Towards citizen science-inspired learning activities: the co-design of an exploration tool for teachers following a human-centred design approach

Abstract

The integration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) activities into formal education is encouraged by policy makers to promote engineering and science studies among young people. Studies show that students would be more motivated if they connected STEM learning with real-world problems. We sought to understand how teachers used information about citizen science (CS) projects to promote knowledge connected to real-world problems. Our goal was to understand the design implications of a digital tool that could inspire teachers to create learning activities focused on real-world problems using data from CS projects and SDGs. This study described how we involved key stakeholders in the tool’s co-design process (N = 135). Results showed that key tool functionalities were optimised in the following sequence: search bar, filter(s), graphs and maps, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), real problems and CS project information, educational resources and links to other websites.