Developing a Research-Based Environmental Citizen Science* Curriculum to Support Science Identity Development for High School Students
Many of us working in science education hope that at least some of our students will someday pursue a career in a STEM field. But in order to become a scientist, a student needs to identify with science; they need to think of themselves as a science person. At the STEM Center for Research, Education, & Outreach at Southern Illinois University we pursue NSF-funded research that explores the question: What makes a student feel like a scientist, or a science person?
We intentionally designed a curriculum to try to encourage the development of a stronger science identity in our students. Along the way we collected feedback from many educators and participants to improve the lesson plans, as well as collected research data through surveys and interviews to help us answer questions about how individual students’ levels of performance, competence, and recognition influenced their sense of their own science identity. Over the course of 4 years, we used all this input to hone a final version of the curriculum that is now freely available for others to use.
This high-school level curriculum uses hands-on environmental citizen science research experiences to get students engaged in authentic science that is relevant to the place where they live. With over 40 lesson plans divided into 9 units ranging from Air Pollution to Science Communication this program can be implemented in its entirety, or by section, in a traditional classroom or an informal learning setting.
*Note: Although citizen science was the most widely accepted term for many years, including during the time the grant proposal for this project was written, recently the field has moved towards more inclusive updated language. The former Citizen Science Association voted in May of 2023 to change its name to the Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences, and our organization has also adopted the term participatory science going forward. However, curriculum materials produced during earlier years of our programs still use the older term citizen science.
Over the last three years, the STEM Center, in partnership with various organizations and schools throughout the region, has offered the Y-CITYSCI program. Through this program, area high school students have had the opportunity to engage in technology-rich science experiences that allowed them to study and form a better understanding of their environment. In the summer of 2022, the STEM Center, in partnership with one of SIUE’s Upward Bound Math & Sciences programs, hosted high school students to explore environmental sciences. After these experiences, the students expressed lots of positive and exciting reflections about their time exploring science and conducting authentic scientific research. Consequently, these experiences, within the framework of the program, have fostered science interest in many students who are now even more enthusiastic and curious about science and their environment.
The Y-CITYSCI program, funded through the Innovative Technology Experience for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program at the National Science Foundation (NSF), has provided educational opportunities where students have used scientific technologies to learn more about the environment of southwest Illinois, which in turn has brought positive benefits to both the SIUE community and neighboring high school students who have been part of the program. The program helped train the next generation of researchers in the scientific and technological skills that these future scientists will need throughout college and into their careers.
As the Y-CITYSCI program comes to a close, the opportunity it afforded students will support educators to build better technological-rich, scientific programming for high school students. For instance, its shortcomings or limitations will serve as lessons to improve future projects, while its areas of strength will serve as a stepping stone to grow and be even better in the years ahead. Under this characterization, we are hopeful and confident that programs like these will be expanded in other communities as they offer benefits for both present and future generations. This can only be accomplished because of the commitment and endless work put into it. We will look back on the program and all the students we have worked with over the years with a huge smile and a sense of pride.
Post by Ozaveshe Paul Amune
Figure 1 – three students conduct their research project during the summer research academy
A student’s ability to express what they have learned is an important indicator of how they learn, which helps educators inform decisions on teaching style and curriculum. One might think of the word “expression” as something artistic or pictorial, but it actually goes far beyond the art room. Students in English class express themselves through short stories and poems, students in History class express themselves through research papers and presentations, and students in Science class express themselves through hypothesizing and experimentation.
Over the summer, our students expressed their understanding of environmental science in some unique and impressive ways. One group was curious about how recycling worked on SIUE’s campus, so they designed a project around it. Through their research and observations, they compiled a research project and found individual passions in the realm of sustainability, being dissatisfied with the quality of the campus recycling program. This led them to raise awareness among their peers and for some of them, even continue to look into solutions for the complicated issue of municipal recycling after the program had ended. Through this project, their expression of science reflected how they learn and develop an interest in something.
