Stimulating Curiosity and Engagement with Insects Beyond the College Classroom Through Citizen Science

Abstract

Many professional entomologists were first introduced to the study of insects through a college biology course, yet little work has been published demonstrating effective means of stimulating curiosity and engagement with insects beyond such first exposures. At many small liberal arts colleges, a single introductory course in entomology or invertebrate biology may be all that is offered. This limitation increases a need to understand effective pedagogies that stimulate further engagement of students. Undergraduate research experiences are particularly effective at stimulating the pursuit of graduate programs in science-related fields post-graduation (Lopatto 2007). While we often perceive research experiences to be grounded behind a lab bench, course-based undergraduate research experiences can also promote continued engagement with science (reviewed in Corwin et al. 2015). However, instructors of introductory courses are often limited in time and resources, making facilitation of such experiences difficult. Thus, engagement in authentic research—one of the more effective tools for developing future scientists—is often precluded from a venue where future entomologists are likely to be birthed: the introductory college classroom. Integrating citizen science into introductory science courses may be one means of addressing this issue (Vitone et al. 2016), and can be a win-win for students, instructors, and researchers. Citizen science can be defined as “the active engagement of the public in scientific research projects to address real-world problems” (Wiggins and Crowston 2011). A slight modification of this definition is well-suited for student learning …