Kinta High School

Which citizen-science project did your research? Provide a brief background.  I chose to use the https://www.cocorahs.org site because we will be putting up our first rain gauge at the school where I teach.  Plus, it is a data collection tool that elementary and high school students can use.  For those schools needing a low-cost tool to collect data, this is it. This is a citizen-science project with a global span. Is the database accessible to anyone? Could someone who has not participated in the project use the data? Can students access the information? There are many avenues of data information.  It seems to me that anyone can access the data. How might your students use this citizen-science project data to conduct an investigation? I will be using this web project to help students both, do and use graphs.  Plus, since it is a high school it is helpful to have "not boring" data collections. For example, "Use a graph to show the average rainfall, compared to the rainfall of Hurrican Dorian.  Follow this by finding out how much damage to transport systems occured.  Or how rapid do you predict the recovery of tropical forests?"

Sometimes "I don't know" may be the best teacher answer.  Then follow up with, "I wonder if we can figure out how best to find the answer".

I have used several Citizen science projects in our school and it has been a great experience for our students. Blue Thumb stream monitoring has been very good for both high school and middle school students.  The Globe Observer, from NASA, has been good for middle school students monitoring weather and trees.  The Globe Observer also has Mosquito Habitat mapper and Land Cover apps, I just have not had time to use these yet.  The CoCoRhHS rain gauge is on its way to my school now. Citizen Science materials have provided great opportunities to record, submit data and we have used this often to create graphs.  The Globe Observer is easy to use outside the classroom.  I use one IPad and let the students use that for the data input.  Then, of course, hand the IPad back to me.  Usually, I combine that with a five-minute walk to a small park with a jogging track.  At the park, we have investigated everything from grasses, birds, frogs, pulse rate, and for middle school- who is the fastest. This is also helpful for the- "Now if you will get this assignment completed soon we can go monitor clouds and hike to the park". I have great administration support.  If they are unable to control themselves, not very often, they can sit with the principle and complete homework or definitions.

The vast majority of my lessons, unfortunately, do not involve inquiry.  Most of the lessons I teach simply give required information [core corriculum] and test my student's ability to memorize the material.  My students learn 'stuff' not the process of how to learn. However, since I am learning in this class, I hope to change that. For the seventh, eighth, and ninth grade science classes I need to get some raisins, soda, cups materials and teach more process of science instead of facts of science.  I also plan to incorporate materials learned in this class in these younger classes as well. Since we are a small school with limited materials such as microscopes, triple beam balances, virtually no lab materials the world outside the classroom window is the most practical route to "open inquiry". To describe how I will move to a more open inquiry, that is what I am learning now.