Osnat Atias, Ph.D. Student
I’m a PhD student jointly supervised by Prof. Ayelet Baram-Tsabari from the Technion, and Prof. Yael Kali from the University of Haifa. My research focuses on citizen science, a broad field of practice in which anyone can actively take part in scientific research and help advance science in various disciplinary domains. As a form of public engagement with science, citizen science bridges between science and non-scientists and supports the democratization of scientific data and knowledge.
My curiosity towards citizen science sparked as I started my doctoral studies in the Taking Citizen Science to Schools research center. Following my experience as a bioinformatics researcher, as well as a science teacher in schools, I was keen to integrate these two areas of interest and explore how citizen science can enhance both science education as well as scientific research efforts.
My research about citizen science in schools focuses on cases where schools and scientists form partnerships around citizen science projects, involving students in authentic, academia-level scientific research as part of their school curricula. Such partnerships challenge both schools and scientists as they interact across cultural boundaries and engage in activities outside of their usual domain of practice. I examine the relationships that are formed between the different partners – teachers, students and scientists – and the kinds of learning that occur within each of these participant groups.
Here is a list of my publications.
Projects
Building Mutualistic Partnerships Between Schools and Scientists
Relationships in Scientist-Teacher Partnerships Built Around Citizen Science Projects