Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
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Item A needs assessment of operational and production practices of Montana beef prodcuers(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2024) Paul, Makayla Rae; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Shannon ArnoldMontana State University Extension provides educational programming for beef producers across the state of Montana. To develop programming opportunities for beef producers in Montana, Extension agents must first identify their needs. To determine the needs of beef producers in Montana, needs assessments should be conducted periodically. The purpose of this study was to explore Montana beef producers' operational and production practices and preferences for educational programming. This study used a descriptive research design. The study utilized a web-based survey for data collection and was distributed to participants utilizing email to examine the characteristics of Montana beef producers. The survey was delivered to county Extension agents employed by Montana State University, agents forwarded the survey information to beef producers located in their counties. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The study identified barriers to attending programming were timing of programming and scheduled dates. The preference of program delivery was identified to be traditional 1-2-hour meetings with applicable research, reading materials, and tools to take home. The data indicated Montana beef producers want education focused on cattle marketing, range management, and virtual fencing. It was also identified that producers utilize pocket-sized books to collect herd level data and most often collecting data on pregnancy rate. Respondents indicated they do not collect herd level data on liver and blood, fecal, and not harvested feedstuffs. When adopting new operational practices, the data declared cost to be a major concern to producers and their biggest daily concern to be cow/calf management. It was recommended for Extension agents to focus programming efforts to provide tools for producers to use on their operations. These tools should include tools to assist with cattle marketing, range management and accounting software. It was recommended for MontGuides to be developed for herd health, reproduction, and sampling of distinct types of feedstuffs and bodily fluid.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 Continued professional development among secondary agricultural education teachers in Uganda, a case study(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2023) Kibirige, Brian; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dustin PerryThe purpose of study was to identify the existing professional needs among Ugandan secondary agricultural education teachers. This was investigated using the following research objectives: 1. Profile the educational background of Ugandan secondary agricultural education teachers. 2. Identify the kind of continuous professional development activities that Ugandan secondary agricultural education teachers participate in. 3. Assess the perceptions of Ugandan secondary agricultural education teachers towards the available CPD programs. 4. Establish the level of subject content knowledge among majority of Ugandan secondary agricultural education teachers. 5. Determine if pedagogical gaps exist among Ugandan secondary agricultural education teachers.Item An exploration of the relationship between resilience and commitment to teaching across Montana agricultural educator career stages(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2021) Toft, Joshua Thomas; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dustin PerryThe purpose of this study was to fill an identified research gap between resilience and commitment to teaching and establish whether a relationship between these two factors exists across educator career stages. This study used a mixed methods research design, beginning with a quantitative survey instrument examining resilience and commitment to teaching. The survey was delivered to all Montana agricultural educators in each defined career stage (pre-service, early, mid, and late). All quantitative data was analyzed using Excel. A purposive sample of participants was selected for further qualitative analysis via semi-structured interviews. Interviews were delivered face-to-face and over the phone, with audio recordings and field notes used for data collection. Data analysis was completed for quantitative and qualitative data separately, with analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation analyses used for quantitative data and thematic analysis used for qualitative data. The two analyses were integrated, with the qualitative analysis used to help explain and support the results of the quantitative data analysis. Results from the survey revealed no statistically significant differences in mean resilience scores; however, a significant mean difference was identified between the commitment to teaching scores of pre-service and early-career educators. Subsequent interviews revealed four prevalent themes: (1) distinct purpose, (2) lifelong learners, (3) focusing on the good, and (4) strong support systems. A statistically significant difference in commitment to teaching scores between pre-service and early-career educators was discovered and linked, using interview data, to the presence or absence of strong support systems. A significant correlation between resilience and commitment to teaching was also observed, though the low strength of the correlation was suggestive of the complexity of both concepts. Interviews revealed noticeable discrepancies in perceived resilience between quantitative and qualitative measures, leading to a recommendation for an updated and educator specific instrument for evaluating resilience. Lastly, a suggested relationship, particularly among experienced educators, between prior successes and their resilience and commitment to teaching was discovered. It was therefore recommended teacher educators design programs to help pre-service and early-career educators develop a bank of successes to draw on as they begin their teaching career.Item A descriptive study of 4-H adult volunteers' perceptions of distance learning(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2021) Schomer, Brett Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Carl IgoLike many other states Montana 4-H is experiencing reduced participation in types of face-to-face volunteer learning experiences. To continue to provide a high-quality program to both youth members and volunteer leaders without putting burden on MSU Extension field faculty, distance learning has been identified as a possible solution to this phenomenon. MSU Extension agents indicated during 2018 focus groups that distance learning is a viable and exciting delivery method for some types of 4-H learning experiences, however further investigation of user perceptions is necessary before we proceed as a system. By using quantitative descriptive research methodology, this study identifies the perceptions and needs of the prospective adult volunteer user in order for 4-H professionals to adequately assess and design the integration of distance learning methods with 4-H learning experiences, specifically for volunteer training. This study is aimed at considering the possibilities of distance learning and bringing them together with the ideas and opinions of the individuals who have an important stake in program delivery.