Another group was interested in how noise travels through different mediums. As they learned in the program, noise pollution can be more harmful than most people realize. It’s more than just the everyday annoyance of living next to a large road or having construction in your neighborhood, prolonged exposure to noise pollution can lead to serious health issues like high blood pressure and hearing damage. This group used noise monitors placed inside of a box of shredded paper to see if the decibels were different than if uncovered. They learned that the question they set out to answer was just much more complicated than they anticipated, a difficulty that helped them learn. They expressed interest in an issue that impacts almost everyone daily, and they used science to develop their personal understanding of it.
There are many ways that students use science to express their curiosity and creativity. Providing an outlet for students to do this is a valuable experience and can shape who they will be as learners for the rest of their lives.
Post by Lily Ward
Photo of program students collecting data for their recycling project
Our student programs at the STEM center do more than just provide educational opportunities for students; they also help us better understand exactly how students develop an identity as a person, learner, and scientist. Throughout the program, students are interviewed and given written surveys to complete. These tools help us track their progress and understand how a program like ours may impact them. For example, a student who may have an indifference to science, in the beginning, could leave the program with a love of science and a vow to pursue environmental science as a career…but things aren’t so simple. Our goal is not to funnel the next generation into STEM against their will, but to understand how young people make those decisions, and how their interest may grow (or shrink, or remain stagnant) after participating in an engaging program.
Interviews and surveys ask students to think about themselves, their community, and their environment in ways they may not have done before. Questions like “what are actions you personally can take to benefit the environment in the area where you live” and “do your parents see you as a scientist” are meant to help them open up to new ideas and think critically about the world around them. The idea of science identity in the students is particularly important, as we want to see if a program like ours could take a student from “no, I am not a science person” to “yes, I am a science person.” The self-recognition as well as external recognition can be the key to helping a student find their passion and their place.
YCITYSCI students on a field trip at the SIUE campus
The 2022 summer program was filled with a lot of research work done by students who participated. The research turned out to be a huge success after completion. Students worked in different groups conducting research on air pollution, water pollution, soil contents, and soil pollution, noise pollution, etc. For the purpose of this post, we will look at some of the tools used to come up with impressive research posters and their importance to research:
T-probe: Soil sampling is performed to analyze the physical and chemical characteristics of soil and to assess its health. The T-probe is often considered the best soil sampling tool for small-scale samples because it is portable, reliable, and can be used in both hard and soft soils. One approach to collecting a sample is to push the T probe vertically into the ground at varying depths and retrieve samples with the same diameter and recovery rate.
Students using a T-probe to collect soil samples at SIUE campus
PurpleAir monitor: Particulate matter in the air is measured with PurpleAir sensors. Dust, smoke, and other organic and inorganic particles are examples. PurpleAir sensors are made to be incredibly user-friendly and portable. They don’t need to be maintained or replaced because they are powered by a battery that lasts for several months. The sensor itself is a little device that may be stored in a bag or backpack or hung on a hook in your home or place of business. Students can quickly download historical PurpleAir sensor data online and use it for their research projects.
XRF (X-ray fluorescence): The XRF is a very significant instrument for study. It is beneficial to examine the soil for different elements. Throughout the summer program, many groups used it as a key tool to analyze their soil samples. By detecting the fluorescence (or secondary) X-ray that a sample emits when it is activated by a main X-ray source, XRF analyzers may determine the chemistry of a sample.
Dr. Ben Greenfield demonstrate to a student how to use the XRF to measure soil pollution
Conclusion: The various tools exposed above as indicated by the research are best for analyzing and collecting soil samples and air quality. For instance, the T-probe works better than traditional tools like shovels or trowels because it collects soil in a continuous core from the surface through the entire sampling depth with minimal disturbance of the soil. It also allows for faster sampling.
From the foregoing, it is apparent that soil sampling and analysis provide useful information about the chemical and physical conditions of the soil in a particular location. This information can be fundamental in the optimization of plant growth, help in solving soil-related problems or determine the extent of contamination for a remediation plan. We appreciate the collective efforts of our students for the fruitful research work and we look forward to another successful session in the future.
