Engaging Students and Teachers as Community Scientists in DNA Barcoding Initiatives.

Abstract

Historically, contributions to scientific knowledge have been perceived as something that only professional scientists have the ability to affect. This has led to the belief that scientific pursuits are done not by everyday people but by individuals who have no connection to the communities that their discoveries might impact. DNA barcoding initiatives have the potential to bridge this gap. Community leaders, students, teachers, and other community members can come together with engaged scientists to solve relevant issues that affect them. Over the last 20years, DNA barcoding has been used successfully in a variety of educational contexts to incorporate original research into school curricula and informal outreach and education programs. DNA barcoding is especially suitable for educational settings because it is conceptually and technically straightforward, the workflow is adaptable to a variety of situations, and free and open-access online tools exist that allow participants to contribute high-quality data to international research efforts. DNA barcoding also offers a unique service-learning opportunity, where participants gain both knowledge and confidence in science. This is important because a growing body of evidence suggests that actively conducting research increases student and teacher engagement and retention of students in science. Here, we describe a framework and case studies in different educational settings that can be modeled and adapted to various educational contexts.