Abstract

The excitement surrounding the April 8th, 2024, solar eclipse provided a unique opportunity to engage teachers and their students in citizen science through data collection and conducting research. GLOBE is one of many citizen science programs that asked participants to collect various environmental and atmosphere data during the eclipse. To help teachers successfully engage in eclipse citizen science, we offered an online workshop that supported teachers' certification as GLOBE educators. Over 60 educators from across the United States participated in the 5-week workshop. The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program encourages students, educators, and the public in general, to make observations of different aspects of our environment, following a series of protocols. These observations are submitted to the GLOBE database so that they can be used for research by anyone worldwide. During the 2024 GLOBE Eclipse workshop for U.S. Formal and Informal Educators, participants received training in the GLOBE Clouds, Air Temperature, and Surface Temperature protocols. Educators also collected air temperature and cloud cover data using the GLOBE Eclipse tool that is part of the GLOBE Observer app. Moreover, educators learned about different opportunities to engage their students in authentic research with GLOBE, as well as avenues to showcase that research. Educators were also guided in the creation of a research poster to document their own findings related to atmospheric changes during the solar eclipse in their locations. A survey indicated that finding ways to better use data in the classroom as well as becoming more adept at using the GLOBE Observer app were a major motivation for many teachers to participate in the webinar series. Furthermore, the webinar series boosted educators' confidence in engaging in science practices within their classrooms.

1. Introduction

The GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Program is an international science and education program that seeks to raise environmental awareness while promoting scientific literacy. GLOBE enables learners of all ages to learn about science by doing science, while being part of a global community of enthusiastic members that care about our planet. GLOBE resources, such as instructional activities, project templates, and webinars are designed to facilitate students’ learning of science practices and content. GLOBE learners collect Earth science data using GLOBE protocols and are encouraged to submit their data to the GLOBE database so that other members of the community, the public, or researchers can access and analyze the data. Students are encouraged to conduct science investigations through their own research projects and share their work through various GLOBE organized activities such as the International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS), U.S.-based in-person Student Research Symposiums (SRS), and student research reports published on the GLOBE website. 

The GLOBE Mission Earth project (GME), funded by NASA’s Science Activation, is a collaboration of GLOBE Partners who design and implement professional learning opportunities for educators, using GLOBE ‘citizen science’ (nonprofessional scientists contributing to science research) to support student science learning. The team has created Earth system learning progressions, pacing guides, and student poster templates to aid teachers using GLOBE to support student learning (The GLOBE Program, n.d.). GLOBE is a collaborative community, and GLOBE Mission Earth often partners with another GLOBE-related Science Activation project, NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative (NESEC), which leads the GLOBE Observer app and citizen science engagement. NESEC has led many GLOBE data challenges, engaging participants in data collection (Dodson et al., 2019; Dodson et al., 2022; Kohl et al., 2021; Low et al., 2021). In 2017, the NESEC team led the GLOBE Eclipse program and engaged thousands of participants in citizen science that included collecting atmospheric data related to the solar eclipse (Dodson et al., 2019). An event as special as a solar eclipse presents an extraordinary opportunity to turn people’s curiosity into authentic science discovery. Based on the overwhelming participation in the 2017 eclipse, our teams felt that participants would be interested and motivated to engage more deeply in the 2024 eclipse. Educators could use this unique experience to not only contribute to data collection but to build more advanced science learning and practice scientific reasoning in their learners. Therefore, GME and NESEC designed a 5-week GLOBE Eclipse workshop experience to advance the learning of educator participants and prepare them to support GLOBE student research in their own classrooms. 

2. GLOBE Project Supports for GLOBE Eclipse Workshop

The National Academies, “Learning through Citizen Science, Enhancing Opportunities by Design,” (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.,2018) report identified elements of citizen science projects that can be used to support learning including: 1. scientific context, 2. nature of participation, and 3. project infrastructure. It is important to note that it is through this context of GLOBE citizen science, that we designed the GLOBE Eclipse 5-week workshop series. 

