Citizen Science: By the People - Fall 2025 Course

Course Structure and Meeting Information 7-week fall term, September 15-October 31, 2025

This course is asynchronous over 7 weeks, with weekly coursework due dates.

Course Description

Unleash the power of collective discovery in "Citizen Science by the People," a dynamic 7-week asynchronous virtual course designed for those passionate about real-world scientific impact. This graduate-level offering invites you to actively participate in a transformative movement that is fundamentally reshaping scientific inquiry and community engagement.

In this immersive online experience, you will explore cutting-edge outdoor environmental science projects, ranging from pollinator monitoring and water quality investigations to marine mammal ecology and bioblitzes. The course will guide you to master the principles and priorities of community-based science, enabling you to collect rigorous, relevant data that directly contributes to ongoing research by scientists worldwide and locally.

Beyond practical skills, you will gain a deep understanding of citizen science's profound societal impact, recognizing its value for scientific advancement, environmental activism, and fostering robust community engagement. This course challenges the traditional view of science, revealing it as an accessible and vital pursuit that empowers individuals to influence critical real-world problems and policy decisions, and you will develop essential tools, plans, and strategies for implementing your own impactful community-based science projects.

Target Audience

• The course is specifically designed for formal and non-formal educators, park and museum interpreters, public lands staff and volunteers, and community leaders who are passionate about driving real-world scientific impact.

• Students must be 18 years old or older. International folks (outside of USA) are welcome to participate.

Course Prerequisite College reading and writing skills

Course Goals and Objectives:

In this class, students will:

• Learn the core principles and priorities of community-based science (CBS), engaging in the practice of scientific inquiry by collecting rigorous, relevant data for ongoing projects, and exploring how these initiatives fundamentally reshape scientific inquiry and community engagement.

• Evaluate and analyze diverse existing community-based science projects, including outdoor environmental science examples like pollinator monitoring and water quality investigations, and connect them to curriculum and educational standards for various audiences and grade levels, identifying projects appropriate for their specific contexts.

• Understand and articulate the profound value and societal impact of community-based science, recognizing its power as a tool for scientific advancement, environmental activism, and fostering robust community engagement. This involves recognizing science as an accessible and vital pursuit that empowers individuals to influence critical real-world problems and policy decisions and advocate for their local ecosystems.

• Develop essential tools, plans, and strategies for implementing rigorous and relevant community-based science projects within their own specific contexts, such as creating lesson plans or public programs.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1.     Understand and apply the principles and priorities of community-based science (CBS), engaging in the practice of scientific inquiry by collecting rigorous, relevant data for ongoing science projects, with a particular focus on cutting-edge outdoor environmental science initiatives such as pollinator monitoring and water quality investigations. This includes delving into how these projects fundamentally reshape scientific inquiry and community engagement.

2.     Evaluate and analyze diverse existing community-based science (CBS) projects, including local and global examples like pollinator monitoring, water quality investigations, marine mammal ecology, ocean debris tracking, and bioblitzes. Students will then connect these projects to curriculum and educational standards for diverse audiences and grade levels, and identify CBS projects and outcomes appropriate for their specific contexts.

3.     Articulate the profound value and societal impacts of community-based science (CBS) projects, recognizing how they benefit the global scientific community, local communities, activism, and broader community engagement. This comprehensive understanding includes recognizing science as an accessible and vital pursuit that empowers individuals to influence critical real-world problems and policy decisions.

4.     Develop essential tools, plans, and strategies for implementing rigorous and relevant community-based science projects within their own specific contexts. This empowers students to apply their learning to create impactful community-based science initiatives tailored to unique educational standards and needs.

Course Required Text

Science by the People, Participation, Power and the Politics of Environmental Knowledge 

by Aya H. Kimura and Abby Kinchy; New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press – 2019

-       May be available from your public library through inter-library loan (Prospector in Colorado)

Virtual Learning Hardware and Software - these tools will make your learning experience the most effective and pleasant:

• laptop or desktop computer

• smartphone to download citizen science project apps, collect and make observations, and submit data

• ability to learn how to use Canvas LMS to access the course and submit all assignments

• must create account at SciStarter.com to complete course assignments

Course Work and Assignment Deadlines

• Participants are sent email communication 1 week prior to the start of the course with directions for logging into the course canvas website.

• All course assignments are to be completed by their stated weekly deadlines. No coursework is accepted after the last day of the course.

• The course has weekly deadlines that are required that students meet. Assignments submitted after the due date and time will incur an automatic 10% deduction per day late. This is intended to keep the class discussing and engaged in the material together.

Optional – Zoom Meeting Chats

Join any or all informal discussions with peers and instructor

·      Sept. 23 at 4:00 pm MDT

·      Oct. 6 at 4:00 pm MDT

·      Oct. 14 at 12:00 pm MDT

Each Course Participant Receives

• Continuing Education Unit (CEU) Credits: Upon successful completion of the course with a grade of 80% or higher, each participant receives 30 hours of Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits directly from Wild Rose Education
  

• Optional Graduate Credit Hours Opportunity: Participants are offered the option to earn 2 graduate credit hours through Adams State University, although an additional fee of $55 per credit hour applies for these credits
  

• Access to the Learning Management System (LMS): Participants are enrolled through the LMS (Canvas), which provides access to all course content, weekly coursework, announcements, and learning resources
  

• Opportunity for Live Discussions: The course includes optional informal Zoom Meeting chats where participants can engage with peers and the instructor at scheduled times