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

Towards Culturally Responsive & Decolonized Place-Based Environmental Science Education
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2026-06)
Sellars, Mary Riley
;
Walter Woolbaugh
This paper examines how place-based environmental science education can be made more culturally responsive and inclusive of different relationships to land and community. It draws on research about place-based education, culturally responsive teaching, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and decolonizing science education. This research is used to identify practical strategies for connecting environmental science with students’ lived experiences, cultural knowledge, and local environments while maintaining alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards.The paper presents five adaptable lesson frameworks centered on community mapping, environmental language, interviews about environmental change, environmental case studies, and environmental policy. These frameworks encourage students to investigate local phenomena, consider multiple perspectives, use scientific evidence, and reflect on how history and power influence environmental issues. They also demonstrate ways to include community and Indigenous knowledge alongside Western science without treating these perspectives as supplemental. This paper suggests that environmental science instruction can be both scientifically rigorous and responsive to the communities in which learning occurs. The proposed frameworks offer educators starting points for helping students connect science to their own lives, participate in environmental decision-making, and recognize themselves and their communities as sources of meaningful environmental knowledge.
Leveled Assessments in High School Biology and their Effects on Student Well Being
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2026-08)
Lakin, Beth Leigh
;
Jessica Anderson
Traditional summative assessments often fail to accurately measure student understanding, limiting meaningful feedback and negatively impacting student confidence, performance, and perceptions of learning. To determine how leveled assessments impact student performance, confidence and perceptions of fairness, students in high school biology were administered a unit test in three leveled versions. Students selected their test version in consultation with the teacher and could opt into a lower-level assessment if they found their selection to be too difficult. Student performance on the leveled assessment led to modest, statistically insignificant student performance compared to a prior traditional assessment. Student confidence increased slightly although students indicated a strong preference for leveled assessments citing agency and appropriate difficulty as positives. This initial study indicates that leveled assessments are a possible way to more accurately measure student performance and give better feedback.
Biomimicry for Authentic Learning: The Effect on High School Students' Science and Engineering Skills
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2026-07)
Gustafson, Annie Celine
;
Walter Woolbaugh
Critical thinking, collaboration, and innovative problem-solving skills are increasingly critical to teach in order to address the unprecedented global challenges our world is facing. The United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) define these challenges and represent a global commitment to addressing them. For progress towards a sustainable future, science education needs authentic learning experiences to provide the platform that mirrors the processes, uncertainties, and creative demands of real scientific work. This study (N=106) evaluated the effects of using biomimicry as an authentic learning experience in a high school science classroom. The treatment involved all students participating in model-based inquiry and engineering design through a biomimicry project aligned with one of the SDGs of their interest. Using a mixed methods approach, academic performance of students’ ability to develop and use models, analyze data, and design solutions was analyzed. The results indicated that the biomimicry project can be used as an authentic learning experience for students. It had positive results on developing students’ science and engineering skills and students showed measurable improvements with identifying correct science and engineering skills for specific science tasks. These findings can inform effective strategies for implementing meaningful, real-world learning experiences in the science classroom.
Positively Influencing Understanding and Attitudes of Water Use in Colorado Through Raising Trout in the Classroom
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2026-08)
Oksness, Garret Michael
;
Walter Woolbaugh
This Action Research Project studies the impact of a hands-on unit, which teaches about freshwater ecosystems through raising trout in the classroom, on high school students’ understanding of, and attitudes toward real world issues related to nature, conservation, and natural resource management. The project took place in a high school environmental science class at Wellington Middle High School, in Wellington, Colorado. Twenty-two students in grades 11 and 12 participated in the study. The project occurred over a 4-week period. Students filled out pre- and post-surveys with Likert Scale responses. Ten students also participated in individual pre- and post-interviews. Field observations of examples of engagement were made by me, the instructor. The results of my investigation showed that there was a positive effect on students’ attitude and understanding of real-world issues relating to stream ecology, water quality, nature and conservation, and natural resource management through raising trout in the classroom. When comparing pre- and post-interviews, students moved from general descriptions of environmental issues, such as littering, to more complex answers involving population growth, water use, and human impacts. Students demonstrated increased understanding of identifying local species and ecological conditions those species indicate. Attitudes toward nature and conservation remained consistently positive. Students felt they had a better understanding of nature and conservation. I also observed that experiential, hands-on activities increased students’ engagement and attitudes toward topics covered in this unit. These hands-on, experiential learning activities helped to reinforce key concepts covered throughout the Trout in the Classroom unit. In conclusion, teaching freshwater ecosystems through raising trout in the classroom was an effective strategy for increasing students’ understanding of, and attitudes toward real-world issues related to nature, conservation, and natural resource management.
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.