1. Scientific Context: The focus of study for GLOBE Eclipse is to learn about atmospheric changes caused by eclipses. Educators learned about the scientific phenomenon of solar eclipses and engaged in scientific practices by investigating the phenomenon following scientific protocols, using scientific tools, analyzing their data, and sharing their results. The eclipse was an opportunity for authentic science discovery. Educators were motivated to see the local atmospheric effects of the solar eclipse both along and outside the path of the eclipse across the country.

2. Nature of Participation: Educators participated in a virtual 5-week workshop that included online live sessions once a week with training from science and education experts. Educators learned how to follow GLOBE protocols collecting atmospheric science data, conducted real-time data collection during the eclipse, and engaged in live dialogue with educator colleagues about their research findings. Educators self-selected to participate in the workshop experience. We relied on educators' interest in the eclipse to motivate them to commit to a 5-week long workshop and participate in all the activities to ultimately support communal learning. 

3. Project infrastructure: We leveraged many assets of GLOBE’s technological infrastructure including the GLOBE Observer app, online protocol documentation and eTraining, and the online research project upload portal. Our teams from GME and NESEC provided the project infrastructure and relied heavily on the US GLOBE Country Coordinators office to support participants in their account creation and certification process. 

Engaging in GLOBE by collecting authentic science data from your own place is an ideal way to enhance science learning. Volunteers are welcomed into the broader community of GLOBE and can see how their data contributions are combined to make a more complete picture of our environment. For example, GLOBE social media posts share cumulative results and data collection efforts, and NESEC hosts the GLOBE Observer Connects webinar series providing opportunities for volunteers to learn about the scientific discipline and the data the GLOBE community has collected. The 2024 GLOBE Eclipse effort actively started recruiting volunteer data contributors before the 2023 annular eclipse. We leveraged these activities and infrastructure to then recruit educators to collect and analyze data about the eclipse and present their findings.

3. GLOBE Eclipse Workshop Sequence to Support Learning

The learning objective of the GLOBE Eclipse 5-week workshop was to develop educators’ knowledge, skills, and confidence in conducting a GLOBE investigation so that the participants could then support their own students to do GLOBE investigations.  We also considered opportunities to engage both GLOBE novices and more experienced GLOBE participants. We found the description of the ‘kinds of learning in science’ from the Learning through Citizen Science report (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018) to be a helpful framework for thinking about each session’s objectives. The kinds of learning in science are:

A. learning disciplinary content

B. using scientific tools

C. understanding and working with data

D. developing motivation, interest, and identity

E. developing scientific reasoning, epistemological thinking, and an understanding of the nature of science 

The team intentionally designed the sequence of activities and resources for the workshop series with these learning objectives in mind. These kinds of learning do not need to happen in a sequential manner but rather the interaction among the science learning objectives is important. For example, often citizen science most directly supports learning disciplinary content and using scientific tools. These objectives were critical to GLOBE Eclipse, and we started the workshop series with this focus and weaved in additional science learning throughout the five weeks. Table 1 provides a summary of the workshop activities and alignment of the learning focus for each live session. 

Table 1. GLOBE Eclipse Workshop Agenda

(Kinds of Learning: A. learning disciplinary content; B. using scientific tools; C. understanding and working with data; D. developing motivation, interest, and identity; E. developing scientific reasoning, epistemological thinking, and an understanding of the nature of science)

Starting in March 2024, over 60 formal and informal educators throughout the United States joined the 5-week GLOBE Eclipse workshop series. Participants were encouraged to follow a series of activities asynchronously, in addition to attending the five live meetings. The first session addressed disciplinary content and using scientific tools. Educators were provided an overview of key features of Earth’s atmosphere and were trained in the GLOBE Clouds protocol. They learned how to make sky observations, estimate cloud cover, and identify different types of clouds. The following week’s session expanded science content, introduced more scientific tools, and covered practices related to the air temperature protocol. During this session, educators learned more about eclipses as well as how to use the GLOBE Eclipse Tool available in the GLOBE Observer app (Figure 1).

