Browsing by Author "Blair, Robert"

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    Citizen Science Sparks Independent Scientific Investigations
    (University of Minnesota Extension, 2012-10) Strauss, Andrea; Oberhauser, Karen; Nippolt, Pamela; Blair, Robert; Meyer, Nathan
    Citizen Science programs across the country invite the public to participate in scientific research. Through these experiences, participants learn scientific data collection protocols and have opportunities to observe nature, which naturally leads to asking questions about the natural world. A new project in Minnesota is training leaders of youth groups to use citizen science experiences to stimulate curiosity and inspire motivation to design and carry out scientific research projects. The poster will describe the experimental program model and methods used to foster authentic inquiry in youth age 10-14 outside the traditional school setting, such as 4-H clubs, scout groups, or community youth programs. Formative evaluation results show that the program model leads to changes in skills, attitudes and behaviors of both youth and adult participants.
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    Grounding a Program Theory to Enable Authentic Inquiry Through Citizen Science
    (University of Minnesota Extension, 2013-10) Meyer, Nathan; Nippolt, Pamela; Strauss, Andrea; Oberhauser, Karen; Blair, Robert
    Extension programs are well-suited to provide youth and adults with exposure to science. However, designing programs to fully engage participants in deeper experience with science practice is a complicated challenge. Grounded theory is one research approach that Extension staff can use to explicate these program models. The Driven to Discover: Enabling Student Inquiry through Citizen Science project (D2D), funded by the National Science Foundation, demonstrates potential for using grounded theory to identify factors that provoke authentic inquiry by youth-adult research teams using citizen science experiences. Through a deductive coding approach, researchers are analyzing data from project participants to build understanding of elements that worked well and challenged the citizen science research teams. Preliminary analysis has identified 14 themes that describe important design elements across categories of the setting and situation for the program, program design and structure, and team characteristics. Relationships among these themes also highlight interconnections among setting, program, and participants.