Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Impacts of the identify and interpret strategy in a summer school program on improving students' scientific explanations(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) Nelson, Mary Kathleen; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesDuring the pandemic, students did not have as many opportunities to engage in authentic experiences using critical science and engineering practices (SEPs). At-risk students were enrolled in a summer school program designed to give students experiences to practice using and improving the SEPs of planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, and constructing scientific explanations. The purpose of this study was to look at whether the Identify and Interpret (I2) strategy students were taught to analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative data would also help improve students' scientific explanations, specifically in the areas of evidence and reasoning. After receiving initial instruction on both the claim, evidence, reasoning (CER) framework and I2 strategy, students engaged in multiple investigations that gave them opportunities to practice gathering data, making graphs, and using the I2 strategy. Students wrote six scientific explanations using the CER framework, and rubrics were used to score student explanations in claim, evidence, and reasoning. Graphs and data tables where students used the I2 strategy were reviewed to see how relevant the students' "what I see" (WIS) or "what it means" (WIM) statements were and if the students used the WIS or WIM statements in their scientific explanations. The results suggest that when students thoughtfully engaged in the Identify and Interpret strategy, students typically scored higher in their evidence and reasoning scores, especially in the evidence score, than students that did not. By making connections between the "what I see" statements as evidence and the "what it means" statements as reasoning and encouraging students to use them in writing explanations, the I2 strategy has the potential to increase student scores for evidence and reasoning. The study also showed the strategy was not as impactful as it could have been for all students, which could be attributed to poor graphing skills, not explaining the relationship between variables in their WIM statements, and lack of content knowledge to help provide appropriate reasoning in the WIM statements and explanations.Item Effects of participation in formative assessment on critical thinking skills in a science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) Templin, Sarah Rae; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesCritical thinking is a skill that students struggle to master. This skill is useful not only in academics but also in becoming a discerning consumer of information. I wanted to see if student participation in formative assessment with frequent feedback would improve their critical thinking skills as well as their confidence in those skills. The experimental group was given additional questions on each formative assessment that assessed their critical thinking skills. The comparison group was given formative assessments without the added critical thinking questions. Both groups of students were given the same pre- and post-assessments to measure growth in critical thinking skills. Both groups were also given a pre-, mid-, and post-survey to measure confidence. The results of this study showed that participation in formative assessment does not improve student performance of critical thinking skills and did not increase student confidence in those skills. Further study is needed in this area.Item Use of claim, evidence, reasoning, writing in a middle school science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) Patton, Jessica A.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesThe implementation of this action research focused on students' ability to write scientific explanations after science investigations. This research was conducted in a 6th grade Earth Science classroom in the spring of 2022. Prior to the research, I noticed students struggling with written reflections and explanations of the science concepts. Prior to the treatment, students' reflections were unclear, and connections to the science concepts were missing or incomplete. I implemented the instruction of the CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) framework to help improve my students' scientific reasoning skills and confidence while writing scientific explanations. The results showed overall improvements in students' ability to write scientific explanations and use evidence in their writing. It was concluded that the implementation of the CER framework positively impacted students' writing abilities in the classroom.Item Effectiveness of KLEWS on high school freshman engagement and performance during biology discussions(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2022) McEwen, Mitchell Mark; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesThe implementation of this action research was at Bradford Area School District (BASD) in Bradford, Pennsylvania. KLEWS were used at Bradford Area High School (BAHS) with freshman Biology students. KLEWS is an acronym that stands for "Know," "Learning," "Evidence," "Wonderings," and "Scientific Principles.". This is an example of a CER "Claims, Evidence, Reasoning" framework of teaching that has been shown to aid in learning progression by utilizing a scaffolding approach to teaching (Yao & Guo, 2016). CER was a framework developed to model scientific explanation and justify claims by using appropriate evidence and scientific research (Yao & Guo, 2016). There were five data collection methods used for this action research: discussion engagement charts, pre-treatment Likert surveys, post-treatment Likert surveys, unit exam, and student interviews. The duration of this action research was eight weeks and involved 57 freshman biology students. At the end of the eight weeks, two sections of biology students took a unit exam, and the results were analyzed using a standardized t-test.Item Guiding criticism of systems of oppression through the lens of a biomedical science course: working in the classroom to improve public health and society(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Sandner, Alyssa; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThis study was conducted to enrich critical thinking experience within a