This past summer, the STEM Center provided a unique and enriching program for area high school students. Many young learners don’t have the opportunity to participate in authentic science and compile a project until much later in their careers, sometimes not until after completing an undergraduate degree. Our program guided high school students as they conducted a research project from start to finish; from research question to methods to data collection to data analysis to presentation. Students worked in groups to come up with unique research questions about the environment around them, and it was so interesting to see the topics that they were curious about.
Beyond just the experience of compiling a research project from start to finish, these students also got to present their posters to their peers, teachers, and family members. This is a vital learning experience that is not often available to students this young. To enter and be successful in any scientific field, one will almost undoubtedly need to give presentation talks and poster sessions at academic and scientific conferences. These are meeting places where scientists and students can network, learn, and share ideas and findings. Knowing how to share your research and findings in this context is an absolutely vital skill for scientists and industry professionals, so getting this experience at a young age is hugely beneficial.
Beyond the academic value, this experience offers great social engagement for the students. We believe in fostering confidence that they can carry with them for years to come; they gain the poise to address a crowd and answer questions about their chosen topic. They chose topics such as water pollution, soil composition, air quality, and noise monitoring, all of which are extremely relevant in the field of Environmental Science and are representative of the kind of work these students would do should they carry on in this discipline! Here we have included some photos of the students presenting to family and friends.
This past summer, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s (SIUE) Center for STEM Research, Education, & Outreach partnered with SIUE’s Collinsville High School Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS), for an experiential and authentic scientific summer program designed to support high school students to become active participants in environmental monitoring research. These students were excited and enthusiastic to learn more about their environment and conduct their own research as part of the Youth-Led Citizen Science (Y-CITYSCI) program: a program supported by the National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Teachers and Students.
Students and personnel of the summer program!
During the program, students worked with scientists and learned the steps of scientific research by conducting their own research projects. Through these steps, students began to see themselves as scientists as they designed their projects, collected data, analyzed their data, and interpreted their results. The students worked in groups to develop scientific research posters. Students investigated topics that ranged from the water quality of various lakes, ponds, and creeks on SIUE’s campus, to investigating how much recyclable trash is placed in non-recycling trash receptacles on SIUE’s campus. The students also learned to use several different technologies to conduct their research, such as air quality and noise monitors. On the final day of the program, they presented their posters to parents, scientists, and other community members. By allowing students to immerse themselves in the process of science and discover new things, they may be motivated and inspired to envision themselves as scientists.
Over the past few months, some of the STEM Center staff had the opportunity to share what we do and our experiences with the program in a new way. The STEM For All video showcase is an 8-day online event that gives federally funded programs like ours the chance to share a little bit about our important work and the impact that it has. We were lucky enough to get interviews with some of our wonderful program staff to talk about their experiences both on the administrative end and on the student interaction end.
We interviewed Candi Johnson, a program coordinator. She gave insights into how the program gives students experiences that they would otherwise not have, like compiling research and doing field work. She pointed out that many students don’t get that sort of experience until college, and even then it can be rare. Giving the students the opportunity and tools to run their own research project and experience field work is so valuable and will help them with future career and education goals.
We also sat down with Johnathan Tate, a teacher at a Metro East high school. He said that one of the most helpful things in his opinion is having extra help in the room…the STEM center GAs who attend the weekly programs help the students get more engaged, having an “expert in the room”, as he put it, takes some of the pressure off of him. This frees him up to give more one-on-one help to his students, which is difficult to do in a typical classroom setting where he is the only instructor.
In my last post, I wrote about being a park ranger. This week, I decided to expand on this by writing about what a park ranger is and does. Park ranger is actually a rather vague job title for an incredibly varied job when compared to most jobs. To explain to people what park rangers are and do, I like to use the National Park Service as an example. In the National Park Service (NPS), there are four types of rangers: law enforcement, interpretation/education, maintenance, and scientist. Now while many parks or park systems may hire specific types of rangers, in some parks, a ranger may perform work in all of these categories!
