Connecting Scientists and Adult Leaders through Technology to Further Authentic Science Inquiry by Youth

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Master of Education - Environmental Education Degree in the College of Education and Human Service Professions, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2012. Committee names: Julie Ernst (Chair), Nathan Meyer, Helen Mongan-Rallis. This item has been modified from the original to redact the signatures present.This paper shares the results of a recent study exploring the preferences of potential adult leaders towards the use of internet technologies to support connections with professional scientists and facilitate authentic scientific inquiry among middle-school aged youth engaged in citizen science research. Using the University of Minnesota Extension‘s project, Driven to Discover: Authentic Inquiry through Citizen Science, as context for the study, the researcher interviewed licensed teachers and informal science educators to answer the research questions: 1. How do adult leaders describe the potential for using web-based technology as a means to achieve the scientist contribution to youth-based authentic science inquiry? 2. How do adult leaders perceive plans to develop a website to facilitate the ongoing relationship of scientists, adult leaders, and youth? What do they perceive as needs and barriers for using this planned website? What website characteristics would encourage them to use this planned website? Results suggest that participants see the potential for web resources to support inquiry work with youth and facilitate connections to scientists.University of Minnesota Duluth. College of Education and Human Service Profession