Learning with Ants and Insects
Ants, insects & citizen science as practical tools for teaching environmental awareness, biodiversity, and scientific thinking.
Ants are an ideal entry point for teaching key curriculum-related concepts such as nature awareness, species diversity, and scientific thinking. Because most students are familiar with ants and tend to associate them with positive traits, these animals spark curiosity and reduce fear or hesitation.
The citizen science projects by Discover Ants are perfectly tailored to schools, as they combine empirical research with education. Students learn scientific concepts by applying them independently—they discover how numbers become data. The collected datasets can also be used across various subjects.
Discover Ants workshops are an ideal continuing education opportunity for biology and general science teachers. By diving deeper into ants, insects, and other arthropods, educators are empowered to teach these topics more vividly and effectively.
Workshops with a special focus or for specific events are available upon request!
Magdalena Sorger, PhD is an evolutionary ecologist and science communicator. Her work has been focused on ants since 2008. She taught at universities in the United States. As part of a large-scale collaboration she deleveoped ways for teachers and scientists to work together to better convey science concepts in school through Citizen Science. She created the Citizen Science project Ant Picnic specically for the classroom.
Created by D.M. Sorger © 2022