While we believe educators came to this session with a strong interest in the eclipse, this session was also designed to further their interest and motivate them specifically to collect data during the time surrounding the eclipse. Educators were encouraged to practice using the relevant scientific tools to be prepared to collect both clouds and air temperature data on the day of the solar eclipse. At the third session, the workshop participants were trained in the GLOBE Surface Temperature protocol and learned more about how GLOBE observations are used for scientific research. During the fourth workshop session, we shifted from more proximal learning objectives to more distal ones, and we focused on deepening science practices, increasing motivation of educators to participate in GLOBE Eclipse investigations, and building their scientific reasoning skills. The educators learned about several opportunities for students to showcase their GLOBE research, such as GLOBE IVSS, regional SRS, the GLOBE Annual Meeting, and the GLOBE Mission Earth Student Report webpage. They heard from a former teacher about what it took to support this level of science practice and reasoning with students and why it was valuable. We also watched videos of student and teacher testimonials. To deepen the educators' own science practice skills, we developed a data collection spreadsheet and research poster template (Figure 2) that were designed to support the educators in quickly analyzing their data and sharing their results. During this fourth session, the educators received instructions on how to use and adapt both templates to collect and analyze data for their own research on April 8. 

Two days after eclipse, the educators came together for the fifth and final workshop session to work in breakout groups and complete their research projects. An example of the research poster completed by one of the educators is shown on Figure 3. During this session many educators shared their eclipse day experiences and talked about the atmospheric data that they had collected with their students. Through small group discussion, the educators also worked to support each other's scientific reasoning addressing data analysis, claims and evidence, and future research. While the participating educators were in different locations inside and outside the path of totality, they were all able to observe changes in the atmosphere during the eclipse. Many educators observed a decrease in air temperature, some reported cloud cover changes, and others reported a decrease in surface temperature. A few of them also reported changes in animal behavior. 

4. GLOBE Eclipse Workshop Outcomes and Impacts

To measure the outcomes and impact of the workshop, the external evaluation team for NESEC at Oregon State University, developed and disseminated a short survey aimed at gathering attendees' reasons for attending the webinar series, degree of preparation to collect data during the eclipse, tasks they completed using the GLOBE Observer app, and their confidence in conducting Earth science research, including with their students. The survey was shared with participants at the conclusion of the final webinar. Thirty-nine attendees started the survey with 30 completing all the questions. We analyzed the data from the 30 who completed the survey.

Reasons for Participating in Webinar Series

The most frequent reason for attending the webinar series was to get more experience using the GLOBE observer app, which was mentioned by all participants. That reason was followed by interest in how they could use data in their teaching (frequency = 27), sharing interest in eclipses with their students (frequency = 18), that the eclipse was occurring in their area, and they wanted to include the eclipse in their teaching (frequency = 15), and that eclipses were part of their regular instruction (frequency = 9).

Preparation to Use the GLOBE app and Collect Data

We used a series of Net Promoter Score (NPS) questions to gauge how well-prepared educators felt to use the GLOBE Observer app, collect temperature data, and share safety and content information about the eclipse (Table 2). Respondents rated their degree of preparation on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being not prepared and 10 being very prepared. We report results in three ways: first by calculating an average value for all responses. Second, using a scale that separates the data into promoters (scores of 9-10 representing those who feel strongly about their preparation), passive (scores of 7-8 representing those who have some reservations about their preparation), and detractors (scores 6 and less indicating a low degree of feeling that they are prepared). The third score is called the Net Promoter Score and is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. We rate Net Promoter Scores using the following scale: 70-100 Excellent; 30-70 Great; 0-30 Good; and 0-(-100) Needs Improvement.

Teachers felt most prepared to share safety information about viewing the eclipse and about why total eclipses occur. They were also confident about using the two app protocols GLOBE Eclipse and GLOBE Clouds during the eclipse. Teachers reported they were least prepared to take surface temperature measurements.

