Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
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Item Formative assessment to teach math concepts in high school chemistry(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Bay, Clarissa Kristine; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesCalculations relating to unit conversions in high school chemistry typically pose difficulty for students. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of using consistent methods of formative assessment as daily check-ins to improve student success on this type of work as well as improve the overall score on the related college level unit exam. At the beginning of the unit students in the treatment group completed a pretest and survey to determine their skill level and comfort with unit conversions in chemistry. During the unit, these students completed a different type of formative assessment after each lesson to assist the instructor for how to prepare for the following lesson. After six lessons, students completed a posttest, survey, and college level unit exam. Students in the non-treatment group did not receive consistent formative assessment during the unit. From gathered data, students' comfort levels improved over the course of the study. Student achievement on the posttest was significantly greater than on the pretest and there was a noticeable increase in the overall percentage of students that earned a C or better on their college level unit exam. Where the non-treatment group had 70% of students score a C or better on the college exam, the treatment group percentage rose to a 76% of students earning a C or better on the same exam. This shows that intentional formative assessment does prove to be a useful tool to increase student performance on math-based topics in chemistry.Item Game based learning in middle school math classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Velez, Hernando Oswald; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisEducational research has identified student enjoyment and self-efficacy as key aspects of student motivation, and as major contributors to student attitudes toward a particular subject. In addition, increases in both enjoyment and self-efficacy have been linked to game play participants in both recreational game play and game-based learning (GBL). This study investigated the effects of allowing student choice of game play format during GBL treatment sessions. For this action research study students in a math intervention course were allowed to choose their format of engagement in a GBL treatment. The treatment asked students to engage, in the game play format of their choosing, competitive, cooperative, or individually, with an online game designed to facilitate a gamified review tool and a gamified formative assessment tool. The researcher hypothesized that allowing students to repeatedly engage with the same game in the gameplay format of their own choosing would improve student attitudes about their enjoyment and confidence while learning math. Likert-type survey on attitudes about GBL and gameplay formats, student engagement metrics, and facilitator observations were utilized to capture quantitative and qualitative data throughout the treatment period. Analysis of data revealed that student attitudes improved in terms of their sense of enjoyment and self-efficacy while engaging in GBL during math class.Item Bridging the gap between math and science: does the use of simple math instruction tools produce growth in the physical science classroom?(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Doyle, Irene Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisIt was observed that students struggle with making connections between math and science, especially in a physical science class. Research shows that this is not a behavioral issue, but a cognitive one. This is very problematic because it has been shown that making cross curricular connections is the foundation to critical thinking, and critical thinking is a highly desired skill in any field of study or career. As a potential solution to this problem, three treatments were administered to two different advanced physical science classes with two different trials. The treatments included math warm-ups at the start of a lesson, scaffolded guided practice problems at the conclusion of a lesson, and the use of graphic organizers when new formulas were introduced. Most students claimed the treatments were helpful, and there was growth in students' assessment scores.Item The effects of direct instruction of metacognitive skills through self-regulated learning and self-efficacy development in the mathematical sciences(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Larsen, Karin Camille; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter WoolbaughThis study explored how direct instruction of metacognitive processes through self-efficacy and self-regulated learning skills impacts student ability to independently and intrinsically drive academic growth to move through the novice to mastery continuum. This goal was to provide students with the skills and practices to foster perseverance, confidence, self-regulation, and sense of agency throughout the learning process. The treatment was implemented with a sixth-grade study skills class with a contextual practice component integrated in math. Content mastery changes were assessed through math topic assessments. Self-efficacy and metacognition changes were evaluated through interviews, open-response questions, interactive notebook entries and self-confidence surveys for growth mindset and self-regulated learning. Results were statistically insignificant. Even though there was minimal or arguable quantitative evidence of change in student practice and behavior, there were positive results. There is some evidence suggesting an improvement in student ability to articulate areas of weakness and utilize strategies to improve academic performance. While average test scores did not increase, there was an improvement in normalized gains, especially in the lower to mid-performing sub-groups. This indicates movement toward content mastery.Item The effects of explicit math instruction before chemistry content instruction at the high school level(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Lopreiato, Timothy; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisStudents struggle with the mathematical nature of chemistry coursework. This study looks to examine how the performance of high school students taking chemistry is affected by a curricular change to include mini math units between traditional chemistry units of study. Students were exposed to approximately a day and a half of explicit instruction on the mathematical concepts that would appear in the upcoming chemistry unit. Student confidence in mathematics, pre and post mathematics test scores, and chemistry unit test scores were analyzed to determine if the treatment improved student performance or not.Item The design process in an eighth grade science class(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Joslyn, Pamela Jo; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisEngineering provides a framework in which students can test their own developing scientific knowledge and apply it to practical problems. There are many parallels to the application of science principles and