Mainstreaming Citizen Science in the Classroom

Citizen science presents numerous advantages for formal education by enhancing learning, enriching the educational process, and fostering a deeper connection between students and scientific concepts. Despite the exponential growth of citizen science for the advancement of scientific research, integrating citizen science into formal education faces challenges related to curriculum adaptation, time constraints, accessibility and logistics. This chapter discusses these challenges from the point of view of both teachers and citizen science project leaders and offers a nuanced strategy for making citizen science more accessible and adaptable for teachers. The proposed approach for mainstreaming citizen science in the classroom involves three solutions: moderation, co-creation, and simplification. These solutions, when implemented together, can achieve maximum effectiveness. A moderation layer provides essential support for running projects in educational settings, collaboration and co-creation tailor projects to meet educational and scientific goals, and simplification enhances accessibility within diverse curricular and logistical constraints. This approach not only eases the burden on individual teachers but also enhances the overall effectiveness and accessibility of citizen science initiatives in educational contexts.