Teaching a Citizen Science Project in High School

On a sunny day in the fall of 2024, I was surrounded by what’s best described as controlled chaos.

After 30 minutes of reviewing the protocols for collecting and recording data about Pacific mole crabs, groups of students from my AP biology class were stationed along a transect of beach, each member occupied with a task. Some students collected core samples near the water, while others ran the samples from the water to their classmates, who recorded data farther up the beach.

Citizen science projects are typically outdoors and involve local community members who gather data that scientists use for their own scientific research and knowledge. Active participation in a citizen science project helps students develop their critical thinking and scientific literacy skills, which in turn allows them to make informed decisions about their health and the environment. These experiences also teach students lab skills and connect back to the content they’ve been learning in the classroom. 

Ultimately, my first time partnering with a local citizen science program was a wonderful experience, and my students enjoyed their citizen science foray as well. Many of them expressed that they hadn’t realized how much wildlife can be found in urban areas (I teach AP biology in a city on the West Coast).

I’m pursuing additional partnerships with citizen science programs this school year, and am doing so having considered solutions to some of the challenges my class and I encountered during our first go-round. Details on how to implement a citizen science project at the high school level—and how to address various challenges—are explained below, so that other high school teachers can try out citizen science while providing students with an enriching, stress-free experience.

Tips on Getting Started

At the beginning of the 2024–25 school year, I decided to look for a citizen science project for my AP biology class. I felt that my students were disconnected from the coastal environment where our school is located and that a hands-on assignment would fit in nicely with our curriculum. My school district sends out a newsletter for high school science teachers every month, and I saw an advertisement for a local citizen science program called LiMPETS, which is organized and run by the Greater Farallones Association.

Since it was my first time partnering with the LiMPETS program, I participated in a mandatory LiMPETS teacher training session held at the Greater Farallones Association headquarters. Although the teacher training was a whole-day commitment, it was very fun and useful. During the training, LiMPETS coordinators gave teachers an overview of pre-trip lessons for two projects: surveying Pacific mole crabs, and surveying invertebrate and algal species. After a morning of lesson overviews, everyone went outside to practice data-collection procedures for their chosen project (I went with the Pacific mole crabs assignment). The training concluded with a Pacific mole crab dissection, which is an optional project extension for students.

After completing the training session, I incorporated the Pacific mole crabs project into my fall lesson plan. It called for taking students to a local beach, meeting up with an environmental educator, and co-supervising students while they collected and recorded data about Pacific mole crabs—an important indicator species along the Pacific coast.

I scheduled two pre-trip lessons (led by the environmental educator) that gave students background information about what we would do, went through my school’s field trip approval procedures, and handed out permission slips to be signed by my student’s guardians.

Center Students’ Interests

I thought I had arranged an ironclad plan of action, but I’d missed something crucial: I hadn’t gotten students involved in choosing the project. Most of my AP biology students are interested in studying medicine when they get to college and don’t envision themselves doing field research. Some students were excited because they viewed the project as an opportunity to hang out with friends and take a break from regular classes. Others were lukewarm because they did not enjoy being outside, especially on a warm and windy day.

I recommend structuring the project selection process by asking students to vote on a few possibilities that you’ve already examined. If you want the selection process to be even more student-centered, ask students to research community-based conservation concerns and have them report back. Afterward, the class works together and picks a project idea that you (and a local citizen science program) deem as doable.

This school year, I informed my students that our class will be choosing a citizen science project to complete during the spring semester. In November, students will start their research into local conservation issues. By the start of spring semester in January, we will have compiled a list of projects to vote on.

Don’t Assume What Will Happen

Another lesson I learned: Not all students enjoy being outside. I grew up with a love of being outdoors, but I shouldn’t have assumed that all of my students feel the same. In reality, some students were afraid of touching the mole crabs (an essential part of the data collection process)—and any other wildlife, for that matter. Other students hesitated to take their shoes off on the beach and didn’t want to sit in the sand, which they viewed as getting “dirty.”

At the time, I didn’t realize that a textural aversion to sand might cause some discomfort for neurodivergent students. While students were informed during the pre-trip lessons that the data-collection process required collecting core samples of sand and then using their hands and a bucket of water to separate out the sand crabs, only a few students indicated an aversion to touching the crabs. Those students were given the role of data recorder. Students who expressed an aversion to the sand or getting dirty were not asked to take their shoes off and were given the option of acting as a “runner”—someone who carried the core samples from the water’s edge to the group processing samples above the high-tide mark. Unfortunately, sand still got everywhere, in part because it was a windy day.

To avoid similar outcomes, I’ve adjusted my approach. I want to help students gain confidence and be prepared for the outdoors, so I’m steering my class toward smaller outdoor learning opportunities on or near our school campus. For example, we have walked a couple of blocks to a local park and practiced observational skills via nature journaling. As the school year progresses, we’ll build toward our larger, more involved citizen science project.

Keep Safety in Mind

I thought that because we weren’t getting into deep water (the water was up to students’ ankles and lower calves when they were sampling), I didn’t need to ask students if they knew how to swim. I was wrong! On the day of the project, the assisting environmental educator raised that very question to students. After they all responded, I quickly rearranged roles and also kept a much closer eye on students near the water during core sample collection.

While everyone was fine, I sensed that some students might not have enjoyed the activity because they were uncomfortable. It was another important lesson: It’s not enough to just know my students’ scientific and environmental interests. It’s also vital to have a solid grasp of my students’ outdoor recreational experiences, so I can use that information to help them figure out roles that make them feel safe and included.

For this school year, I’ve taken additional safety measures and precautions. Prior to any outdoor trip, students are thoroughly briefed on what to prepare for regarding weather, attire, and facilities like bathrooms or water fountains. For our citizen science project in the spring, students will be filling out questionnaires about their comfort level with relevant outdoor recreation activities, as well as their preferred project roles. Our school also requires adult chaperones to attend any trips off of school grounds (one chaperone for every 10 students). Instead of having chaperones passively observe, I plan to meet with chaperones prior to the trip to go over safety precautions as well as project procedures, so that they can actively assist students in the data-collection process.