title: DNA barcoding in diverse educational settings: five case studies.
abstract: Despite 250 years of modern taxonomy, there remains a large biodiversity knowledge gap. Most species remain unknown to science. DNA barcoding can help address this gap and has been used in a variety of educational contexts to incorporate original research into school curricula and informal education programmes. A growing body of evidence suggests that actively conducting research increases student engagement and retention in science. We describe case studies in five different educational settings in Canada and the USA: a programme for primary and secondary school students (ages 5-18), a year-long professional development programme for secondary school teachers, projects embedding this research into courses in a post-secondary 2-year institution and a degree-granting university, and a citizen science project. We argue that these projects are successful because the scientific content is authentic and compelling, DNA barcoding is conceptually and technically straightforward, the workflow is adaptable to a variety of situations, and online tools exist that allow participants to contribute high-quality data to the international research effort. Evidence of success includes the broad adoption of these programmes and assessment results demonstrating that participants are gaining both knowledge and confidence. There are exciting opportunities for coordination among educational projects in the future.This article is part of the themed issue 'From DNA barcodes to biomes'.
authors.affiliation: Natural Reserve System, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA hhenter@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Heather J
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2472-3644
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Henter
authors.affiliation: Coastal Marine Biolabs, Ventura, CA 93001, USA.
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Imondi
authors.affiliation: MDI Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: James
authors.affiliation: Tulsa Community College, Tulsa, OK 74133, USA.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Steinke
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D001695:Biology / Q000193:education*; D002170:Canada; D003256:Community Participation; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic; D000070777:School Teachers; D013334:Students; D014481:United States
keywords: DNA barcoding; Next Generation Science Standards; biodiversity; citizen science; community college; education