iWonder is an exciting project that began with funding from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the National Science Foundation. The iWonder project brings together students, educators, scientists, and community members across varying communities and educational settings. These community stakeholders work toward a common goal to help their communities thrive and enable deep, authentic community learning within co-created community science projects. iWonder citizen science easily aligns with CC and NGSS because it starts with what students are curious about in the area of science that they are studying. The iWonder program has been redesigned to be applied to a broader range of community science projects in a variety of contexts and thereby broaden participation.
Upcoming iWonder Office Hours: Want to learn more about iWonder from the experts? Join us virtually on Zoom during one of the following sessions:
Scientist
Scientist Testimonial – Authentic science, data use/collection, etc
Teacher
“Students are the driving force of what topics we collaboratively investigate. My students consider themselves “citizen scientists” because of their participation in data collection in our community. They understand that the data they collect is used by the scientific community to better understand the world in which we live. We understand that none of us needs to be an expert. In fact, sometimes students are the experts who teach adults. We learn from each other.” Marci Train – Long Island School
Student
Student testimonial about value of project
FAQ
Fill out our teacher information form to learn more.
You can become become a member today by visiting the Join Our Community page.
There are many ways to get your students making observations outside of the classroom and asking questions. iWonder provides a framework to get your students in the field and begin using the things they notice to write iWonder questions. Through a supportive online community, students can take their iWonder questions and get feedback from experts, iWonder staff, and other classrooms. This feedback will help them transform their iWonder questions into specific, measurable, attainable, relevant/realistic, and measurable (SMART) investigation questions.
Students will need access to web browsers in order to access the iWonder website.
We know teachers are on a tight timeline to get everything done in the school year. The great thing about iWonder is that it easily integrates into what you’re already doing. iWonder is designed to be adaptable to your curricular needs and students’ interest. Our resources will assist you in weaving iWonder into your curriculum to empower your students’ curiosity.
Some teachers spend a whole year working on an investigation and others take a few months. The answer really depends on your needs and specific investigation.
The supplies you’ll need vary depending on your investigation. If your investigation requires supplies you don’t have on hand and will need to purchase there are grants that could fund your project supply costs. Moreover, as part of a network of educators and experts, many times supplies can be shared between classrooms.
REAL STUDENT LED SCIENCE
Your students.
Their questions.
The community investigates.
The actions based on real data.
Find out more – let’s get started!
Investigations we‘re tackling together
Our active communities
Maine
Maine, the northeastern-most U.S. state, is known for its rocky coastline, maritime history, and nature areas like the granite and spruce islands of Acadia National Park. It has 6 active schools.
Alabama
Alabama is a southeastern U.S. state that’s home to significant landmarks from the American Civil Rights Movement. It has one active school.
Mississippi
Mississippi is a southern U.S. state with the Mississippi River to its west, the state of Alabama to its east, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. It has 2 active schools.
Our scientific steps
iWonder about...
A space to pose questions, get input from others, and refine your questions to be scientific and investigable. A space for you to support others to think scientifically. A space to build your scientific questioning skills.
Investigate
A space to follow protocols and collect data for a project that grew out of an iWonder question. A space for you to contribute to the scientific knowledge of your community. A space for you to be a real researcher.
Explore Data
A space to learn how to see, read, and explore data collected in investigations. A space for you to build graphs and look for patterns and relationships in our natural world. A space to use data tools (TUVA) to draw conclusions from real data.
Act
A space to show the WeatherBlur community how you have been developing action plans and communicating your findings to the wider world. A space to share photographs, files and videos and get feed back from the wider community.
Ready to get started with iWonder?
This project is funded by the National Science Foundation, grant #1933491. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
