“Extreme” Citizen Science in the Classroom: Pitfalls and Affordances

Description

In broad terms, “extreme” citizen science involves the development of tools that enable a community to work alongside researchers to design, conduct, and interpret the results of an experiment or project. The benefits of this approach are many, not least of which in primary and secondary education. By tasking students with identifying and then analyzing an issue that concerns them, citizen science at the extreme level can be conducive to the everyday activities in the classroom.

At the same time, this approach poses pressing ethical questions that require disentangling. For university-based researchers, the success of a project (citizen science-based or otherwise) is typically based on the publications it can generate and the likes, shares, and comments it can generate online. But at what point does the scientist’s drive for visibility and circulation of knowledge run into conflict with the citizen scientist’s concern for privacy? This question is especially relevant to cases involving students.

To facilitate an open discussion around this and other questions involved in classroom-based citizen science, Bryan Yazell will share examples and general insights from his project, “Climate Future Fiction,” which tasks high school students in Denmark with drafting, reading, and evaluating their speculative stories about the impact of climate change in the future. Rather than a formal presentation, this workshop aims at generating a dialogue between participants based on their experiences (or anticipated experiences) co-developing citizen science projects with teachers and students.

Period	5. Jun 2024
Held at	The University of Edinburgh , United Kingdom
Degree of Recognition	International