Law enforcement rangers make up the majority in many park systems such as in Missouri and Colorado. Law enforcement rangers are essentially police officers of the park. Law enforcement rangers usually attend a police academy teaching them the basics of laws and police procedures. This is usually followed by a ranger academy which expands on what the police academy taught as well as park specific rules and regulations as well as other skills required such as interpretation, program management, search and rescue, ATV riding, and water rescue. While law enforcement rangers are trained on a wide variety of skills, they may or may not use them depending on the park! These rangers will patrol the park, ensuring visitors are safe and following the rules and regulations. Many times when an issue is found, visitors are not intentionally causing this issue and a short educational contact with the visitor clears up any issues! Occasionally, this does not work and more serious methods are required such as issuing a citation or “ticket”. Here is where law enforcement rangers work similar to police officers. In the off chance that the issue isn’t resolved with an educational discussion or a citation, law enforcement rangers can perform other actions like police officers such as arrests.
I am currently a seasonal law enforcement ranger at a smaller state park in Colorado. In this role I enforce park rules and regulations throughout the day. As I am only a seasonal ranger and have not yet attended the police or ranger academies, I am only able to write citations for park related offenses such as dogs off leash, unauthorized camping, or unauthorized fires. While no day is “normal” in a park, my usual schedule consists of driving through the campgrounds, parking lots, and archery range first thing in the morning. During this patrol, I am checking vehicles for park passes, ensuring campers are in the correct sites and that there are no issues with their sites (unattended fires, vegetation damage, trash/food left out overnight, or water hookups that are frozen during colder days). At the archery range, I ensure that archers have the appropriate passes or permits to use our static range or 3D field range, are shooting safely, and not having broadheads on their arrows. Broadheads will destroy our targets much faster than field tips and as such, are not allowed on our ranges. After this morning patrol, my day becomes what I make of it! If I do not have any specific goals for the day, I will head over to our visitor center to assist our front desk staff in selling park passes, hunting licenses, campsite reservations, solving any problems that come up, and talking to our visitors about the park and surrounding area. If the weather is nice, I may hike or bike our trails to ensure trail users are following the park rules and regulations, answering any questions they may have about trails or resources in the park, or assisting visitors that may be having issues. I repeat this cycle two to four times a day depending on how busy we are or if there have been any issues lately. Twice a month, I go around the park and check out our game cameras. We use game cameras as well as security cameras to keep an eye on the park. Now while you may be thinking these cameras are for seeing what people do, several of our cameras are used to monitor potentially troublesome wildlife such as black bears and mountain lions! While mountain lions are very reclusive, black bears can become attracted and habituated to humans, especially when people leave our food and trash behind. If a black bear does become a nuisance by raiding our campgrounds, law enforcement rangers have the ability to discourage this behavior in a variety of ways to ensure the bear will return to a more natural daily routine. Since my park has a fairly small staff, I have the opportunity to perform tasks that would fall under the other types of park rangers so I will add my experiences after I discuss those positions in the next blog post!
My name is Xander and I am currently a seasonal park ranger at a state park in Colorado. Last year, I was a graduate assistant at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) STEM Center working on the YCITYSCI program. You might be curious how I ended up as a park ranger 800-miles away from home.
I began my route here by attending college, pursuing a degree in biology. When I began college, I did not have a good idea of what I wanted to do; I just knew I loved animals, the outdoors, and natural systems. While I was an undergraduate student, I had an internship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where I learned about how the Corps of Engineers managed the Mississippi, Missouri, and Kaskaskia Rivers around St. Louis. Upon completing this internship, I was able to explore my passion of working with rivers, streams, riparian areas, and the wildlife within them. I now knew working with the Corps of Engineers as a river scientist or manager would be my dream job but unfortunately, I was not qualified yet. After researching positions in the Corps of Engineers and applying several times without success, I looked into applying for graduate school to earn a masters degree and increase my chances of earning a position with the Corps of Engineers.
