitats and Monarch Waystations. We've also raised a couple dozen or so Monarchs and Black Swallowtails and released them into the habitats. This allows students the opportunity to watch the lifecycle process up close and learn how to care for the creatures need (food, water, shelter, etc.). Throughout the project, students learned the larger global connection as well.