Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Student participation in a coastal water quality citizen science project and its contribution to the conceptual and procedural learning of chemistry

Researchers developed a citizen science project involving students in monitoring coastal water quality parameters and detecting microplastics, finding that participation improved both conceptual understanding of chemistry and procedural laboratory skills. The study demonstrates the value of citizen science as a formal chemistry learning tool at the secondary level.

2021 Chemistry Education Research and Practice 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Students’ Attitudes Towards Science: the Contribution of a Citizen Science Project for Monitoring Coastal Water Quality and (micro)plastics

This study found that middle school students participating in a citizen science project monitoring coastal water quality and microplastic pollution showed improved attitudes toward science, particularly in critical thinking and perceived scientific self-efficacy. Hands-on engagement with real environmental monitoring activities can effectively improve science literacy and positive attitudes toward environmental issues in young people.

2021 Journal of Baltic Science Education 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Desenvolvimento da literacia química de alunos do ensino básico

A Portuguese citizen-science project engaged over 500 middle-school students in testing coastal water quality and learning about microplastic pollution through hands-on chemistry investigations. The program significantly improved students' attitudes toward chemistry and their conceptual understanding of water parameters and polymers compared to a control group, demonstrating that microplastic science can be an effective hook for building broader scientific literacy in young people.

2024 Educación Química 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Students’ attitudes towards the environment and marine litter in the context of a coastal water quality educational citizen science project

Middle school students who participated in a citizen science project monitoring coastal water quality and microplastic pollution showed significantly more positive environmental attitudes afterward compared to a control group. The study suggests that hands-on engagement with real microplastic research can be an effective way to build environmental awareness in young people.

2023 Australian Journal of Environmental Education 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Development and validation of an assessment for measuring chemical literacy in chemical equilibrium

A chemical literacy assessment was developed and validated for high school students studying chemical equilibrium, designed to measure how well students connect chemistry concepts to real-world phenomena including environmental chemistry and pollution. The assessment tool provided a validated instrument for evaluating chemistry education outcomes relevant to environmental awareness.

2024 Jurnal Pendidikan Kimia
Systematic Review Tier 1

Citizen Science Project's Contribution to Science Learning Outcome: Systematic Literature Review

This systematic review identified 19 types of citizen science projects that contribute to science learning at school and university levels, finding that six key learning outcomes are most commonly achieved, including content knowledge and scientific inquiry skills. This study is not related to microplastics but was included due to its systematic review methodology.

2023 EDUSAINS 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Citizen_Labs – conception and evaluation of a course on plastic waste and microplastic in adult education

Researchers conceived and evaluated a citizen science laboratory course on plastic waste and microplastics for adult education, examining how experiential learning formats can raise environmental awareness and scientific literacy about plastic pollution among non-specialist participants.

2022 CHEMKON 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The benefits and negative impacts of citizen science applications to water as experienced by participants and communities

Researchers surveyed participants in citizen science water monitoring projects to understand both the benefits and challenges of public involvement in scientific research. They found that while citizen science projects generate valuable data and increase public awareness of water issues, participants also reported frustrations with technology, data quality concerns, and unclear communication from project organizers. The study offers recommendations for improving citizen science program design to enhance both scientific outcomes and participant satisfaction.

2020 Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Water 189 citations
Article Tier 2

STEAM Project-Based Learning Activities at the Science Museum as an Effective Training for Future Chemistry Teachers

A project-based STEAM learning methodology developed for pre-service chemistry teachers at a science museum was found effective in connecting non-formal learning environments to teacher training, enhancing engagement with scientific disciplines and pedagogical skills.

2022 Education Sciences 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Creating Positive Environmental Impact Through Citizen Science

This paper examines how citizen science programs can generate positive environmental outcomes by engaging the public in data collection while building environmental awareness. It discusses what conditions and design choices maximize both scientific value and real-world impact from citizen science initiatives.

2021 71 citations
Article Tier 2

Longitudinal Study of Motivation, Attitude, and Knowledge of Citizen Scientists Monitoring Plastic Pollution On Dutch Riverbanks

Researchers conducted a longitudinal study of 403 citizen scientists participating in the Dutch Clean Rivers riverbank plastic monitoring project between 2017 and 2021, finding that project action and environmental motivations increased significantly within the first year while knowledge of scientific research methods also improved.

2024 Citizen Science Theory and Practice
Article Tier 2

Pedagogical Purposes of Scientifical and Technological Literacy within Sustainable and Green Chemistry in the High School

This paper distinguishes between environmental, sustainable, and green chemistry and discusses how these frameworks can be integrated into high school science education. Teaching students about plastic pollution and its chemical impacts is part of developing scientifically literate citizens.

