Journal of Biological Education

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ICT tools and citizen science: a pathway to

promote science learning and Education for
Sustainable Development in schools

Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz, Ibone Ametzaga-Arregi & Igone Palacios-Agundez

To cite this article: Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz, Ibone Ametzaga-Arregi & Igone Palacios-Agundez
(18 Jul 2022): ICT tools and citizen science: a pathway to promote science learning and
Education for Sustainable Development in schools, Journal of Biological Education, DOI:
10.1080/00219266.2022.2092192

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2022.2092192

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JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL EDUCATION
https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2022.2092192

ICT tools and citizen science: a pathway to promote science

learning and Education for Sustainable Development in schools
a,b
Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz , Ibone Ametzaga-Arregib,c and Igone Palacios-Agundez a,b

a
Department of Mathematics, Experimental and Social Sciences Education, University of the Basque Country UPV/
EHU, Leioa/Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; bUNESCO Chair on Sustainable Development and Environmental Education of the
University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, Spain; cDepartment of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of
the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Spain

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The sustainability challenges facing humankind make necessary the con­ ICT tools; citizen science (CS);
vergence of Science Education (SE) and Education for Sustainable schools; Science Education
Development (ESD). Science learning and ESD requires the adoption of (SE); Education for
Sustainable Development
student-centred transformative teaching methods that promote values
(ESD)
and critical thinking. This article explores the role of citizen science (CS) as
an educational tool that could contribute in such transformative teaching.
Innovative ICT tools that enable teachers to more easily engage their
pupils in CS-based activities tailored to their local environment and teach­
ing objectives have been developed and implemented in eight case
studies, involving 214 students and seven teachers from three schools in
Greece, the United Kingdom, and Spain. The results showed that: a) the
CS-based educational initiatives contributed to improving natural science
learning and represented progress in the development and integration of
students’ competencies for sustainability; b) the developed ICT tools
increased students’ interest and motivation; c) versatile ICT tools and
platforms for teachers’ co-working can contribute to the inclusion of CS
in the curriculum and thereby to the inclusion of ESD in schools. We
conclude that such educational initiatives can contribute to the conver­
gence of SE and ESD and help students develop global skills, preparing
them for 21st century sustainability challenges.

Introduction
Education is important in developing awareness of how to preserve natural ecosystems and
promote sustainable development (Wennersten et al. 2020). Not surprisingly, UNESCO has
identified Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as a key factor in the achievement of
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To ‘transform our world’ (United Nations 2015), the
inclusion of ESD in the school curriculum (UNESCO 2014, 2021) and its convergence with
Science Education (SE) are needed (Wals et al. 2014). Furthermore, to be transformative, education
requires the adoption of active teaching methods that move away from traditional lectures to more
student-centred teaching that promotes values and critical thinking (Biasutti and Frate 2017; Dillon
2016; Freeman et al. 2014; Makrakis and Kostoulas-Makrakis 2012). According to Freeman et al.
(2014) active learning increases student performance in science, engineering and mathematics.
Additional evidence suggests that educational institutions should consider active teaching and
learning for promoting academic achievement and positive student attitudes (Wieman 2014).

CONTACT Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz [email protected]

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2022.2092192
© 2022 Royal Society of Biology
2 G. RODRÍGUEZ-LOINAZ ET AL.