engineering practices. Both rely on developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematical and computational thinking, engaging in arguments from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating and communicating information. While some students become engaged in the design process, scientific principles can be excluded from the engineering aspects. One unit of study was compared - a nontreatment group using no mathematics and computational thinking to facilitate the design process and a treatment group relying upon mathematics and computational thinking to the design process. The treatment unit required students to collect data and define scientific principles within the design process. Students were given pre-, mid-, and post-tests for the unit of study, an interest survey, and interviews were conducted. Both groups of students indicated the importance of using data in the design process. When students were required to use mathematics and computational thinking in the design process, the results suggested that students exhibited a slight improvement in test scores on the multiple choice and short answer responses. In the students' final reflections, many students expressed a greater appreciation for engineering.Item Using feedback and self-reflection to empower adult learners in math, reading and writing(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Brown, Katherine Tyler Swaim; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisAdults bring a wealth of accumulated experience to a classroom, and studies have shown that adult students benefit from relevant, student-centered practices that involve them in their education. Assessment methods must be appropriate and offer time to act upon the result. This study looked at the impact that clear learning objectives, timely teacher feedback, and opportunity for student reflection would have on a student's understanding of their own progress towards class advancement in a class that did not offer grades and could be repeated. A portfolio of student work was compiled to judge student effort. Additional factors assessed included attendance, mindset, and attitude toward the teacher and student role in the classroom. The study found that when students are given a clear statement of course goals and feedback about their work through self-reflection and instructor communication, they have a solid understanding of their academic progress. In addition, the instructor has sufficient evidence to make a compatible decision. Students whose move-up decision matched the instructor's tended to have greater attendance and higher mindset motivation scores than those whose decisions did not match the instructor's.Item Front loading science-related math skills in high school chemistry(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2018) Giammo, Cheri Lynn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisStudent achievement in a chemistry curriculum can be greatly impacted by whether they have an understanding of critical math concepts and the skills to perform those concepts. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of frontloading the required math concepts, practicing the skills involved in problem solving and providing the relevance of the concepts to chemistry. Tests, surveys, formative assessments and interviews were used to compare a treatment and a non-treatment group. The treatment group received the specific math lessons and practice at the beginning of a unit along with the application to the chemical topic. The non-treatment group was taught with conventional methods of learning the chemistry formulas through lectures and textbook assignments with the assumption that their math skills were adequate. The tests were utilized to determine the increase in content knowledge as well as mathematical strengths in problem solving. Surveys, formative assessments and interviews were used as qualitative data to measure chemistry and math attitudes and confidences. The results of this study showed no statistical difference in overall achievement averages or confidence/attitudes among the treatment and non-treatment groups when taught math up front as compared to within the unit.Item A case study on the impact of using a MOOC for high school science and mathematics independent study courses(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2017) Spicer, Benjamin T.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter WoolbaughThis case study involves five students, all high school seniors, who elected to enroll in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) as part of their independent study courses during the final trimester of the 2016 school year. The students chose their fields of study and the primary topics they intended to investigate. The topics extended beyond the school's science and mathematics curriculum, thus, the students were pursuing these courses for enrichment purposes. Five instruments were used to measure how much students were interacting with the MOOC and the value of the MOOC in terms of learning: pre-course interviews, post-course interviews, mid-course surveys, post-course surveys, and the Brief Electricity & Magnetism Assessment concept inventory. When considering the primary research question, "What impact can MOOCs have in high school independent-study enrichment courses?", there is evidence in this case study to suggest that MOOCs can have a positive impact, therefore, can be used to guide and support students seeking such enrichment opportunities.Item The effects of direct mathematical instruction in science classes on mathematical based science reasoning(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2017) Capp, Katie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisStudents at Belgrade High School appear to have limited understanding of the interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving skills required in the natural sciences. I suspect that this is the result of inadequate direct instruction in mathematical based science reasoning skills. The goal of this project was for students to be able to use and articulate mathematical reasoning strategies when approaching scientific tasks. To accomplish this, sophomore level Biology (Genetics) curriculum was pervaded with mathematical instruction. This project investigated the effectiveness of implementing direct mathematics instruction in sophomore level Biology courses to improve mathematics based science reasoning skills at Belgrade High School in Belgrade, Montana. Students explored Genetics based Biology concepts while receiving direct instruction on statistical analysis as a tool for developing scientific reasoning skills, such as, scientific claim, evidence, and reasoning. Data collection for this project involved completion of scoring rubrics by both the student and teacher following a Genetics based laboratory exercise, as well as, a Genetics summative assessment concluding the three-week unit of study. Students were evaluated on a point scale that included: stating a claim, providing evidence, data-based reasoning, and making an argument. The results indicated that by implementing direct Mathematics instruction on standards-based Biology concepts, students gained a greater understanding of Genetics concepts and were able to develop a more thorough claim, evidence, reasoning explanation for a standard Genetics laboratory investigation.