Promoting scientific literacy in evolution through citizen science

authored by: Miriam Brandt, Quentin Groom, Alexandra Magro, Dusan Misevic, Claire Louisa Narraway, Till Bruckermann, Anna Beniermann, Tom Børsen, Josefa Gonzalez, Sofie Meeus, Helen E. Roy, Xana Sá-Pinto, Jorge Roberto Torres, Tania Jenkins
Abstract: Evolutionary understanding is central to biology. It is also an essential prerequisite to understanding and making informed decisions about societal issues such as climate change. Yet, evolution is generally poorly understood by civil society and many misconceptions exist. Citizen science, which has been increasing in popularity as a means to gather new data and promote scientific literacy, is one strategy through which people could learn about evolution. However, despite the potential for citizen science to promote evolution learning opportunities, very few projects implement them. In this paper, we make the case for incorporating evolution education into citizen science, define key learning goals, and suggest opportunities for designing and evaluating projects in order to promote scientific literacy in evolution.
Organisation(s): Institute of Education
External Organisation(s): Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW)
Meise Botanic Garden
Universite Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3)
Earthwatch Europe
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Aalborg University
Universität Pompeu Fabra (UPF)
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
University of Aveiro
IPN - Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education at Kiel University
University of Geneva
Université de Paris
Type: Article
Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume: 289
Pages: 20221077
No. of pages: 1
ISSN: 0080-4649
Publication date: 10.08.2022
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all), Environmental Science(all), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all), Immunology and Microbiology(all)
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 13 - Climate Action
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.32942/osf.io/9atzb (Access: Open)
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1077 (Access: Open)