Furthermore, the use of student-centred active teaching and learning strategies may be considered
as key pedagogical approaches for ESD (Lozano et al. 2017). In fact, Monroe et al. (2019) identified
two aspects common to most environmental education interventions: (1) focusing on personally
relevant and meaningful information and (2) using active and engaging teaching methods.
Citizen Science (CS) can play an important role in such active and transformative teaching.
Indeed, CS may be an interesting pedagogical tool, that can contribute to the convergence of SE and
ESD (Wals et al. 2014; Dillon 2016), with the potential to integrate many non-traditional com­
plementary approaches, moving into a deeper, and more experiential learning (DITOs Consortium
2019). There are different definitions of CS (Kullenberg and Kasperowski 2016), but it can be
broadly defined as ‘the general public engagement in scientific research activities when citizens
actively contribute to science either with their intellectual effort or surrounding knowledge or with
their tools and resources’ (Socientize 2013). Because of technological advances, there has been
a significant increase in CS activity in recent years (Science Europe 2018). As CS has increased, the
United Nations has acknowledged the role of this scientific practice for the SDGs (Shulla et al.
2020). On the one hand, CS can contribute significantly towards the monitoring of the SDGs
(Quinlivan, Chapman, and Sullivan 2020; Fritz et al. 2019). On the other hand, including CS in the
curriculum as an educational tool can address Goal 4 in quality education (DITOs Consortium
2019; Shulla et al. 2020). In fact, when learning appears to contribute to school achievement without
contributing to students’ lives, students may not go very deeply into their learning (Kapon, Laherto,
and Levrini 2018). However, through participation in CS activities, learning may became more
relevant for many students because they observe phenomena immersed in their local real context.
This kind of context-based learning activity (Giamellaro 2017) enables students to see the relation­
ships between sicentific concepts and daily life (Bennett 2003), helping them to make connections
between textbook abstraction and reality (Slingsby and Barker 2003).
Integrating CS into the curriculum may provide a means to strengthen students’ understanding
of science and scientific skills through active participation of the students in scientific research
(Bopardikar, Bernstein, and McKenney 2021). The importance of students doing science by
collecting and analysing first-hand data has been widely stressed (Ching and Hagood 2019). The
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead State 2013) require educators to rethink science
teaching, calling for the integration of science content with the practice of doing science. When
students are offered the opportunity to participate in science activities in informal and authentic
environments, they develop not only an understanding of scientific concepts, but also varied and
rich conceptions of science as a practice (Tucker-Raymond, Varelas, and Pappas 2013) acquiring
new knowledge and skills, and a deeper understanding of scientific work in an appealing manner
(Peter, Diekötter, and Kremer 2019; Stepenuck and Green 2015). In fact, several studies have shown
that participation in CS activities is an excellent way of increasing science knowledge and literacy
(Bela et al. 2016; Bonney et al. 2016; Jordan et al. 2011), and that it can contribute to engagement in
environment conservation (Lewandowski and Oberhauser 2017). Furthermore, according to Aivelo
and Huovelin (2020), CS is also ‘a valuable tool in environmental and formal education in [. . .]
facilitating learning and fostering a positive relationship toward the environment’. Deveci and
Karteri (2020) also showed that collecting environmental data in context-based learning activities
had a positive effect on students’ environmental awareness and consciousness. Hence, CS can have
great potential not only for science learning, but also for ESD (Dunkley 2017; Wals et al. 2014).
Thus, CS can be a powerful means to engage youth in science and environmental education.
However, developing robust curricula around CS activities is tremendously challenging
(Bopardikar, Bernstein, and McKenney 2021). From the pedagogical point of view, a core challenge
is to design fieldwork that is meaningful and engaging for students, feasible for teachers to
implement, and that aligns teaching objectives and activities with curriculum standards
(Bopardikar, Bernstein, and McKenney 2021). Therefore, to lay the foundation for these non-
traditional teaching and learning pillars, it is necessary to support the teachers at the forefront
(DITOs Consortium 2019), among others, in terms of access to resources and ICT tools.
 JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL EDUCATION 3

The contribution technology can make to science learning has been the focus of many research
studies (Crompton et al. 2016; Hung and Zhang 2012). Some studies have shown beneficial
outcomes from using technology to promote science engagement, understanding of science process
skills, supporting inquiry-based pedagogy, and learning science content (see Falloon 2017).
Furthermore, the advent of mobile devices in recent years has brought new opportunities to explore
how these resources can support science learning (Crompton et al. 2016). The NGSS emphasise the
importance of students' learning to collect and analyse data (NGSS Lead State 2013), which is
precisely one of the core actions of the CS. Outside the formal education arena, many ICT tools have
been developed to promote CS programmes. This has led to an increment of CS experiences in
schools in recent years (Echeverria et al. 2021; González et al. 2021; Klütsch et al. 2021; Unger et al.
2020). However, the tools commonly used for CS, namely apps or platforms, have an inflexible
structure, so teachers cannot adapt them to their specific teaching necessities and local contexts.
Moreover, most of such ICT tools are only related to biodiversity monitoring (Echeverria et al.
2021) and do not allow other kinds of data collection linked to ESD. In the Citizen Observatory
Web (COBWEB) project, focused on facilitating the collection of CS data (Leibovici et al. 2017), the
need for a more customisable, and adaptable toolkit for use by the education sector that enable
teachers to create CS-based surveys that can be adapted to local contexts and diverse teaching
objectives was acknowledged. Limitations in the sharing of results and associated material with
other educational institutions were also detected. In order to meet this need, ICT tools that enabled
non-experts teachers to author deeply customisable CS-based surveys adapted to their local context
and teaching necessities, that can be used on a wide variety of mobile devices, are needed, as well as
CS web platforms that enable teachers to exchange experiences, materials and results. The use of
this kind of CS toolkit offers great potential to add value to traditional field activities in education
(Hardy and Hardy 2018).

Objective of the study

The aim of this work is twofold. Firstly, to analyse whether CS-based educational initiatives can
support science teaching and learning processes, and foster the inclusion of the ESD in the school
curriculum. Secondly, to analyse whether the use of flexible ICT tools can contribute to this process.
To do so, we based our study on the results of the Citizen Science for Education in Sustainable
Development (CS4ESD) ERASMUS+ project.

