Students learning about science by investigating an unfolding pandemic: Data & Analysis Files

This study explored the COVID-19 pandemic as a context for learning about the role of science in a global health crisis. In Spring 2020, when New York City was the epicenter of the pandemic, we worked with a high school teacher to design and implement a unit on human brain and behavior science. The unit guided her 17 students in creating studies that explored personally-relevant questions about the pandemic to contribute to a citizen science platform.<br><br>Our research questions were:<br>What impact did students’ participation have on their science learning activation, citizen science agency, and science identities?How do students use science inquiry to make sense of their experiences in the pandemic? What are students’ views of the role of science in a public health crisis? What are students’ and their teacher’s experiences engaging in inquiry on a crisis that is currently impacting them?Pre/post surveys, student artifacts, and student and teacher interviews showed increases in students’ fascination with science—a driver of engagement and career preference—and sense of agency as citizen scientists. Students approached science as a tool for addressing their pandemic-related concerns, but were hampered by the challenges of remote schooling. These findings highlight both the opportunities of learning from a global crisis, and the need to consider how that crisis is still impacting learners.<br><br>The data shared here relate to the quantitative analyses conducted on students' pre and post surveys, which mainly address Research Question 1.