The Crowdsource Science project is part of the Special Education Research Accelerator (SERA), a national research network that employs a coordinated, crowdsourced model of data collection to support large-scale, methodoligically rigorous educational research. Through SERA, a distributed network of research partners implements standardized study protocols and contributes systematically collected data from diverse educational contexts. This collaborative approach enables the creation of geographically representative datasets that capture the complexity of instructional practice while maintaining high levels of procedural fidelity across sites.
The project was implemented across multiple phases over four academic years. Year 1 consisted of a national survey of general education and special education teachers, designed to document science instructional practices, supports, and perceptions related to students with and without learning disabilities. Years 2–4 transitioned to a structured classroom‑based observational design focused on Grade 4 and Grade 5 science instruction. These observational phases followed consistent protocols to document instructional practice, classroom discourse, and student learning opportunities in naturally occurring instructional settings.
The teacher sample that participated in the Year 1 national survey is distinct from the teachers who participated in the Grade 4 and Grade 5 classroom observation study in Years 2-4, as each phase involved independent recruitment and sampling procedures. Documentation for the standalone national survey samples is available in the associated OSF component.
Detailed information about the project protocol, data collection procedures, instructional materials, and supporting resources for the classroom observation study can be found on the SERA website. These materials pertain specifically to the implementation of the Grade 4 and Grade 5 observation study, including partner guidance and standardized procedures for data collection across participating sites.
Open Science Framework Repository and Relational Database
This Open Science Framework (OSF) repository serves as the central hub for documentation and data associated with the Crowdsource Science project. It provides access to the integrated relational dataset, detailed methodological documentation, and resources to support transparent, reproducible, and secondary analyses. The repository is intended to facilitate rigorous reuse by researchers examining instructional practices and learning opportunities in elementary science for students with and without learning disabilities.
The relational dataset integrates multiple systematically linked sources of data at the classroom, teacher, and student levels. These include national teacher survey data, student demographic information, lesson transcripts, coded classroom observation data, text message–based survey responses, coded instructional materials, and coded student work samples. Documentation within this repository provides detailed specifications for each component, including data structure, coding procedures, and information for linking observational audio recordings to the broader relational database.
Classroom Audio Recordings
Audio data associated with this project are housed separately within a restricted‑access volume on Databrary. The Databrary volume contains the raw audio recordings of Grade 4 and Grade 5 science lessons collected during the observational phases of the study. Access to these recordings is governed by Databrary’s data‑sharing policies and requires separate authorization. Researchers must apply for and be granted access through Databrary in order to view or download these files.
Attribution, Citation, and Authorship Guidance
Researchers using materials, documentation, or datasets from this repository should consult the SERA Attribution, Citation, and Authorship Guide, available as a project file within this OSF repository. This document outlines the project’s attribution and authorship model and provides standardized citation formats for all project materials, including technical documentation, datasets, and study instruments. Users are expected to follow these guidelines when referencing or reusing project resources to ensure appropriate acknowledgment of SERA and contributing research partners.