Materials and methods

Context of the study
This study was carried out in the context of a three-year ERASMUS+ project (2018–2021)
called CS4ESD, resulting from collaboration among 3 schools, 2 universities, 2 companies, and
2 government bodies from Greece, the Basque Country in Spain, and Wales in the United
Kingdom (UK).
The CS4ESD project aimed to develop innovative approaches to education focusing on the
promotion of EDS related CS educational initiatives. The thesis of the project was that such
active teaching and learning strategies that include conducting CS activities may help students
develop competencies in sustainability, while making them more capable of understanding
and interpreting environmental data. To check the extent to which this is true, eight CS-based
learning experiences were designed and implemented in the 3 schools involved in the project,
with the help of the university researchers that took part on it. Each case study focused on
data collection to contribute to the achievement of one or more SDGs (Table 1). A key
component in such learning experiences was the use of mobile devices, such as smart phones
or tablets. The CS4ESD project developed ICT tools based on these devices, such as apps, so
 4

Table 1. Description of the case studies from the (hidden to ensure anonymity) project.
No. of No. of
Case study SDGs worked Study area Object of study Short description students Age teachers
General study of Life on land Urdaibai’s marshes Place’s The aim of this case study was to monitor the biodiversity of the 21* 13–17 7*
Urdaibai (SDG 15) (Basque Country) biodiversity area. Data on plant and birds’ presence and animals’ footprints
Biosphere and sounds were collected.
Reserve (BR)
Biodiversity in Life on land Aritzatxu Beach, Port of Water The aim of this case study was to obtain insight on the state of the 67 10–11 1
coastal and (SDG 15) Bermeo and ecosystems’ surrounding riverside and coastal ecosystems. Data on the
riverside Life bellow water Landabaso river biodiversity presence of plant, algae, and animal species from the inter- and
G. RODRÍGUEZ-LOINAZ ET AL.

ecosystems (SDG 14) (Basque Country) and human’s supratidal areas and from the river and riverbank, on the physical-
impacts chemical properties of the water, and on the presence of trash
were collected.
Bugs’ life Life on land Dyfi BR The insects Students visited different habitats and gathered data on the type 79 12–14 1
(SDG 15) (Wales) and number of invertebrates. They used this data to explain how
habitat influences the type of invertebrates they saw. They also
used this data to inform the planning for a ‘Bug Hotel’.
Plastic problem Life on land Dyfi River Problems caused Students visited the site and learned about the severe impact that 29 13–14 1
(SDG 15) (Wales) by plastics in plastic pollution has on aquatic wildlife. Data on plastic presence
Life bellow water ecosystems in the river were collected, and students collected plastic litter
(SDG 14) from the site to create sculptures.
Urban Life Sustainable cities Cardiff, Machynlleth Life in cities and Data on local services (parks, shops, transport) were collected to 13 13–14 2
and (Wales) its impacts on compare different areas of Wales and to analyse their effects on
communities enviromnet population and nature.
(SDG 11)
Composting Sustainable cities School garden of Patras Composting Food waste was addressed in connection to SDG 11: Sustainable 10 16 2
and (Greece) process cities and communities. Students collected data on the food
communities waste produced and learned how to utilise it to make compost.
(SDG 11)
Indoor Zero hunger School greenhouse of Hydroponic Students studied the application of a hydroponic growing system 10 16 2
hydroponic (SDG 2) Patras (Greece) farmnig for leafy vegetables. Plant growth data depending on different
farming Clear water and technique factors, such as pH, temperature, and electrical conductivity of
sanitation nutrition solution, were collected.
(SDG 6)
Virtual field tour Life on land Olympus BR (Greece) Places’s Because of pandemic restrictions, a virtual tour was conducted. 42 15–16 2
to Olympus (SDG 15) biodiversity Students collected data on animals and plants’ presence by
BR searching for information on the internet.
* This case study was developed during a student exchange in October 2019 and it involved both students and teachers from the three countries.
 JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL EDUCATION 5

Figure 1. Students using the app developed in the CS4ESD project to collect data during the case studies conducted in the
Basque Country.

that teachers could adapt them to different educational and regional contexts and students
could use them outdoors for data collection (Figure 1). Additionally, an online platform was
created where both teachers and students can use and share resources, data, knowledge, and
reflections. These applications and platform were designed on the basis of KoBoToolbox (see:
https://www.kobotoolbox.org/), a free toolkit for field data collection. This toolkit allows
people to create their own questionnaires for data collection or adapt existing ones according
to their necessities and local characteristics. Based on this toolkit, the CS4ESD project
developed a non-open source platform in which improvements were made to allow more
question types to be included in the questionnaires, larger videos and photos to be uploaded,
and so on.

Description of the sample

The target groups for this study comprised seven teachers and 214 students from the three schools
involved in the CS4ESD project: 89 students and two teachers from Wales, 50 students and two
teachers from Greece, and 75 students and three teachers from the Basque Country (Table 1). No
specific selection of students was made. In each school teachers who were interested in the project
and who found this type of activity suitable for working on a course subject volunteered to
participate in the CS-based activities with their class.
6 G. RODRÍGUEZ-LOINAZ ET AL.

