Citizen Science Can Have a Place in Every Classroom: Resources (K-12) from the Learning By Doing Team

Citizen science is transforming the way students engage with science by allowing them to take part in real-world research. Around the world, teachers have been engaging students in authentic projects that have local and global impacts. These projects include monitoring native or introduced species, surveying pollution, and exploring new ways to develop medicines in collaboration with researchers by testing compounds in the lab.

To support these initiatives, the Learning By Doing (LBD) team, funded by the NSW Department of Education, has developed adaptable lesson plans designed to bring citizen science projects into classrooms, enhancing science education with hands-on activities. Our resources align with NESA and support topics such as biodiversity, human and environmental health, climate change, and chemistry. Our curriculum-aligned lessons - Mozzie Monitors, Great Southern BioBlitz, Breaking Good, and E$$ENTIAL MEDICINE$ - connect students with research that has real-world applications, and are suitable for all years from Kindergarten to Year 12, including prompts for depth studies. Teachers can use level-up and level-down options to tailor the depth of exploration to their students' knowledge and skill levels.

Citizen science into the classroom

Citizen science is the "public participation and collaboration in scientific research" (Australian Citizen Science Association), and brings students into direct contact with scientific methods and real-world data collection. For example, students might use mosquito traps to collect mosquitoes and share their catch with researchers, helping monitor species related to the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases. Participation in these projects engages students in meaningful learning experiences that build critical thinking skills, environmental awareness, and scientific literacy. For teachers, these resources provide curriculum-aligned lesson plans that make science more interactive and meaningful, with collaboration and support from researchers. Teachers gain access to complete lesson plans that support learning objectives while encouraging students to see science as an active, impactful process.

Lesson plans

Our lesson plans are structured to align with the NSW curriculum across primary and secondary education, while giving teachers flexibility to tailor activities. Each plan includes research questions, literacy and numeracy integration, and a focus on working scientifically skills. By offering level-up suggestions for more advanced exploration and level-down adjustments for younger students, the plans are adaptable for all stages. This means foundational concepts can be introduced in the early years and progressively explored in more depth as students advance. For example, K-6 students can set up mosquito traps and regularly monitor their catches, experimenting with different methods and locations to optimise mosquito collection. Y7-12 students can delve deeper into research by formulating and testing hypotheses, experimenting with various trap baits, and using dichotomous keys to identify specimens. They can also contribute data to the online open-source platform iNaturalist. By extracting real data from the platform, they can compare historical mosquito data across Australian states and territories, and analyse the effects of temperature and rainfall on mosquito distribution through correlation analysis.

Working scientifically skills through citizen science

Citizen science projects can provide an engaging framework for teachers to develop students' Working Scientifically skills through authentic investigations. By conducting hands-on research, students learn to ask questions, hypothesise, collect data, and communicate results, while their work contributes to real scientific studies. Additionally, they contribute to real-time projects addressing societal issues. While all our projects address the full range of working scientifically skills, we provide specific, tangible examples to illustrate how these projects cover particular skill categories.

Questioning and predicting

Projects like Mozzie Monitors encourage students to explore questions about mosquito habitats, distribution, behaviours, and the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. Primary school students might ask, "Where can we find mozzies?", whereas Y7-12 students can explore a range of questions related to biosecurity and human health. They might question how biotic and abiotic factors influence mosquitoes, how mozzie species adapt to different biomes, and how environmental events such as bushfires and floods impact species abundance and distribution.

Planning and conducting investigations

The Great Southern BioBlitz allows students to collect biodiversity data through observations, identifying and documenting local species during springtime in Australia. Teachers can guide students in planning their investigations, discussing variables like location and time, and how they might affect local biodiversity. Students then plan how to collect data systematically, developing skills in conducting safe and effective biodiversity investigations.

Processing and analysing data

In Breaking Good, students engage with data on drug discovery and medicinal chemistry. Year 12 students make molecules in the University of Sydney labs, extract and calculate the yield, and characterise the samples through mass spectrometry. These exercises reinforce experimentation and data interpretation skills.

Evaluating

E$$ENTIAL MEDICINE$ encourages students to explore drug accessibility and ethical questions regarding medicine availability. Students might evaluate the implications of patenting medicines, using case studies to examine perspectives on drug accessibility and reflect on how science addresses global health needs.

Communicating

Communication is central to all citizen science projects. Whether students are documenting species in Great Southern BioBlitz or presenting findings from Mozzie Monitors, they practise sharing their results through reports, presentations, and creative formats such as blogs or videos.

Student outcomes and benefits

Citizen science projects build scientific skills and foster environmental stewardship, digital literacy, and communication skills. Students engage in relevant and contextual local issues in their communities while developing new scientific skills and cross-disciplinary knowledge.

Resources and support for teachers

Each lesson plan includes clear objectives, materials needed, preparation tips, and assessment suggestions to guide teachers. We also offer training and support, helping teachers integrate these projects into classrooms smoothly. Additional resources might include physical equipment like books, binoculars, microscopes, lab access and mosquito traps. Whether used to introduce foundational concepts or to tackle complex topics, the Learning By Doing team's resources help teachers provide an impactful, authentic science education that motivates students. For more information or to access resources, please visit our website or contact the Learning By Doing team. We are inviting schools to join us in monitoring mosquitoes during Term 1 2025. Citizen science can have a place in your classroom too!