Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
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Item Study on the nature and perceptions of single-gender education(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Weed, McKenzie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThe validity of single-gender education is a debated topic within the field of education. Research on best practices is limited. As part of their 'Strategic Vision,' Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado expressed a goal to become a leader in single-gender education. This study seeks to uncover the nature and perceptions of single-gender education at the school as an initial step towards achieving this goal. Surveys and interview were conducted to expose students' and teachers' attitudes and perceptions towards single-gender education. The results indicated primarily positive perceptions and attitudes towards single-gender education from both students and teachers, although there as much variation in the survey data. Girls seemed to have a more positive perception of single-gender education than boys. This action research study showed there is room for improvement in areas of course offerings, school culture, student peer interactions, and teacher professional development related to single-gender education.Item Leadership and science achievement of afterschool students(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2016) Robinson, Jordan Ailsa; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.Adolescents are driven by interactions with their peers. Social pressures can have heavy impacts on a student's academic motivation and achievement, and social development. In order to provide a space to work on having productive peer interactions, I designed a classroom research project that incorporated leadership initiatives into the enrichment activities at Teton Afterschool. Leadership initiatives used were teambuilding activities and group discussions and debriefs. Students participated in one science unit without leadership initiatives, followed by a unit where each lesson began with a teambuilder. The focus question for this project was: What are the effects of introduction leadership initiatives into enrichment time of Teton Afterschool? Data collected showed statistically significant improvements in science content quizzes and self-reported leadership confidence surveys between units. There was also a decrease in the number of disciplinary actions that had to be taken by staff during the leadership unit. Student interviews described a range of attitudes about leadership, and mainly positive attitudes about science lessons and Teton Afterschool in general. These results show that the inclusion of teambuilding in programs for upper elementary and middle school students has potentially very positive effects.