Data collection
For this study, two ad hoc web-based questionnaires (Jamsen and Corley 2007) were designed, one
for the students and another for the teachers who had participated in the case studies. Both
questionnaires had two types of questions: open-ended questions and four-point Likert scale closed
questions (Likert 1932). In the closed Likert scale questions, students and teachers had to indicate
their level of agreement with different statements (I totally disagree = 1; I disagree = 2; I agree = 3;
I totally agree = 4).
The questionnaire for the teachers consisted of 27 questions distributed in five main parts:
general information; perceived improvements in students’ motivations, learning outcomes, and
competencies for sustainability; difficulties, needs, opportunities, and potentialities of CS-based
activities in the schools of their region; specific questions on the app; and proposals to improve the
teaching-learning activities (see supplementary file SI1). The questionnaire for the students con­
sisted of 61 questions distributed in five main parts: general information; perceived improvements
in science learning (their motivations and learning outcomes) and competencies for sustainability;
specific questions of each case study related to students’ awareness and their willingness to take
action to solve the problem/s presented; specific questions on the app; and proposals to improve the
teaching-learning activities (see supplementary file SI2).
Prior to sending the questionnaire to the students, it was validated to confirm that the questions
captured the anticipated data and that they were not interpreted differently by researchers and
participants (Ball 2019). Different steps were followed. First, the questionnaire was sent to two
teachers who had participated in the case studies and a researcher from the University of the Basque
Country (UPV/EHU) who had not participated in the design of the questionnaire in order to make
a content validation. Second, after the questionnaire was approved by the teachers and the
researcher, it was sent to a pilot group of students who had participated in the case studies.
Finally, some detected problems were solved before sending the questionnaire to all the students.
Both questionnaires were designed in English and all participants from the different countries,
both teachers and students, answered them in English.

Data analysis
For the closed-ended questions in which respondents were asked to indicate their degree of
agreement with different statements, a 4-point Likert scale was used in order to rank the respon­
dents The mean degree of agreement shown by the sample and its standard deviation were
calculated with the SPSS Statistics program (IBM Corp., 2012).
The answer given when the students were asked to indicate what they had learned in an open-
ended question, after indicating their level of agreement with the sentence ‘Thanks to the citizen
science experiments in which I have taken part, I have learned a lot’ were analysed using the following
approach. The answers were read and analysed by the two authors of this research, both separately and
together. In the first step, authors read all the given answers entirely several times to obtain an overall
impression. After that, the main significant learning outputs were identified in each answer by each of
the researchers. This process resulted in preliminary clasification of the learning outputs. After that,
each answer was analysed again by the two authors individually and the results were then discussed,
until consensus in the clasification was achieved (Table 3).

Ethical considerations
This study was conducted within the framework of the ERASMUS+ program and meets all the
ethical standards required by the European Commission. The survey for data collection was
voluntary and anonymous. All teachers who participated in the project were school teachers who
were aware of the purpose of the project, volunteered to participate in the research, were over
 JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL EDUCATION 7

18 years of age, and gave their consent after reading the specific data protection notice included in
the survey. Consent was not required from the students, as the educational activities were carried
out during academic hours as part of regular school subjects and the only general information we
collected from each participant was age, gender, region (Wales, Greece or Basque Country) and the
case study in which he or she had participated. In the case of students who participated in student
exchanges, tutors’ consent was obtained. A record of the files used in this study is kept at the Data
Protection Unit of the UPV/EHU.

Results
Student’ perceived improvements in science learning and competencies for sustainability
Analysis of the responses on the students’ questionnaire showed that students’ interest in science
increased in 71% of the cases thanks to their CS-based educational experiences (level of agreement:
mean ± SD = 2.94 ± 0.87) (Figure 2(a)). In addition, 83% of the students also stated that participating in
such CS-based activities helped them develop a better understanding of the importance of environmental
data (level of agreement: mean ± SD = 3.21 ± 0.78) (Figure 2(b)). Furthermore, 77% stated that their
competencies for sustainability had increased (level of agreement: mean ± SD = 3.10 ± 0.81) (Figure 2(c)).
When students were asked to reason their answer, many students mentioned the increment in knowl­
edge, and their change in attitudes and intention of pro-environmental behaviour (Table 2).
Importantly, 77% of the students stated that they had learned a lot with the CS-based educational
activities (level of agreement: mean ± SD = 3.10 ± 0.83) (Figure 2(d)). The type of knowledge
students reported was diverse and varied greatly depending on the case studies (e.g. how to analyse
water quality, how to identify different plants and animals, the importance of nature, how humans
can affect it positively or negatively, and awareness of specific problems of unsustainability, such as
the problem of plastic or the problem of invasive plants). Some very specific responses to each case
study were provided, such as ‘I have learnt that wood lice prefers darkness to light’, but many other
responses showed broader learning outcomes on natural science and ESD (Table 3).
It must be noted that 84% of the sample stated that they would like to participate in more CS-
based activities at school (level of agreement: mean ± SD = 3.21 ± 0.81) (Figure 2(e)).

a) 6% b) 2% c) 3%
15%
29% 20%
23% 41% 35%

42%
42% 42%

d) 4% e)
4%
19% 12%
35%
41%

43%
42%

Figure 2. Percentage of students in function of their level of agreement with each sentence: a) After participating in these CS
activities, my interest in science has increased, b) Thanks to this experience, I have understood the importance of environmental
data, c) Thanks to this experience, my competencies for sustainability have improved, d) Thanks to the CS experiments in which
I have participated, I have learned a lot, and e) I would like to participate in more of this kind of activities at school.
8 G. RODRÍGUEZ-LOINAZ ET AL.

