“Observing the life cycle of monarch butterflies and following their remarkable migratory journeys between Canada, the United States, and Mexico …
“Tracking climate change by recording the dates of first leaf, flower, and fruit of local trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses ...
“Discovering which bird species migrate, where they go, and when …
“Exploring life cycles and population dynamics of frogs, toads, and other animals in nearby ponds …
“Citizen science projects such as these gather data through public collaboration in scientific research….We invite you to dig in and become part of this exciting and rapidly growing movement. Your students will not only learn science, but they will also be scientists, and their projects will bring biological and environmental science to life in your classes.”
—from the Preface to Citizen Science: 15 Lessons That Bring Biology to Life, 6–12

The editors of this book have a straightforward goal: to inspire you to engage your students through public collaboration in scientific research—also known as citizen science. The book is specifically designed to get you comfortable using citizen science to support independent inquiry through which your students can learn both content and process skills. Citizen Science offers you: •Real-life case studies of classes that engaged in citizen science and learned authentic scientific processes and the habits of mind associated with scientific reasoning. •Fifteen stimulating lessons you can use to build data collection and analysis into your teaching. •Plenty of flexibility. You can use the lessons with or without access to field or lab facilities; whether or not your students can collect and submit data of their own; and inside your classroom or outside through fieldwork in schoolyards, parks, or other natural areas in urban or rural settings.
You don’t need an advanced degree in science to guide your students in productive participation in one of a growing variety of citizen science projects. As the editors note, “Such involvement can scaffold teachers’ entry into facilitating student investigation while connecting students with relevant, meaningful, and real experiences with science.”