Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
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Item Effect of professional development on teachers' understanding of interdisciplinary earth science concepts(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Huffman, Sue Ellen; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesThe Critical Zone describes the interactions that support life on Earth among the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. To truly understand the complex processes, scientists must look outside their immediate focus: geologists, biologists, hydrologists, and physicists collaborate to see how their research fits together. Teachers can do the same and use critical zone concepts to bridge across subjects and from the classroom to the real world. Unfortunately, K12 teachers may not have the requisite knowledge or research experience to feel confident in incorporating critical zone topics into their classes, and professional development services provided by scientists may not properly meet those needs. A three-day professional development program, the result of a collaboration between a research group, Critical Zone Network Drylands Hub, and a non-profit science center, Insights Science Discovery, was developed to support teachers with including place-based, cross-curricular instruction. This mixed-methods study aimed to measure the impact on teachers' knowledge of the related concepts and their confidence in teaching it. Teachers were assessed, surveyed, and asked to draw an image or mental representation of the critical zone model and identify related academic disciplines. Both teachers and contributing scientists were surveyed to learn how their motivations for participating in professional development compared to one another. Mental models increased in their complexity and accuracy of CZ components. This result, combined with a modest improvement in their performance on assessments and a substantial increase in confidence towards including CZ concepts in their curriculum, could indicate that the PD successfully impacted teachers and actions in the classroom. Surveys also revealed that teachers and researchers share many of the same motivations for participating in PD. Ultimately, both groups shared that contributing scientists could be better informed about the teachers' context and needs, making PD content more relevant and applicable to better support student motivation and learning.Item Phenomenon-driven inquiry and science teacher professional development(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Mindelzun, Ariana Rachael; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThe purpose of this Capstone Project was to understand how phenomenon-based inquiry affects teachers' practices. The study investigated if the use of phenomenon-based inquiry positively or negatively affected teachers' practices. It also asked how teachers feel about using phenomenon-based inquiry. The research followed three groups of online courses that consisted of educators learning more about the phenomenon-driven inquiry approach. The first study group consisted of students in a voluntary outreach course with Montana State University. The second and third study groups included graduate-level students in the MSSE course 501. The research compared the teachers' perceptions and experiences with phenomenon-driven inquiry and examined the effects this educational model had on their teaching and their students. The results indicated that teachers found the phenomenon-driven inquiry model helpful and effective in increasing student engagement.Item Classroom climate in a rural school context: reflection, modification, and improvement in the science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2018) Kessler, Aaron William; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisWhen the tardy bell rings and the door closes behind the last student, a very peculiar thing happens. In an age that promotes complete and total connectivity, classrooms are very often being ran in isolation. Only during passing periods or time outside of the teacher/students class periods do conversations regarding student behavior, best practices and classroom climate take place amongst the teachers. This study was an attempt to modify this common occurrence and challenge teachers to learn from their peers during the most critical part of the school day, the time teachers and students were interacting during class time. Instructors observed their own students in different settings, commonly exhibiting different strengths and weaknesses academically, socially and behaviorally. Observing teachers learned from other teacher's good instructional strategies as well as learned from watching poor teaching strategies. Professional conversations regarding what happened during each aspect of the class period were held. Teachers collaboratively identified what works and what needs to be modified to work better. The results of the surveys that were given to the participating teachers indicated that for the first time in many of their careers, they feel that they had an honest assessment of their classroom climate as well as new strategies and teaching methods that could transform their teaching.Item Shifting to science and engineering practices through instructional coaching(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2018) Kremer, Jessica Lynn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisAs Iowa continues forward with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), many teachers have little knowledge about how best to teach this new shift. This study looked at what how instructional coaching practices helped facilitate growth for NGSS in science classrooms. Many teachers do not have the knowledge, confidence and resources to shift to the new science thinking of NGSS. This action research paper looked at instructional coaching and its impact for teacher efficacy in the area of the eight Science and Engineering practices (S&E). Teachers were coached through a 4-week coaching cycle to learn, plan, and implement the eight S&E practices. Teachers were given pre- and post- surveys as well as interviews. Classroom observations were also done. Students also received pre-and post- surveys along with interviews to gauge their understanding of the S&E practices. The results indicated that instructional coaching had a positive impact on teachers' knowledge and efficacy of the practices. Post classroom observations done one month after coaching also showed a continuation of the use and implementation of the S&E practices. Surveys given to students also indicated a positive shift to understanding the S&E practices. However, interviews given to students were inconclusive.Item How does developing an online field ecology course to support high school students impact my growth as a teacher?