Table 2. Examples of the explanations provided by the students when they were asked to justify their increase in sustainability
competencies in an open-ended question.
Case study Age Statement
Bugs’ Life 14 ‘I understand better that some bugs like to stay underground, others in trees, and so on. So
now, I am more careful when I see bugs to make sure they are comfortable around me’(1) (2)
Virtual field tour to 13 ‘I have learned that in order to maintain balance and ensure the survival of both nature and
Olympus BR humans, we have to take care of nature’ (1)
‘Bugs’ Life’ 14 ‘My sustainability skills have improved as I have realised the weight on my generation’s
shoulders to help the environment, and it cannot be done without us. I now also know the
complex relationships between humans and nature’(1)
General study of 17 ‘It was an amazing experience and we learned so much more information about the
Urdaibai BR environment and its animals’ habits’ (1)
Virtual field tour to 15 ‘I had little knowledge regarding the environment in general, so this project helped a lot with
Olympus BR becoming aware of the relationship between humans and nature’ (1)
Virtual field tour to 16 ‘I understood the importance of nature for the human race, and so, I have become more
Olympus BR environmentally friendly’ (2)
(1)
Students reported an increase in knowledge.
(2)
Students reported change in attitudes and intention of pro-environmental behaviour.

Table 3. Examples of the learning outcomes reported by the students in the open-ended question.
Learning outcomes related to: Statement
Habitat concept and ecosystem functioning ‘I’ve learnt more about the animal food chain’,
‘I learned which animals prefer different environments’
Habitat concept and the understanding of the ‘I learned that the habitats where bugs live need to be taken more
importance of its conservation care of’
Increased awareness of the problems that humans can ‘I’ve learnt, for example, how certain elements around us take part
cause to nature in the ecosystem, or how humans strongly affect the
environment, even without realising it, as is the case of invasive
plants’
Science competencies (search for further scientific ‘Apart from the programme, I did some research myself and was
information) able to learn more about nature and the environment we live in
and have to protect’
Increase in the learner’s knowledge and willingness to ‘In this amazing experience, I have learnt to understand different
take action and show others what she/he learned views of nature care or, to mention something more simple,
I have learnt to distinguish sufficient kinds of leaves and animals
to guide my friends on a tour about the theme’
Awareness of the need for action ‘We need to work together with nature to make our world a better
place’.
‘I learnt how to observe nature in a different way and how to preserve
biodiversity by, for example, recycling and not invading the habitat
of the animals and plants’
‘I already knew plastic was affecting global warming, but this case
study has made me realise that we need to do something about it’

Analysis of students’ responses on the case studies showed that, in the three case studies, whose
object of study was a site and its biodiversity, nearly 90% of the students expressed that they felt
more connected to the site studied after participating in the CS-based activities (level of agreement:
mean ± SD = 3.10 ± 0.67), and more than 85% expressed that they would participate in actions to
protect those sites (level of agreement: mean ± SD = 3.29 ± 0.57) (Figure 3).
Similar results were obtained in the case studies on processes and techniques (composting and
indoor hydroponic farming), and in the ‘Plastic problem’ and ‘Urban life’ case studies, wherein
between 76–90% of the students expressed that after knowing more about these processes or
problems, respectively, they were more aware of their relevance, and more than 76% expressed
that they would participate in actions to promote these types of activities or solve the impacts of
plastics and cities on nature.
 JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL EDUCATION 9

Biodiversity in coastal General study of Virtual field tour to

Case studies
and riverside ecosystems Urdaibai BR Olympus BR

6% 10% 2%7%
20% 4% 19%
31%
Now that I know more
about this site, I feel more
connected to it.
60%
70% 71%

10% 14%
32% 33%
I would participate in 41%
actions to protect that site.
68%
57% 45%

Figure 3. Percentage of students in function of their level of agreement with each sentence.

In the ‘Bugs’ life’ case study 52% of the students expressed that they felt more connected to the insects,
and 49% stated that they would participate in actions to protect bugs. Interestingly, when analysing the
reasoning of those who disagreed, some students, despite not feeling connected to insects, expressed
their willingness to take action to protect them (e.g. ‘I always liked animals, but I disagreed as it was bugs;
but yes, I would do things to protect them’) (see supplementary file SI3 for further examples).

Teachers’ perception of CS-based activities and students’ learning outcomes

These results from the students’ questionnaire coincide with the teachers’ perception, as six of the
seven teachers involved in the project stated that students’ interest in science (level of agreement:
mean ± SD = 3.42 ± 0.79), understanding of the importance of environmental data (level of
agreement: mean ± SD = 3.57 ± 0.79), motivation to study (level of agreement: mean ±
SD = 3.29 ± 0.76), and interest in nature protection (level of agreement: mean ±
SD = 3.29 ± 0.76) had increased thanks to the CS-based educational activities implemented.
Furthermore, most of them observed that the students developed critical thinking and digital skills,
improved in teamwork, and asked more questions when working on environmental issues.
According to teachers, the activities carried out had led to an increase in the students’ compe­
tencies for sustainability (level of agreement: mean ± SD = 3.29 ± 0.95) because students were more
aware of the relationship between nature and humans, and were better able to connect cause and
effect (e.g. ‘The students are now better able to connect cause and effect. Instead of just accepting
that plastic in the ocean is bad, they can describe the effects on wildlife, link the idea of microplastics
in the food chain, and suggest ways to try and combat plastic litter’).
When teachers were asked about the difficulties, needs, opportunities, and potentialities that
exist for the proliferation of CS-based activities in the schools, all of them stated that CS-based
activities have great potential. They noted that engaging students in such active learning methods
related to the real problems around them can make them ‘see learning as something more tangible
and not just a book thing’ and ‘understand that they can help and contribute to the solution of
10 G. RODRÍGUEZ-LOINAZ ET AL.

environmental problems’. Although all teachers believed that there were many opportunities for
CS-based educational activities in their region, most of them pointed to scheduling problems and
the fixed timetables of most schools as the main difficulties in carrying them out.