Although many of the universities in St. Louis offer master degrees, very few offer environmental science masters but SIUE does. I also learned that Dr. Adriana Martinez, who is a professor in Environmental Sciences at SIUE, studies rivers and human-river interactions. Her scientific research fit my interests, and I began working with her. While working with Dr. Martinez, I was offered the opportunity to work for the SIUE STEM Center as a graduate assistant. In this role, I created and implemented activities centered on environmental education. Working in education was not my main focus for a career, but I had always considered working in education. Despite this, I loved working as a graduate assistant, educating and mentoring students in the St. Louis Metro East, as well as SIUE undergraduate students in environmental sciences. During this time, I discovered my passion for education which became my focus for my future career, specifically in the natural resources realm.
Once I completed my degree, I moved to Colorado to begin my career! Unfortunately, I was unable to find a job for a few months. I used this time to build my educational skills by earning several certificates as well as volunteering with a couple of local natural resources organizations. The first certificate I earned after graduating was my Certified Interpretive Guide from the National Association for Interpretation. This certificate is something many park rangers have because we often use interpretation rather than education in developing interest in natural resources with our park visitors. Interpretation is the art of creating a connection between a person and the natural resources around them by showing them the meaning, importance, or beauty of a resource. The second certification I earned was the Leave No Trace Trainer, which enables me to educate visitors on the Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethic. Leave No Trace is a set of suggestions for recreating outdoors responsibly and to limit the impacts we expose nature to such as traveling on trails or taking our trash with us. The last certificate I earned is Wilderness First Aid from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). While this certificate is not necessarily required for a position in natural resources, it is a more extensive first aid training compared to the First Aid classes taught by Red Cross or American Heart Association.
While I was earning these certificates, I was also volunteering with a nature center and a trail restoration organization to develop my skills and gain experience that would help me find a job. At the nature center, I took care of the garden and worked as an interpreter, showing the park and our history to visitors. With the trail maintenance organization, I would work to restore trails to healthy conditions that protected the environment by reducing erosion. This work took several forms such as burying logs into the trail to drain water off of the trail or installing rock cobbling to protect the trail surface from erosion. These volunteer experiences enabled me to gain skills that would benefit me in my future career as a park ranger.
My first job here in Colorado came as a naturalist working with my city’s parks department. While the job description of a naturalist varies, in my role I developed and planned environmental education and interpretive programs and implemented them at schools and parks. The topics of these educational activities ranged from star-gazing, hiking, painting, watersheds, geology, and ecology. In addition to programming, I created social media posts to spread Leave No Trace ethics. Aside from these tasks, I assisted other park staff in managing and protecting their parks through cleaning up litter, assessing and clearing storm damage, and simply walking through their properties to educate and keep visitors safe. This position led me directly into my current position as a park ranger.
Working in a park means that I manage a wide variety of tasks, so my positions as a naturalist and park ranger may vary from other people’s experiences. As a park ranger, my duties include ensuring visitors are recreating responsibly and safely, have paid the appropriate fees to use the park, check that facilities, trails, and campgrounds are safe and in good condition. In addition to these tasks, I maintain the game cameras, archery range, equipment, and assist with maintenance and interpretation. This means, in one day I can go from patrolling our campgrounds in my truck, patrolling the archery range on foot, riding an ATV on the trail to find and clear fallen trees with chainsaws, digging holes to install a fireplace, working our front desk selling passes, and leading an educational or interpretive program all in the same day! Park rangers wear a lot of hats! My role as a park ranger is formally a law enforcement role, meaning I enforce the rules and regulations of the park with visitors such as camping without a permit, having an off-leash dog, starting fires in undesignated areas, or leaving a fire unattended. Fortunately for me, my park is relatively calm and I am able to take on other responsibilities which is the part of being a park ranger that I enjoy the most! As a park ranger, I am able to educate dozens of visitors a day on anything ranging from why certain rules exist, the best ways to perform a certain activity, what trails are good for hiking or biking, what animals or plants a visitor might see, as well as what other attractions are near the park where I work. I can also choose to spend a whole working day hiking or biking if I choose to! On these days, I am assessing trail conditions, and assisting visitors with directions, information, or aid if they are in distress. I get to enjoy all of these tasks while in the shadow of the mountains, watching animals such as coyotes, turkeys, mule deer, magpies, and ravens go about their business all day.
YCITYSCI 