British Ecological Society's Special Interest Group on Citizen Science, meeting held 2nd & 3rd July 2014 in Oxford

1. Katherine Mathieson
British Science Association
@kath_math

2. Citizen Science for Schools

3. The 3Rs of Citizen
Science for Schools
• Real
• Relevance
• ResourcesR

4. Benefits for students
• Raise motivation and
appetite for school
• Boosts learning (&
attainment) in science
• Broaden career aspirations
& strengthen science
identity
• Develop employability skills
e.g. leadership,
communication

5. Benefits for teachers
• Raise student
motivation & aspiration
• Raise your/your
department’s profile
within the school
• Raise your school’s profile locally/nationally
• Link to other school agendas e.g.
sustainability
• Support your (science) passions

6. Tips for researchers 1
• Involve teachers
• Be clear about the benefits to schools
• Dedicate resource to recruiting schools
• Identify a narrow
target audience –
or offer a range of
ways to
participate

7. Tips for researchers 2
• Don’t make assumptions about school IT
setups
• Keep school participants involved
• Use researchers as ambassadors

8. School networks

9. CREST projects in schools

10. National Science &
Engineering Week

11. Questions?
Katherine Mathieson
Director of Programmes
British Science Association
www.britishscienceassociation.org
Katherine.mathieson@britishscienceassociation.org
@kath_math