Contribution of the developed app to the CS-based educational initiatives

Results showed that both students and teachers believe that the use of the app contributed to the
success of the CS-based educational activities. Students’ motivation increased in 65% of the cases
thanks to the use of the app (level of agreement: mean ± SD = 2.94 ± 0.95) (Figure 4), and more than
75% of the students considered the app facilitated their process of learning (level of agreement:
mean ± SD = 3.10 ± 0.88). Some of the explanations given were ‘I think it is an easy-to-use app. The
use of it would contribute positively to many kinds of investigations or studies, as it is very versatile’,
‘I think it helps to be more conscious’ or ‘The app was fun; it wasn’t boring and it was very didactic’.
However, 34% of the students stated that they preferred to collect data on paper. Reasons given by
these students include: ‘I feel more comfortable collecting information on paper because I can
organize them however I want’, ‘Easier to organize and you can carry paper around without needing
wifi or battery charge’, ‘It is safer’ and ‘Because paper can’t crash and have problems’.
Of the teachers, 100% considered the app very useful (level of agreement: mean ± SD = 3.71 ± 0.49)
and 86% stated that the use of applications like the one used in this study motivates students to
participate in this kind of activity (level of agreement: mean ± SD = 3.57 ± 0.79) and contributes to
a better teaching-learning process (level of agreement: mean ± SD = 3.43 ± 0.79). Furthermore, 86% of
the teachers also mentioned that having an app like this encourages them to undertake more CS-based
activities with their students (level of agreement: mean ± SD = 3.57 ± 0.79).

Discussion
The CS-based educational initiatives’ contribution towards improving science learning and
promoting ESD
Our results show that the implemented CS-based educational initiatives resulted in both students
and their teachers perceiving improvements in science teaching and learning processes. Students
and teachers agree that thanks to these CS-based activities, there has been an increase in students’
interest in science. This is in line with different studies that state that informal environments
provide students with unique experiences that promote a positive attitude towards and an increased

Thanks to the use of the app, I The use of the app has I find the app very useful
have been more motivated facilitated my process of
learning

7% 5% 3%
18%
36% 20%
28% 39%
43%

36% 36%
29%

Figure 4. Percentage of students in function of their level of agreement with each sentence related to the app.
 JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL EDUCATION 11

interest in science (Ayotte-Beaudet et al. 2021; Bell et al. 2009; Boyce et al. 2014), which can
contribute to the promotion of studies related to STEAM professions (Koballa and Glynn 2006).
Moreover, teachers stated that the CS-based educational initiatives have helped increase students’
motivation to learn. This is a relevant finding, as motivating learning is a central element of good
teaching. In fact, the success of learning depends on whether the learners are motivated, as interest
and motivation drive learners in reaching learning goals (Filgona et al. 2020; Khan, Johnston, and
Ophoff 2019) and have been recognised to increase academic achievement (Taylor et al. 2014).
Teachers also noticed that because of this increase in motivation and interest in science, an increase
in student participation occurred when working on environmental issues. After participating in the
CS-based activities, pupils asked more questions when working on these topics at school. This is
another positive outcome, as question production is not a usual student role (Chin and Brown
2002), and yet, the value of student-generated questions in science learning has been emphasised by
different authors (Brill and Yarden 2003; Chin and Brown 2002; Chin and Osborne 2008; Huang,
Lederman, and Cai 2017). Asking questions is a basic skill required for the development of scientific
thinking, and it plays a significant role in meaningful learning (Chin and Brown 2002; Chin and
Osborne 2008). This is because the ability to ask questions is structurally embedded in the thinking
operation of critical thinking (Cuccio-Schirripa and Steiner 2000). Therefore, the increase in
questions that teachers detected after CS-based educational activities indicates an increase in
students’ scientific inquiry skills, as questioning is a scientific habit of mind (Chin and Osborne
2008) necessary for the development of scientific thinking (Brill and Yarden 2003). It also indicates
an increase in students’ interest in environmental issues, as questions indicate that students have
been thinking about the worked topic and have been trying to extend and link the new ideas
presented with their previous knowledge because of a desire to extend their knowledge (Chin and
Osborne 2008). So, CS-based educational activities can contribute towards increasing students’
scientific skills, such as questioning, as students’ questions arise from curiosity about the world
around them, as well as from interactions with real-world issues (Chin and Osborne 2008).
We agree with Echeverria et al. (2021) that students’ participation in CS initiatives is an
effective way of acquiring content, skills, and values related to science and biodiversity.
Participating in the CS-based educational initiatives presented in this paper helped students
understand the importance of environmental data. This has led to an increase in students’
environmental literacy, which is an important part of SE (Kaya and Elster 2019). Indeed, the
definition of environmental literacy includes the ability to perceive and interpret data, to make
informed decisions about environmental issues, to understand ecosystems, and to be aware of the
importance of natural phenomena (Minner and Klein 2019; Roth 1992). This is in accordance
with the NGSS that not only emphasise the importance of students learning to collect and analyse
data, but also the importance of students understanding the meaning and relevance of data, and
learning to use data as evidence to inform decisions (Ching and Hagood 2019). Additionally,
students stated that they feel more connected to nature and their interest in nature protection and
behavioural intention had increased. This is in line with a recent study (Kaya and Elster 2019)
that defines environmental literacy not only as knowing and understanding environmental issues,
but also as ‘having attitudes, concerns, morals, and ethics towards the environment; having the
ability and intention to act with environmentally responsible behaviour; having the active
involvement and social engagement related to the environment, as well as having skills to evaluate
data and draw conclusions to form one’s own opinion and collaboratively working with stake­
holders to solve environmental issues’.
The application of these CS-based experiences has contributed towards improving the
knowledge, attitudes, and intention of students’ pro-environmental behaviour, which is
related to the development of competencies for sustainability (Vega-Marcote, Varela-Losada,
and Álvarez-Suárez 2015). Competencies for sustainable development include, among others,
critical thinking (Lozano et al. 2017; Rieckmann 2012; UNESCO 2017) and acting fairly and
ecologically (Hsu, Chang, and Liu 2019; UNESCO 2017). Interestingly, the involved teachers
12 G. RODRÍGUEZ-LOINAZ ET AL.

