Design, Development and Evaluation of the Citizen Science Cancer Curriculum (CSCC): a Design and Development Case Study

Abstract

The purpose of this design and development case study is to provide an in-depth account of the needs analysis (through surveys and interviews), design, development and formative evaluation of the Citizen Science Cancer Curriculum (CSCC). The curriculum was developed as an online, self-paced educational program distributed as an Open Educational Resource using Creative Commons licensing. The instructional approach described in this design and development case study was informed by the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) framework. The case reflects a new frontier in the development of community stakeholder engagement models and describes how evidence-based instructional design practices and approaches (e.g., storytelling) can be used to support Citizen Scientists’ interests, learning and motivation to engage in cancer-related research. Results from quantitative and qualitative analyses indicate that the CSCC supported Citizen Scientists’ learning performance and motivation. More specifically, the use of storytelling as an instructional approach supported Citizen Scientists’ psychological needs, especially relatedness and competence, which translated into their behavioral intentions to contribute to cancer-related research. We share context-specific challenges and opportunities in working with Citizen Scientists as well as with cancer researchers and clinicians during the design and development of the curriculum.

Sustainable development and formative evaluation of mathematics open educational resources created by pre-service teachers: an action research study

“…In research to test feasibility (as opposed to proving effectiveness), the focus is on evaluating the capabilities and limitations of resources, rather than comparing them with other counterparts (e.g., commercial materials). Therefore, the involvement of a control group is not necessarily required (e.g., Bakkum et al, 2022;Kanoksilapatham, 2021;Valle et al, 2022).…”

“…After the fourth meeting, no new suggestions were made, indicating teacher satisfaction with the resources. In addition to qualitative data-driven formative evaluation, Valle et al (2022) evaluated OER-led learning outcomes in their course for citizen scientists. They generally scored over 85% in their assessments, indicating the efficacy of the OER produced.…”

Cancer survival stories: Perception, creation, and potential use case

“…Citizen science is a suitable approach to apply this claim in practice. [25][26][27][28][29][30][31] With our study, we wanted to contribute to the existing research about cancer narratives by exploring the perception of such narratives with a highly participative citizen science methodological approach. Therefore, we did not assess clinical outcomes, which could be a focus of an upcoming study based on the findings of this study.…”

“…Specifically, health research should incorporate the priorities, values and needs of those individuals affected by a health condition. Citizen science is a suitable approach to apply this claim in practice 25–31 …”

“…Citizen science is a suitable approach to apply this claim in practice. 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 …”