Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
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Item Using an adapted LOSA to assess safety conditions of an undergraduate construction course(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2024) Sponheim, Isaac Mikhel; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dustin PerryStudents working in the agricultural mechanics laboratory are exposed to valuable career-building skills. However, this is also a hazardous environment in which many are injured annually (Chumbley et al., 2018; Perry et al., 2012; Saucier et al., 2014; Utah Department of Health, 2007). As students leave SBAE and go out into the workforce, the safety story does not improve much with workplace fatality numbers rising in recent years (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021). Agricultural mechanics teachers are forced to deal with this problem on an individual basis, so without a standardized method of assessing and teaching safety a gap has been left between how students interact with safety in school and in the workplace. One proposed solution is to utilize industry safety models to teach and assess safety in the classroom. A specific example of this is the Line Operation Safety Audit used by commercial airlines (Klinect et al., 2003). This paper will explore the background of this instrument and its applicability to the agricultural mechanics environment.Item Reimagining John Dewey for the 21st century: the art of living - praxis for social utility and wellbeing(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Munson, Jesine Lynn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Melissa RagainThe purpose of this dissertation is to explore the rich parallels and connections between John Dewey's pragmatic theories involving aesthetics, education, and experience and the aspects of the Compassion Project that center upon participant's physical and imaginative engagement in the experience of creating an artifact expressive of their thoughts and feelings. As human beings inhabit the world, we participate in shared universes of meaning and value that have been realized through human activity. This transformation of the powers of nature into expressive media, or an "artifact", gives shape and significance to human life. Art, in other words, is nothing more than the quest for concretely embodied meaning and value in human existence. Embodied aesthetic experience fluidly incorporates thinking, feeling, and making which produces experiences of the most meaningful sort. This research realizes the importance of this type of mindful, creative, compassionate engagement in developing resilient communities for the Twenty-First Century. By reimagining John Dewey's ideas, I examine the importance of aesthetic experience for our everyday lives as a means for communication and unity across diverse perspectives. The artifact is iconic of that nexus of dynamical change and emblematic of Dewey's theories as they find expression in the Compassion Project. It is a retrofitting of theory to practice. In the process, both Dewey's theories and the Compassion Project's practices may be better illuminated. As this research has progressed, the notion of artifact creation has advanced into the idea of habit formation within ourselves, our actual bodies and minds becoming the artifact of our making, applying pragmatic intelligence as the art of living.Item Integrating universal design for learning in online math education: the Desmos experience(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2023) Wiehe, Blake Skyler; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Nick LuxThe Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework is a modern neuroscientific approach to creating learning experiences that are highly accessible and engaging for all students. Despite the growing evidence supporting the theory of UDL, the literature significantly lacks examples of the practical application of UDL principles in curricular resources. This study was designed to investigate an online math learning platform that claims to be developed according to the UDL Guidelines. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the practical application of various UDL Guidelines within the Desmos middle school math platform. The UDL Guidelines served as the basis for this analysis, mapping the data collection and analysis according to the checkpoints that substantiate the nine UDL Guidelines. Through the analysis of six randomly chosen Desmos units from sixth through eighth grade, the results suggest that Desmos substantiates their claim to UDL-alignment through a host of interactive, customizable, and highly relevant learning experiences. The Desmos platform lacks certain features like layout customization, hyperlinked vocabulary support, and activation of background knowledge that could further bolster its alignment to the UDL Guidelines. However, the alignment examples discovered offer a window into UDL-aligned design thinking that can serve as inspiration for external curriculum developers and educators looking to create their own UDL learning experiences. This study was a pilot attempt at characterizing UDL design thinking found within an existing curriculum. Future studies analyzing other curricular resources for UDL alignment are warranted, along with further investigations into the impact of those platforms on student achievement.Item Engineering leader identity development through reflexive instruction(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 2021) Tallman, Brett Pierson; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Bill Schell and Bryce Hughes (co-chair)Recent developments in engineering education have prioritized focus on developing leadership as a professional skill. Despite widespread efforts, indications are that the effectiveness of skill-based training is mixed, at best. One approach that has demonstrated promise is using identity as a lens for understanding leadership development. Its impact on engineering leadership is relatively unexplored. This research strives to contribute to the field by measuring leader identity development due to instruction that leverages the lens of identity. In addition, the research explored the influence of engineering leadership construct (i.e., how students think about engineering leadership) and student class year on leader identity. A retrospective post-test measure was used to assess student leadership beliefs. Qualitative data (student essays, for example) supported interpretation of the quantitative data. Results indicate that short-term reflexive instruction (focusing on values, language, reflection, and group work) significantly increases leader identity and changes leadership construct. Moreover, the perceived relationship between engineering and leadership is a significant predictor of leader identity. These findings provide a promising first look at the operationalization of an identity-based approach to engineering leadership development, as well as the relationship between leader identity and one's understanding of engineering leadership.Item Clinical nursing education in a time of Covid-19: a comparison of virtual and in-person simulation debriefing methods(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2021) Kirk, Meghan Anne; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jennifer SofieA global COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March, 2020, causing educators and students around the world to pivot toward virtual education when in-person education methods became impossible to safely deliver. This posed unique challenges within nursing education and other disciplines, which historically required experiential or hands-on training. Barriers and disadvantages to traditional in-person clinical nursing education methods such as: limited