2023 Preprints.org 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Citizen science in environmental and ecological sciences

This review describes how citizen science, where non-professional volunteers help collect data, is being applied in environmental and ecological research. Citizen science projects have contributed to monitoring pollution, biodiversity, and water quality across large geographic areas. The approach is relevant to microplastic research because trained volunteers can help sample and catalog microplastic contamination across many locations that professional scientists cannot cover alone.

2022 Nature Reviews Methods Primers 426 citations
Article Tier 2

A self‐reported instrument to measure and foster students' science connection to life with the CARE‐KNOW‐DO model and open schooling for sustainability

Researchers developed and validated a self-reported instrument to measure students' connection to science using the CARE-KNOW-DO model combined with an open schooling approach for sustainability. The study involved students working on real-world environmental problems including microplastic pollution alongside families and scientists. Evidence indicates that this approach can strengthen young people's engagement with science and sustainability topics.

2024 Journal of Research in Science Teaching 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Application of the Environmental Exploration Approach (JAS) Assisted by QR Codes to Increase Scientific Literacy Aspects of Competency and Conservation Attitudes in Plantae Material

Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of an Environmental Exploration approach assisted by QR codes on scientific literacy and conservation attitudes among secondary school students, using a quantitative design with control and experimental classes to measure competency and attitude outcomes in plant biology instruction.

2024 Biosfer Jurnal Tadris Biologi 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Service-learning

This paper is not directly about microplastics; it describes a service-learning pedagogy used at a Croatian chemistry faculty to teach environmental protection, with community-based projects as the primary focus.

2024 Kemija u industriji 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Citizen science approaches for water quality measurements

Researchers reviewed 72 studies that used citizen science — data collection by trained volunteers rather than professional scientists — to monitor surface water quality, evaluating the methods used and the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. The review highlights citizen science as a valuable complement to traditional water monitoring, particularly for expanding geographic and temporal coverage of data collection.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Psychological outcomes from a citizen science study on microplastics from household clothes washing

A three-month citizen science project in the Netherlands studied how participating in microfiber laundry bag monitoring influenced residents' environmental awareness and washing behaviors, finding that hands-on engagement with pollution measurement can shift consumer attitudes.

2025 Environmental Science Advances
Article Tier 2

Citizen Science in the Philippines: Coastal biodiversity engagements on a small island

This paper is not directly about microplastics; it surveys public participation in citizen science projects on a small Philippine island, focusing on coastal biodiversity conservation and volunteerism patterns by gender and age.

2024 Journal of Marine and Island Cultures 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Psychological outcomes from a citizen science study on microplastics from household clothes washing

Researchers reported on the psychological outcomes for participants in a citizen science project studying household microplastic sources, finding that engagement with microplastic research increased environmental awareness and motivated behavior change around plastic use.

2025
Article Tier 2

Observing Microplastics in the Environment through Citizen-Science-Inspired Laboratory Investigations

This paper describes three hands-on laboratory activities developed for high school students to extract, count, and identify microplastics from personal care products, water, and sediment samples, inspired by citizen science methods. The activities aim to increase students' environmental literacy and motivate engagement with the microplastics problem through direct experimentation. Engaging young people in microplastics science is important for building the next generation of environmentally aware citizens and researchers.

2023 Journal of Chemical Education 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhancing chemistry understanding and attitudes through an outreach education program on circular plastic economy: a case study with Thai twelfth-grade students

Researchers examined the impact of an outreach education program integrating the circular plastic economy (OEC-Circle) on 32 Thai 12th-grade students, finding that inquiry-based learning modules covering plastic chemistry, circular economy, and sustainable polymers improved both chemistry understanding and positive learning attitudes.

2025 Chemistry Teacher International
Article Tier 2

Assessing in-service chemistry teachers’ environmental literacy on hydrosphere pollution

Researchers assessed the environmental literacy of 66 in-service chemistry teachers regarding hydrosphere pollution topics including microplastics, agricultural runoff, ocean acidification, e-waste, and persistent organic pollutants. Teachers showed moderately low overall environmental literacy with limited knowledge and frequent misconceptions on newer issues like microplastics, despite demonstrating strong pro-environmental dispositions.

2025 Eurasia Journal of Mathematics Science and Technology Education
Article Tier 2

Can we investigate microplastic pollution with school students? Experiences from eight years of citizen science research

Researchers reported on eight years of citizen science microplastic research conducted with school students through the Plastic Pirates program, sharing methodological experiences and lessons learned from involving more than 24,000 participants across Germany and other European countries in rigorous environmental monitoring.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)