Research and Citizen Science

The Need for Research into the Efficacy of Education Strategies:

There is growing concern that the United States’ citizenry is uninformed and disengaged with regard to work from the scientific community (National Research Council Report 1999). This disengagement may be related to a lack of science understanding. In 1999, the NRC Committee on Undergraduate Science Education recognized a deficit in the scientific literacy in grantees of undergraduate degrees and called for nationwide reform in undergraduate science education.

Citizen Science Programs:

We define citizen science programs as those that involve citizens (K-Life) as decision-makers in scientific initiatives outside of formal educational initiatives. In environmental issues, research has shown citizen science initiatives to be successful in promoting civic engagement. Because of their involvement, citizen groups have played a role in shaping environmental policy. Involvement in citizen science programs can also promote scientific literacy. The program in science learning in engaged in a number of programs investigating science learning in informal frameworks.

Our Current Efforts

Environmental/Science literacy in authentic science: Invasive Plants Project

In this project we are investigating:
• The efficacy of using citizen volunteers to collect invasive plant data
• Prevalence and patterns of invasive plant species in Northeast forests
• The development of both scientific and environmental literacy in citizen participants

Collaborators: Joan Ehrenfeld, Rutgers University, Ed McGowan at the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, and Ed Goodell at the NY-NJ Trail Conference

Promoting environmental literacy in Gr. 6-Life

Rebecca Jordan is collaborating with Ravit Golan Duncan of the Graduate School of Education to investigate  pre-service teacher conceptions of science and ecology.

Rebecca is also working closely with Bruce Barbour of Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s Environment Program to examine what type of information is necessary to alter people's conceptions.

Transfer of Scientific Abilities

Rebecca Jordan is a co-investigator on an NSF supported project led by Eugenia Etkina in the Rutgers Graduate School of Education aimed at determining if students trained to use scientific reasoning skills in one domain can apply their skills to another domain.

Use of models to construct scientific understanding

Rebecca Jordan and Cindy Hmelo-Silver of Rutgers Graduate School of Education are co-investigators on an NSF supported project entitled: Collaborative Research: Learning About Complex Systems in Middle School by Constructing Structure-Behavior-Function Models.  The project is led by Ashok Goel of Georgia Tech. The project uses an aquarium as a model system for learning.