Although citizen science practice originated in informal learning environments, its implementation in college classroom assignments provided us an opportunity to discern the effectiveness of citizen science experience on learning outcomes. We examined whether inclusion of a citizen science project in a college course can alter students’ interests. We deployed a 25-question survey to 270 undergraduate students enrolled in science elective course, 128 of whom responded to pre-post surveys. We used confirmatory factor analysis for three constructs: interest in science (8 items), interest in nature (7 items), and efficacy for science learning (4 items). Students also responded to questions about their ability in citizen science (3 items) and interest in insects (3 items).
Results/Conclusions
For each major, we found that students showed gains in interest in science and interest in nature, as well as ability in citizen science and interest in insects, with greatest gains among non-science majors. This work adds to emerging literature on citizen science in higher education, showcasing that participating in citizen science projects as part of a course can affect students’ interest, efficacy, and learning.