Incorporating citizen science engagement in a vector surveillance undergraduate internship

Abstract

Abstract Citizen science is recognized as an important tool to engage the public in important scientific and environmental issues that impact them. Mosquito surveillance-based citizen science in college curricula have not received much attention even though its usage has the potential to actively engage students in inquiry and elevate student support for science. FLAGG (Florida Aedes Genome Group) was a course-based internship where college students engaged in mosquito egg collections, learned about disease transmission, and gained an understanding of data collection in scientific research. This paper reports on a study comparing the outcomes of FLAGG participants with students in other college internships and students who had never done an internship. Findings show that participation in the citizen science mosquito control internship not only increased knowledge and skills in mosquito abatement, but also increased confidence and to a certain extent, sense of engagement, when compared to other groups. These results support the inclusion of citizen science methods in college-based curricula, where benefits extend beyond content learning.

Keywords

• Citizen science
• College students
• Mosquito control
• Science internships
• Career confidence