reported the development of critical thinking among students and stated that students’
competencies for sustainability had improved. Similarly, 77% of the 214 students perceived
that their competencies for sustainability had increased thanks to these CS-based educational
experiences. They provided arguments indicating increased understanding, knowledge and
awareness, as well as their intention to take proactive action in favour of nature conservation
and environmental problem solving. Although the reported learning outputs do not auto­
matically translate into students taking action in their spare time, they can positively influence
students’ attitudes towards biodiversity and their interests in nature in the long term, which
are some of the main goals of ESD (Scheuch et al. 2018; UNESCO 2017). Furthermore, raising
awareness of environmental issues is another goals of ESD, as it is fundamental in creating an
environmentally responsible population that contributes to sustainable development
(Lorenzini and Nali 2004).
The results also show an increase in students’ connection to nature, particularly in the case
studies whose object of study was a site and its biodiversity. This increased connection with nature
in the students has also been reported in previous studies where CS activities have been performed
(e.g. Ayotte-Beaudet et al. 2021). According to the interpretation of sustainability as a frame of
mind, this kind of right relationship with nature conditions our attitudes towards the environment
(Bonnett 2002). This is in agreement with studies that propose that curricular changes integrating
sustainability go beyond the mere integration of concepts or commitments towards sustainability,
and seek a change in the frame of mind, involving the integration of cognitive and emotional
knowledge (Granados Sánchez and Junyent I Pubill 2015; Harris 2021). CS activities have a big
potential to encourage deeper connections with the place studied (Halliwell, Whipple, and Bowser
2021), as contact with nature helps children establish a connection with it (Baxter and Pelletier
2019), so they may play an important role in this direction.
In summary, the CS-based educational initiatives presented in this paper seem to have con­
tributed towards stimulating students’ science learning process and fostering greater citizenship,
participation, and awareness of local environment and sustainability issues. So, CS-based educa­
tional initiatives, as the ones implemented in this study, fulfil the requirements to link SE and ESD
(Wals et al. 2014).

Contribution of the developed application to the learning process

A key component of the CS-based educational experiences presented in this study was the use of
applications for mobile devices to collect data. Both teachers and students considered the application
developed in the CS4ESD project useful for the success of the CS-based initiatives presented in this
paper. First, the use of mobile devices to collect data contributed to the increase in students’
motivation. Our results concur with those of many different studies that have shown that using
mobile devices in educational activities increases students’ motivation (Boyce et al. 2014; Ensign, Rye,
and Luna 2017; Sung, Chang, and Liu 2016). Hence, the use of a mobile application to engage pupils
in CS activities with powerful technology they are familiar with and enthusiastic about using, makes
designed fieldwork engaging to students, which is one of the key aspects for designing school-based
CS curricula (Bopardikar, Bernstein, and McKenney 2021). Second, both teachers and students
perceived that the application had helped improve teaching-learning processes. These results are in
agreement with those of Hardy and Hardy (2018), who showed that such technology can enhance
student engagement and student perception of learning. This is very relevant because perceived
improvements in the learning process are positively associated with student satisfaction (Bowman
2010; Sauder and Mudrick 2018), and may have important long-term implications (Lynch et al.
2018). Additionally, in the present study students indicated that having an app for data collection
helped them to be more conscious, which may have contributed to the teaching-learning process.
This is in line with Falloon (2017) who stated that the use of mobile devices and apps, as scaffolds to
science learning, helps students stay on-task and direct their attention to specific observational details
 JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL EDUCATION 13

