25/05/2026
INVITATION TO ONLINE SEMINAR with FULBRIGHT FOUNDATION
Dear all,
The Fulbright Foundation Greece and the Fulbright Education Network–FEN Greece are pleased to invite you to a ZOOM meeting in the presence of
Alison WOOD,
2025-2026 U.S. Fulbright Distinguished Teacher to Greece.
Alison, who is a Teacher of Science at Denfeld High School, Duluth, Minnesota, has spent 4 months (February 1 – June 1, 2026) in Greece to research her educator project "Citizen Science in the Classroom."
On Tuesday, May 26th, 2026, at 7:00 p.m., she will present her findings, and relate her activities and visit.
Join us at: https://zoom.us/j/96038887025
Below, you can find her short bio and an abstract of her presentation. You can also read about Alison’s initial educator project proposal on the Fulbright Foundation website, and her subsequent activities and outcomes on her Substack page.
If you wish to keep in touch with the Fulbright Education Network- Greece, please register here.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdgk8G_9bXxudcq_riABzTXZk6EzTsOyqDqaLMnAAXEYuOfmw/viewform
We are looking forward to seeing you online.
Kind regards,
Fulbright Greece & Fulbright Education Network - Greece
TITLE
Get outside! How citizen science curriculum and EcoSchool projects in Greek schools support hands-on learning and citizenship.
ABSTRACT:
The goal of the project is to gather best-practices for how teachers can incorporate citizen science into their classrooms more easily and more frequently. Research has shown that when students can be outside, experiencing the natural world first-hand, their learning and emotional connection with the environment is much stronger. The initial plan was to talk with secondary teachers about their use of citizen science platforms, specifically iNaturalist, and the types of outdoor lessons that are taught. I quickly learned that most secondary teachers only complete environmental and sustainability projects as part of an afterschool club. There is not enough time in the required national curriculum to do hands-on activities. Primary and middle level teachers have more time to engage in outdoor or citizen science lessons during the school day. I found that participation in the Eco-School program, applying of Erasmus project grants, and membership in professional science teacher organizations all increased the amount of engagement in science projects. Support of the school principal and the mayor of the municipality is also a key factor in project success. Many teachers were interested in using citizen science data platforms, such as ESA, NASA, or iNaturalist but acknowledged that these would be used only to support a larger project or initiative. The only teacher I interviewed that used iNaturalist as part of the class curriculum taught an environmental science class at one of the new Onassis schools. The largest barrier to participation in citizen science is lack of time while trying to cover national curriculum material.
BIO:
Alison has been an educator for over 30 years. She has earned a BS in Biology and MEd in Environmental Education. Alison teaches secondary science courses in Duluth Minnesota. She worked as a teacher ambassador for the National Center for Science Education from 2019-2021 and was awarded the Goldfine Goldstar Teacher award in 2022. For her Fulbright research project, Alison has been visiting classrooms in Athens and Kalamata, learning how the teachers are incorporating the outdoors, citizen science and sustainability lessons into their curriculum. Citizen science experiences have been proven to encourage critical thinking, foster a connection to the outdoors and increase student agency regarding local environmental actions. “When students can be outside, experiencing the natural world first-hand, their learning is so much more meaningful.”