(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2017) Gottlieb, Liz; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter WoolbaughThe purpose of this project was to investigate how developing an online field ecology course for high school students impacted my growth as a teacher. I teach at an independent high school (N=410) in the San Francisco Bay Area. Three years ago my school joined a BlendEd online consortium. I was asked to teach an online field ecology course for the program. I had no experience with virtual learning as a teacher or student at the time. Data collection for this project not only included teacher journaling and reflection, but also course and teacher surveys from my online and traditional classes, a catalogue of teaching practices, and a trans-classroom teacher survey to compare my experience and growth with other trans-teachers. (Trans-classroom teachers are teachers who teach in both online and traditional classrooms.) The results indicate that I have made changes to teaching practices since teaching online. For example, results of my gall lessons with my online and traditional groups illuminate how online teaching has inspired me to employ multiple new practices like the use of homework kits and science notebooks in my traditional classes. Additionally, developing an online ecology course required me to participate in a wide range of professional development opportunities that all of my students were able to benefit from. Finally, the results of my trans-classroom teacher survey confirm that my experiences are not unlike other trans-teachers; 88% of teachers that I surveyed indicate that their traditional teaching was somewhat or very impacted by their online teaching. After 17 years traditional teaching, I have found online teaching to be invigorating and an opportunity for reinvention.Item Cultivating young minds and a sense of place through teacher professional development(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2016) Vercoe, Emily; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.This project is a professional development experience for educators at Colegio Monte Verde, a primary school serving students from ages three to twelve in Castro Chile. It addresses integrating agroecology, a form of place-based education, into the school curriculum for the 2016 school year, beginning in March. It consisted of four phases: educator curriculum and content development onsite at Centro de Education y Tecnologia Chiloe's experimental farm, summer on and off-site professional development for educators, modeling teaching strategies and content with students, and a presentation of learning in which teachers shared their own place-based lessons. The study is designed to explore how agroecology can be used as a teaching tool to help students better understand the world around them and look at their community as a living laboratory.Item The effects of a professional development program on scientific inquiry on environmental educators' beliefs, self-efficacy, and instruction(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2016) Ouborg, Laura J.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.As educators are faced with the challenge of trying to reform their science teaching and incorporate the Next Generation Science Standards, training to support this change is needed. A professional development program, Understanding Newly Learned Environmental Science Skills (UNLESS), occurred over the course of the 2015-16 school year with a self-selected cohort of environmental educators. This action-research based study examined the question, What are the effects of a professional development program on scientific inquiry on educators' beliefs, self-efficacy, and instruction related to inquiry? These educators learned from science experts and through collaborative inquiry-based lessons shared by the cohort. The course of the program was directed by the interests of the educators. Methods to collect data included surveys, observations, concept maps, interviews, and the facilitator's journal notes. At the conclusion of the UNLESS program, the data showed an increase in participants' confidence, attitude, and instruction related to inquiry. Participants went from less than 20% of their programs including a student-driven investigation to 52%. Indicators of inquiry-orientation seen in observations also increased. While educators still described some ongoing challenges to doing inquiry with students at the conclusion of the program, other challenges were no longer reported. Suggestions for the future of this program are shared along with implications for how to support environmental educators in their pursuit to become more inquiry-based teachers.Item Scientific literacy : teacher conceptual framework in relation to student achievement and attitudes(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2016) Pavlovich, Christina Lynn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.This study engaged teachers in professional development regarding science pedagogy to see if design and implementation of scientific literacy units increased student performance and classroom instruction. These professional development activities focused on scientific and engineering practices as defined by the National Research Council, scientific literacy skills and practices, and unit development. Teachers in this study taught explicit skills and practices during the fall semester and planned a scientific literacy unit that they implemented in their classrooms in the spring semester. The project measured conceptual change and attitudes in teachers in comparison to student achievement and attitudes about science. The study found that teacher conceptual change and attitudes affected student attitudes and achievement.Item The effect of three-dimensional instruction aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards on student learning in high school science(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2016) Samet, Todd Lawrence; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.This action research focused on student learning when instruction and curriculum have been aligned with the three-dimensional learning model of the NGSS. In the author's school district, we are committed to a science curriculum that emphasizes laboratory-based instruction. However, the science and engineering practices of the NGSS suggest some different approaches to this instructional methodology. If those revisions prove effective, the author's students will have improved learning opportunities for both the core disciplinary content and the science and engineering practices. They may also learn these concepts at a deeper level. Consequently, this action research project measured learning at both the acquisition and application/transfer levels to evaluate the depth of student learning.Item Flipping elementary professional development : providing time and flexibility to learn inquiry science(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2016) Knight, Ann Elizabeth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.Elementary science educators in Katy Independent School District voiced concerns that there simply is not enough time to participate in professional development. Teachers claimed district-provided trainings are not convenient to their busy schedules, courses and times are limited, content is lacking, and the level of instruction is superficial because presentation time is inadequate. The purpose of this action research project was to provide meaningful inquiry science professional development over an extended period of time. Elementary science teachers voluntarily participated in this four week action research project. The treatment consisted of a blended learning model which incorporated the use of an online learning platform along with traditional face-to-face professional development. Each week, participants worked at their own pace and completed assignments which focused on strengthening elementary inquiry science skills. Teachers were afforded opportunities to collaborate with fellow classmates using the online discussion board and at meetings. Teachers' beliefs regarding professional growth, collaboration, and self-efficacy for learning about and implementing inquiry science were measured throughout the treatment. Results from this action research project prove teachers received significant benefits from participation in a blended professional model where peer collaboration is encouraged. This qualitative study verified participation in a flipped professional development course does provide teachers time and flexibility to learn about inquiry science and collaborate with peers.