clinical site availability, competition between schools for clinical sites, cost, increased risk potential, increased patient acuity, decreased average length of hospital stay, and faculty shortages led to exploration of clinical education through in-person and virtual simulation methods predating the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the essential elements of simulation is debriefing, which describes an interactive and reflective discussion of simulation events, which aids in assimilation of new knowledge and ability to apply what is learned in future clinical experiences. The project lead explored and compared 3rd-year nursing student experiences with face-to-face simulation debriefing and virtual debriefing methods. Debriefing Assessment for Simulation in Healthcare survey scores for a small convenience sample of students (n=17) for each debriefing method were collected before and after the COVID-19 mediated educational shift. Qualitative responses were solicited only in the virtual debriefing survey, when students were asked to identify their preference for either face-to-face or virtual debriefing as well as any benefits or challenges associated with each method. Descriptive statistics along with a one-group two-tailed repeated measures Student's T-test was completed for analysis in The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. T-test results of student scores for each debriefing element were all statistically insignificant at a 95% confidence interval, aside from Element #5 which describes instructor identification of success or failure modes. Student ratings for debriefing quality and subsequent T-test findings suggest that student experience with virtual and face-to-face methods is equal, except with regard to instructor feedback, but are limited due to diminished statistical power. However, qualitative results indicate students uniformly expressed a preference for traditional debriefing methods over virtual simulation debriefing. Virtual simulation debriefing, while not as familiar or easy in terms of communication, appears to be an effective alternative to traditional, face-to-face debriefing.Item The effects of field experience in a physical geology high school classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Lorenz, Vincente James; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThe field trip experience has been around for the better part of two centuries (Emmons, 1836; Falcon-Lang, 2009; Hopkins, 1835a, b; Perry 1899). However, with fast-paced technological lifestyles, a shift to teach toward high-stakes testing, and transportation budget cuts, field trip experiences have been pushed increasingly to the outskirts when it comes to modern education. The purpose of this research is to assess the effects of geology field experiences on student learning in a high school geology classroom. A sub-question concentrated on student attitudes and engagement toward studying science. Seventeen public high school students ranging from sophomores to seniors completed the study in a single classroom. The students studied four different geologic sites specific to Indiana. Study sites included a meteor impact site as a non-treatment study and a glacial geology site as a treatment study. Students then studied a second non-treatment site identified as an ancient seafloor environment, and a treatment site focused on karst topography. A variety of data collection tools assessed students both quantitatively and qualitatively. Students completed pre and post-surveys, comprehension pre and post-tests, site-specific notes and drawings, as well as interviews. Teacher recorded observations and a reflective journal were kept to monitor students and their behavior throughout the study. During the non-treatment period students were told to take notes and draw field sketches based on a specific site in the classroom. During a treatment period students took a field trip to complete notes and field drawings at a specific geologic field site. It is important to note that this study was interrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and so one non-treatment and one treatment site had to be completed as part of e-learning. I filmed one treatment site to generate a virtual field experience. Student results indicated an overall positive impact toward studying geology via field experiences. Although it was interesting that more students were engaged in the classroom rather than in the field, students displayed positive gains for both treatment units. Students surveyed and interviewed displayed an overall better attitude and appreciation toward studying science.Item Assessing the effects of expeditionary field science courses on student's environmental literacy(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Bavier, Adam Geoffrey; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThis action research project studied how student's environmental literacy responded to an immersive field biology experience. Treatment was a 5-day expeditionary field course designed to connect students to wildlife research in Yellowstone. While on course, students participated in science education modules structured around the natural and cultural history of bison and the modern practices used to manage their population. Pre/post environmental literacy assessments were administered and a progressive Draw-an-Ecosystem model was delivered and scored. Results showed moderate content knowledge learning as well as increases in students empowerment and intention to act relative to environmental issues and their confidence with science competencies.Item Exploring the conceptual framework and knowledge base of nature-based experiential education(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2020) Meyer, Joshua Joseph; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Robert CarsonThis study examined the current status of Nature Based Experiential Education (NBEE) with respect to its underlying knowledge base and conceptual framework. Compared to other professions, including K-12 education, these formalized attributes have appeared to be fairly minimal. Anecdotally, NBEE draws upon an eclectic array of sources for inspiration and knowledge, while practitioners rely extensively on their own acquired base of personal experience for guidance. If this is true, then there is a certain element of rugged individualism to be admired. The tradeoff, though, would be a commensurate inability to form a cohesive discourse community, to identify and codify best practice, to establish a coherent research agenda to advance the state of the art, and to support either professional development or the establishment of standards in any kind of systematic and meaningful manner. Assuming that these are desirable goals, the initial challenge was to determine what sources of knowledge are most prominent among its practitioners. This study addressed that problem by using a qualitative mixed methods approach. The researcher employed three separate but complementary methods - by critically reviewing NBEE-related literature, by interviewing individuals with expertise in NBEE, and by surveying NBEE practitioners. The results of this study tend to support the anecdotal view that practitioner knowledge is eclectic, diverse, and largely dependent upon the experiences of individual practitioners, a kind of folk craft which is nevertheless shared among members of the field. It also revealed a small but robust inventory of inspirational and informative publications, some widely known. The project itself was met with interest, as practitioners and experts generally agreed that the profession would benefit from a more systematic and contemporary foundation of canonical knowledge and guiding principles. The study concludes by making several recommendations on how these goals can be served.