that might otherwise go unnoticed. However, some students were reluctant to use the app, noting
that they preferred to work on paper because it is easier to organise information and/or because
paper is more secure as it does not cause problems as electronic devices can. Future studies could
focus on how to overcome these limitations of the app perceived by some students.
Teachers also indicated that apart from motivating students, this application encouraged them to
undertake more of these educational activities with their students. This is a very promising result, as
the need for tools and programmes that foster the inclusion of CS in the curriculum has been
identified (Serrano et al. 2014). Versatile applications, such as the one developed in the project, which
enables teachers to easily create and modify CS-based surveys and thus adapt to different types of
educational and regional contexts, can play a very important role in fostering the inclusion of CS-
based education initiatives in the curriculum. Teachers in the present study would be willing to
conduct further CS activities, as they have great educational potential. However, they identified some
difficulties with conducting CS activities in school related to the fixed timetables and scheduling.
These results reinforce the idea that CS should be included in the curriculum. This would make it
possible to transition from CS educational experiences that occur as a one-off event, to implementing
systematically in curricula CS educational programmes that allow the required longevity or repetition
to transmite deeper notions of science and promote many of the attitudes and skills necessary to
foster ‘sustainability changemakers’ (DITOs Consortium 2019). This study has shown that this is
possible, with each school participating in the study having conducted two or three CS-based
experiences with their pupils even in a pandemic situation. This has been possible thanks to the
collaboration between teachers from different schools, which was facilitated by the platform devel­
oped in the CS4ESD project, as well as the flexibility of the developed app. This application has
enabled CS-based activities designed by some teachers to be adapted to the contexts and educational
needs of other teachers, facilitating through networking the implementation of CS-based activities in
different locations and context. The need to develop co-working spaces, teacher networks, and
dedicated online platforms, such as those developed for this study, has been identified as crucial to
progressing towards the inclusion of CS in the curriculum as an educational tool towards the SDGs
(DITOs Consortium 2019). Therefore, by providing ICT-based tools that enable teachers to engage
their students more easily in CS-based activities tailored to their local environment and facilitate
collaboration in the implementation of CS-based activities, the CS4ESD project may have contributed
towards facilitating the inclusion of CS and ESD in the curriculum as it is urged by UNESCO (2021).

Conclusions
The sustainability challenges facing humankind make necessary the convergence of SE and ESD
through the use of student-centred pedagogies, to help transform our world towards achieving
SDGs. In doing so, CS appears to be an interesting pedagogical tool, with the potential to integrate
many non-traditional and complementary approaches, for more experiential learning, leading to
the achievement of sustainability challenges. However, the implementation of CS programmes is
not systematically included in curricula.
This study makes an important contribution in this regard, as it presents successfully implemented
CS-based educational tools that promote SE and EDS and support teachers in fulfiling their context-
specific teaching necessities. Our results show that the CS-based educational initiatives implemented
within this study have contributed to improving science learning processes and they represent a step
forward in the development and integration of sustainability competencies. Moreover, our data
reinforce our conviction that the use of ICT tools in CS-based educational initiatives is an appropriate
way to promote science learning and ESD in schools, and further research in this direction is needed.
The application developed in the CS4ESD project is intended to be a contribution in this sense, as it
makes it easier for teachers to carry out these kinds of CS-based educational initiatives.
14 G. RODRÍGUEZ-LOINAZ ET AL.

Thanks to CS-based educational activities, such as the ones presented in this paper, young
learners are learning about SDGs, contributing to data collection, and developing global compe­
tencies, which is preparing them for the 21st Century World and equipping them with the right
skills to take them into their future.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions
Conceptualization, Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz and Igone Palacios-Agundez; Methodology, Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz
and Igone Palacios-Agundez; Data curation, Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz; Formal analysis, Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz and
Igone Palacios-Agundez; Writing – original draft, Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz and Igone Palacios-Agundez; Writing –
review & editing, Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz, Ibone Ametzaga-Arregi and Igone Palacios-Agundez; Funding acquisi­
tion, Ibone Ametzaga-Arregi; Supervision, Ibone Ametzaga-Arregi.

Compliance with ethical standards

This study was conducted within the framework of the ERASMUS+ program and meets all the ethical standards
required by the European Commission. The survey for data collection was voluntary and anonymous. All
teachers who participated in the project were school teachers who were aware of the purpose of the project,
volunteered to participate in the research, were over 18 years of age, and gave their consent after reading the
specific data protection notice included in the survey. Consent was not required from the students, as the
educational activities were carried out during academic hours as part of regular school subjects and the only
general information we collected from each participant was age, gender, region (Wales, Greece or Basque
Country) and the case study in which he or she had participated. In the case of students who participated in
student exchanges, tutors’ consent was obtained. A record of the files used in this study is kept at the Data
Protection Unit of the UPV/EHU.

Funding
This research was funded by the European Union through action line 2 of the ERASMUS+ programme call for
Projects, grant number 2018-1-UK01-KA201-048161, project name: Citizen Science for Education in Sustainable
Development, CS4ESD (https://cs4esd.eu).

ORCID
Gloria Rodríguez-Loinaz http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3312-1653
Igone Palacios-Agundez http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9683-6977

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