ScholarWorks

ScholarWorks is an open access repository for the capture of the intellectual work of Montana State University (MSU) in support of its teaching, research and service missions. MSU ScholarWorks is a central point of discovery for accessing, collecting, sharing, preserving, and distributing knowledge to the Montana State University community and the world.

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Scholarship & Research

Recent Submissions

Aligning Indigenous Knowledge with Montana's Middle School Physical Science Standards
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2026-08)
Schuster, Heidi Lyn
;
Christina Pavovlich
Science instruction in Montana is required to include Indigenous perspectives through Indian Education for All (IEFA), yet few resources exist that embed Native knowledge in ways that align with the Montana middle school physical science standards. This leaves teachers without lessons to engage student with connections to their culture and community. The purpose of this project is to design and justify a set of physical science lessons that authentically integrate Indigenous knowledge while meeting Montana’s middle school science standards. This project uses an educational scholarship design approach to develop nine lesson plans aligned with Montana’s middle school physical science standards related to forces, energy, matter, and waves. Lessons are constructed using the 5E instructional model and incorporate place-based phenomena, Indigenous perspectives, and Claim-Evidence-Reasoning assessments. Development of the content included analysis of standards, identification of meaningful connections to Native knowledge, particularly from Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribes, and review for cultural accuracy and alignment with IEFA principles. This project has created rigorous, standards-based physical science lessons that authentically embed Indigenous knowledge without reducing it to supplemental content. The lessons encourage using Native perspectives to enhance understanding, increase student engagement, and support connections between scientific ideas and real-world experiences. The use of structured instructional frameworks allows for consistency, while place-based activities support relevance of tribal history, culture and knowledge. Embedding Indigenous knowledge into physical science is both feasible and necessary in science education in Montana. This work helps bridge the gap between policy and classroom practice. Cultural, place-based science instruction can strengthen student learning, support identity, and promote an inclusive understanding of science as a discipline that values multiple ways of knowing.
Impacts of Choice and Unstructured Writing on Middle School Students' Writing Self Perception and Motivation
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2026-08)
Brown, Mallory
;
Allison Wynhoff Olsen
School systems in the United States are emphasizing a focus on standards and standardized testing. With this focus, time for writing in the classroom is lost. Students are also coming into the classroom with a negative attitude towards writing, and a negative view of themselves as writers. This study focuses specifically on middle school students, and how the infusion of choice and unstructured writing time impacts both their motivation and how they view themselves as writers. Seventh grade students were given two weeks to create a writing project of their choice, of any genre and any topic. This study found that time for unstructured writing allowed students more freedom and choice, which led to many positive experiences with writing and deep engagement with their writing projects. Students also experienced a positive writing community and showed positive growth in how they understand others perceive them as writers, as well as positive growth in their own response towards writing.
The Effects of Formative Assessments on Students Achieving Learning Outcomes in Avalanche Education
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2026-07)
Wood, Emma Quintrell
;
Jessica Anderson
Avalanche education teaches backcountry travelers how to reduce avalanche risk in snow-covered backcountry terrain. Given the severe consequences of avalanches, understanding the course content is imperative for safety. However, these courses are taught outdoors in the winter, and instructors are often challenged to accurately gauge student understanding and misconceptions. This study sought to understand how the use of formative assessments, such as quick checks for understanding, helped instructors adapt their teaching to better meet learning outcomes. Formative assessments were created to target key learning objectives and implemented in a treatment course and compared to a control course. Data were collected through surveys, assessments, interviews, and observations in both the control and treatment courses. Formative assessments revealed students' misconceptions and helped instructors adapt their teaching to meet learning objectives. Additionally, the use of formative assessment led to improvements in student post test scores, engagement, and participation. Formative assessments proved to be practical and effective tools for avalanche education, supporting more accurate assessment of student understanding and deeper student engagement. In the high-risk setting of avalanche education, any improvement in educational outcomes represents progress toward ensuring student safety in the backcountry.
Impact of Cooperative Learning Strategies on Group Work Within a Science Classroom
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2026-08)
Goode, Matthew
;
Walter Woolbaugh
Group work is a critical aspect of student learning within the science classroom. The differences amongst students provide benefits for student learning, but it is also oftentimes the root of issues within peer-to-peer interactions. The objective of the study was to examine the impact of collaborative learning strategies on improving student success amongst various groups. Students completed pre- and post- surveys in order to analyze their perceptions on group work, as well as completed a formal assessment in both comparison and treatment groups. Select students participated in an interview, where personal views on group collaboration were shared. Within the study, students participated in various cooperative learning activities prior to completing group work. Based on analysis of data, I found a strong correlation between the implementation of cooperative learning strategies and improvement of student engagement, collaboration, and understanding of complex science concepts. The use of cooperative learning activities saw a positive gain for high school students in a science classroom.
Tire-3 Vocabulary Retention and Transfer with Student Created Science Infographics
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2026-08)
Lee, Michael Jeong-In
;
Mary Alice Carlson
The sixty-three total Grade 7 students presented in this Capstone have been observed to lack using science vocabulary to explain science concepts and to express it concisely. As a comparison, students were provided a curriculum-created science infographic and students answered questions based on the curriculum-created science infographic. The treatment was to allow students to create individual science infographics using their data collected and learned from their paper notebooks, electronic science vocabulary notebooks, and extra relevant information from web searches. Student data was collected by taking count of quantified coded variables from student written work on an essay assessment without infographics, a curriculum-created science infographic, and student-created science infographic artifacts. Data tables and bar graphs were generated to compare the generation of a claim, using Tier-3 vocabulary, using evidence, and writing reasoning of why the evidence was used or supported the claim. Results revealed that student-created science infographics when compared to their assessment results when no infographic was present to them presented a 4.8% decrease in writing an appropriate & relevant claim when creating their own science infographic, a 17.4% increase in using Tier-3 vocabulary, 39.7% increase and 36.5% increase in data presented and evidence explained with Tier-3 vocabulary, respectively.