Table 2. Results from Net Promoter Score Questions (n=30)

*NPS = Net Promoter Score (% promoters - % detractors)

Tasks Completed Using the GLOBE Observer app During or After Eclipse

Twenty-five of the 30 respondents collected data during the total eclipse while 17 submitted this data to the GLOBE website. Sixteen participants downloaded the data they collected and four downloaded other people’s data that was collected during the eclipse.

Confidence in Earth Science Research Practices

We asked educators four questions about their confidence in Earth science research practices: developing research questions, guiding student research, helping students create scientific posters, and helping students submit a research project to a virtual symposium. We used a current-retrospective format where we asked about their current confidence in these skills after the webinar series and retrospectively before the webinar series. We asked educators to rate their confidence on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being not confident and 5 being very confident.

Figure 4 shows the average values for the 30 respondents. The vertical axis represents the confidence values. The data between 3 and 4 represent the average values for respondents prior to the webinar series while the data between 4 and 5 represent average values for each area after the webinar series. For each of the Earth science research practices, educators indicated they had higher confidence in their ability to engage in those tasks after having participated in the webinar series. 

5. Discussion of Survey Results

Survey results indicate that many webinar participants participated in the webinar series to increase their use of data in their classroom instruction with 90% of survey respondents indicating that finding ways to better use data in their classroom was a major motivation to take the webinar series. The webinar series was also successful in providing learning opportunities for educators to become more adept at using the GLOBE Observer app. One way this is shown is by the high NPS scores when respondents were asked to rate their preparation to use the app. This is also reflected in the fact that over 83% of the respondents reported collecting data with the GLOBE Observer app during the eclipse. Respondents reported lower confidence regarding taking surface temperature measurements. This makes sense as within the GLOBE Eclipse tool users are asked to observe clouds and make air temperature observations, not surface temperature. Surface temperature measurements also require instrumentation that most people do not have, an infrared thermometer. While the workshop had a session on surface temperature, we would need to work further with teachers to practice collecting this data. A promising survey result is the increase in confidence related to respondents using the Earth science practices. Clearly, the webinar on Earth science practices was effective in boosting educator confidence in engaging in science practices within their classrooms. Additional evidence of the positive impact and success of the workshop series is represented by the fact that educators from Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont published their research posters on the GME Student Research webpage (Figure 3).

The National Academies report on citizen science outlines five kinds of science learning including learning specific content, using science tools and practices, working with data, the importance of motivation, interest and identity, and issues around scientific reasoning, epistemology, and nature of science. Our survey data shows that teachers who attended the webinar series were confident in sharing content knowledge about the eclipse. Further, teachers who completed the webinar had high confidence in using the GLOBE app protocols and showed an increase in confidence in developing research questions and helping their students complete research projects therefore attending to the goal of using science tools and practices.

 6. Conclusions

A solar eclipse is a fascinating event that can engage learners of all ages in learning about science by doing science. In addition, we believe that the success of the webinar series was, in part, driven by our adherence to the design principles as outlined in the Learning by Citizen Science framework (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018).  For example, one of the principles is to be intentional with learning opportunities, which we practiced through the strong correlation between webinar topics and the data that teachers and their students would collect during the total eclipse. Our survey data shows that teachers were well prepared to collect data and share knowledge of the eclipse, which reflects on the intentionality of the webinar series. We also leveraged the unique opportunity afforded by the total eclipse events to engage the teachers in the webinar series and then subsequently collecting, analyzing, and presenting data. This practice is consistent with the second design principle that involves taking advantage of “unique opportunities for learning associated with citizen science” (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). By using GLOBE protocols, the GLOBE eclipse tool of the GLOBE Observer app, and data collection and research poster templates, educators from across the United States and their students experienced the solar eclipse of April 8 in a very meaningful way that built their learning in science. Engaging in authentic and relevant GLOBE citizen science proved to be an effective way for educators to gain confidence and increase science skills.

Acknowledgements

This project is based upon work supported by the NASA Science Activation program under the NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative cooperative agreement, award #NNX16AE28A, as well as by GLOBE Mission EARTH cooperative agreement, award #NNX16AC54A. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.