Spark STEM Mindset with Participatory Science

Participatory science is people-powered science! It is science done by regular people, including K-12 students, using basic scientific protocols to make observations or analyze data. Professional scientists rely on these data for understanding everything from ants to zebras and on a scale from cells to the universe. These data enables scientists to explore questions previously out of reach, leading to groundbreaking discoveries. Today, millions of global participants share billions of observations every year.

Using participatory science in the classroom offers numerous benefits by:

Connecting students to broader scientific efforts and allowing them to contribute data for real-world problem-solving and discovery, which can ignite their enthusiasm for science.
Creating local and global connections between students and the natural world.
Practicing communication and collaboration, which are two of the NGSS key skills to develop scientific literate students.

Getting Ready

To engage in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s participatory science projects, it is best if your students can comfortably identify several local birds. If they need practice in identifying birds, use the Bird ID Spark Guide to build their bird identification skills prior to engaging in this participatory science project.
Create a Cornell Lab of Ornithology account, if you don’t already have one.
If you want to learn more about eBird, take the free, online eBird Essentials course.
Identify the area you’ll take your students birding and can conduct a stationary count (one where you stay in the same spot the whole time you are birding, rather than walking as you bird).
Cue the You Can Do Participatory Science video.
Cue the Introduction to eBird video. For younger students, you may chose to skip this video or you may want to stop the video at 1:36
Gather materials
- Either devices with the Merlin Bird ID app or field guides
- Tally sheets, pencils, and clipboards for the bird observations
- Binoculars, if available
Cue the eBird website to submit your count.
Cue the eBird live submission map.

Spark Activity: Go Birding for Science

Introduce Participatory Science and eBird

Share the You Can Do Participatory Science video to introduce your students to the concept of participatory science. Once the video is finished ask students to describe in their own words what participatory science is. For older students, have them write out their definitions and then ask a few to share their definitions. For younger students, work together as a class to develop a working definition. Share with your students that now they get to engage in participatory science, helping scientists gather data to answer big questions! Play the Introduction to eBird video so they understand the project that they are collecting for.

Divide your students into the pairs or groups they will be working in. Provide them with either the Merlin Bird ID app or field guides, tally sheets, pencils, clipboards, and binoculars (if available). Remind them of any guidelines you have for outdoor learning, how long you’ll count birds, and that observations include both seeing and hearing birds.

Let them know the best practices for counting birds for eBird (see this FAQ for more details). Because you are conducting a stationary count, let them know that they’ll write down the species name and keep track of the greatest number of birds observed at one time. The reason for recording the greatest number at one time is so that birds are not double-counted. eBird wants the best estimate for the number of individual birds identified. For example: If I see a Blue Jay and count it during the first minute of observing, then I see another Blue Jay at 3 minutes in the same area, I assume that the Blue Jay is the same bird rather than counting two Blue Jays. However, if I see two Blue Jays at the same time – one up on a branch and another flying between trees, then I record two Blue Jays. The same is true for birds that students observe through sound. If they can distinctly hear two birds, record two but if they hear a song, then there’s a pause, and then they hear the song again from the same general area, they will count only one bird.

We recommend the following guidelines to have a successful observation period.

Bird in the same general area and give each group some space to talk quietly among their group without disturbing others.
Make sure you keep track of the amount of time and total number of students. Have each group record the time they start observing and stop observing on their tally sheet.
Give students at least 10 minutes to make observations but if they are engaged and you are able, extend this time to get them excited about birds and collecting data.

Submit Your Class Observations to eBird

After the bird count is complete, summarize all the students’ data into a single count that you will submit to eBird. To summarize everyone’s observations, start by asking one group to name one species and the number of birds they observed. Ask the other groups if they observed that bird and how many birds they observed. If most observed the species and the same number, pick a new group and repeat the process with the next group. If there is not a consensus on the species or number, work with your class to come to a consensus (see Submit an Accurate Count section). Then continue tallying the species and number of birds identified, until no new birds can be added. Now you’re ready to submit your list to eBird.

To submit your observations to eBird, sign into your account and then follow these steps on the eBird website:

Enter the state in “Find it on a Map” box, which will load a map.
In the “Zoom To:” box at the top of the map, enter the location’s street address. And the map will bring up that location.
Zoom into the location, placing the mouse at the location where you went birding, and then click. This places a marker on the map and you’ll be asked to “Enter Location Name” to the right of the box. For example, you’ll use “Kipps Elementary Schoolyard”. Click continue.
Record your Observation Date and Observation Type on the next screen. You’ll choose stationary (assuming you all stayed in the same general area and you didn’t walk around much).
Answer the questions of Start Time, Duration, and Party Size. Click Continue.
Then you’ll start entering the birds you observed. The list is arranged by family and you can scroll down the page or to the right of the list, you can start typing in the bird name and pick it when it comes up and the page will jump to your bird. Then enter the number observed by the class (see Submit an Accurate Count box).
Once all birds have been added to the list, answer the question: “Are you submitting a complete checklist of the birds you were able to identify?”. Usually, the answer to this is Yes. If you’re not sure, click on the “?” next to the buttons.
As soon as you click the Submit button, toggle over to the Live Submission Map to see your location light up.

CONGRATULATIONS! You and your class have just engaged in a participatory-science project. The data you submitted now goes into a global database where anyone can use your data to answer questions. To learn more about the science being done with eBird data observations explore the eBird Science website.

Submit an Accurate Count

If all the groups observed American Crows but one group observed 4, another group observed 5, and a different group observed 3, use your judgment to choose which count to accept. We recommend taking the average. If, however, one group has listed drastically more birds than you or other groups saw, investigate it further by asking questions such as: “When in the count did you observe them?” “Did everyone in the group observe that many or just one person?” “Where in the sample area did you observe them?” You may still want to choose the conservative estimate. Remember, eBird wants the most accurate information not the highest number. Another example is this: If students keep observing an American Robin fly back and forth from the same spot, it’s likely the same American Robin. So you’ll only count it once, not the five times it flew to and from the same spot.

Keep it Going: Using Real-World Science Questions to Inspire Student Investigations

While participatory science can help scientists answer big questions, it can also spark student questions and investigations. To further develop their science skills, nurture their curiosity, and guide them through their own investigations, download the Students as Scientists resource. This grade-banded resource offers lessons, slides, and handouts designed to help your students ask and answer their own questions, making authentic science accessible in your classroom. Students will explore the science process, from making observations, posting questions to the Wonder Wall, to data analysis and sharing results.

Like eBird, other participatory-science projects offer a structured introduction to scientific research and are a great way for students to explore their interests. If studying birds is not for your students, hundreds of other projects can spark students’ curiosity. Scistarter.org offers a searchable database of participatory science projects; you can search by grade level, location, and topic to find the right project for your students.