Citizen Science
The Citizen Science (Cit. Sci) workshop is offered to all first-year students during January before the Spring semester begins. This is a required three-week workshop that aims to transform students at the University to become scientifically literate by developing ‘a core understanding of both the conduct and the content of science.’ Students need a ‘Satisfactory Pass’ in this course to graduate from the University. Please see the Parami University Catalog.
Program Description
The Citizen Science (Cit. Sci) Program is a science literacy foundation program that introduces students to use various approaches to scientifically analyze a chosen theme. While a focused theme may be different from year to year, the theme has the characteristics of general importance and relevance to society. The chosen theme for the year 2022–2023 is 'Infectious Diseases'. Students will look at different methods or approaches to study ‘Infectious Diseases’ and share their findings in class. They will engage in hands-on science experiments to look at microorganisms using foldscopes, low-cost origami-based microscopy devices. They will study it from the public health perspective through epidemiology and health systems. They will also analyze data sets of a few chosen infectious diseases, look at the scientific communication on infectious diseases, and study government policies around infectious diseases.
Workshop Objective
The objective of this workshop is to empower and equip students with the tools, perspectives, and attitudes to use science literacy in their daily lives.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the workshop students will be able to
demonstrate the importance of science literacy in everyday life
provide concrete examples of the role of science in society at large
connect some scientific concepts to their studies at the University
Assignments and Workshop Completion
This is not a graded course, and will not count towards your GPA; however, a ‘Satisfactory Pass’ is required to graduate from an undergraduate degree program at the University. To get a satisfactory pass, students are expected to complete all homework assignments, take all quizzes, contribute towards group work, and attend the workshop sessions (90% minimum). Each student must contribute to their group work and produce a final piece. These pieces will be consolidated and published for all students to see. Failure to contribute towards this final piece of work will result in “Unsatisfactory Performance’', and the student will be required to take this workshop again next year.