Today was the first day of our internships as Students Discover Kenan Fellows – and it rocked. Starting out at Prairie Ridge Ecostation allowed the whole group to get to know each other and to talk about our expectations for the next few weeks (years?). After hearing from each other and various grant and project managers we got to try out citizen science for ourselves.
And that’s when it happened. Science. Boom.
Just like that. Seriously. One minute we were a group of adults calmly reading about, discussing, and observing dragonflies and the next we were 5-yr-old, curiosity driven adventurers. We were off around the pond chasing dragonflies, all trying to identify them as we went. Conversations about the best technique and location were heard along the shore and group roars went up as some were victorious in their hunt. This is where one of the most amazing things happened.
Our week at NCCAT began to shine through.
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t seemed as if there were no individuals surrounding the pond. As person after person caught dragonflies, groups gathered to share in the experience. Pats on the back were shared as the dragonfly was shown and passed around the group. In the setting, it would have been easy for the event to end up a competition. As I reflect on the day, something our post-doc, Dr. Terry ‘Bucky’ Gates, said at dinner about visiting classrooms last year.
He said that, as students were finding shark teeth, they began to race each other. They lost the purpose behind the activity. They had to be told to slow down and communicate their findings and show each other. It got me thinking about our trip to NCCAT and all the team building we did there. Did that have an effect on how we approached the dragonfly activity with such supportive and open attitudes?
At most levels, science is not about who gets it first or who gets how many – its about furthering communal understanding of the world around us. As we work on our product, I plan to keep this idea in mind – that team building and bonding between students is an integral part of the collaborative process. Its one that often gets overlooked in the rush of lesson planning and test prep.
But for citizen science to happen….boom…teamwork is a must.