technical Biomedical Science class. This was achieved by challenging student misconceptions and guiding higher order thinking to develop students' original ideas as they discussed the intersectionality of -isms (race, gender, etc) & public health. Students analyzed specific assessment criteria and determined ethical solutions to common issues in public health. Within this assessment criteria data was collected in the form of three performance tasks, two student perception surveys and individual student interviews. In this qualitative analysis, it follows the growth and struggles of white and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students respectively grappling with countering the culture of predominant whiteness in medicine. Alongside use of real medical research technology, students synthesized equitable policies to service people of all walks of life resulting in varying success and engagement.Item The effects of incorporating organization in notebooks to synthesize knowledge in a high school chemistry class(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Herrington, Kendia Clara-Emma; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThe lack of organization in a science notebook makes it difficult for students to put multiple science concepts together in a chemistry class. This research study looked at how incorporating organization in notebooks through reflections on activities, group conversations, class discourse, summaries of labs, and creating a graphical organizer will impact their class conversation, self-regulation, and assessment scores. Three classes were studied over a full unit on bonding in a suburban chemistry class. Two classes were given a treatment of daily organizational support towards making a graphical organizer while the comparison group was given the same time without the guided questions or organizational support. A weekly survey of students' feelings on their understanding was given. The survey showed that overall students felt the graphical organizer was helpful. The comparison group found it overwhelming to complete without the guidance that the treatment received. The time each group took showed a significant difference in their ability to answer beginning of class questions. The treatment group showed a significant growth in their ability to make a graphical organizer. The students showed self-regulation by not completing different class assignments and assessments. The class discourse was very limited by both groups due to the class being online on Zoom. The treatment group showed a positive gain in supporting students in organizing a reflection notebook in their chemistry class because it forced them to do discourse.Item Effectiveness of self-assessment feedback strategies in a 7th grade science classroom in a remote/hybrid learning environment(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) DiGiovanni, Ben; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisProviding meaningful feedback to well over 100 students in a timely manner is challenging for many teachers, especially on bigger assignments. This action research study looked at strategies to maximize effective feedback towards large numbers of students. The primary focus area was helping students improve scientific argumentation assessments through self-assessment feedback methods along with students reflecting on content learning goals. Students were instructed on how to self-evaluate their own science argumentative writing processes and encouraged to make improvements before submitting assessments. Instruction during data collection occurred during majority of remote learning, however continued into a hybrid classroom model. Data collected included written assessment data, student surveys, as well as small group/individual student interviews. Student feedback was very favorable to the self-assessment strategies implemented which also yielded slightly higher performance on student written assessments.Item Goal setting in high school chemistry(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Cordon, Ryan Walter; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisIn high school chemistry classes, it was evident that many students were not reaching their full academic potential. Most students would demonstrate their abilities but struggled to be consistent. These students often appeared to lack a sense of academic purpose. To help students find this purpose, research into the benefits of teaching goal setting to high school chemistry students was conducted. Students were taught how to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. In each treatment unit, students took time in class to check-in on their goals and reflect on any potentially needed adjustments. The data showed that treatment helped many students and at least slightly helped most students find an academic purpose. Check-in data pertaining to students' goals showed that most students knew what to do, but a large portion lacked the motivation to actualize their intentions. While the data obtained herein demonstrated general success with regards to the methods of implementation, the treatment remains in need of further refinement. Findings show a larger emphasis is needed on identifying the rationale behind achieving each student's stated goals. Such a focus would enable students to find the motivation needed to take the acknowledged steps towards their goal.Item The science writing heuristic in online education(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Devine, Aaron Robert; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThe author conducted a classroom research project to see whether instruction with the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) in an online setting would increase evidence for critical thinking in the writing of his students. One unit was taught, and its final writing project was scored with a rubric that assessed critical thinking. Lab reports which were written before the SWH treatment unit was taught were also scored with the critical thinking rubric. Scores were compared and analyzed to ascertain whether the writing after the treatment showed an increase in critical thinking. The author found that there was a significant increase in scores after the treatment. The author concluded that, for a variety of reasons, the score on the final writing project was higher than the score on the previously written work. The author also asked whether using the SWH would increase student confidence in science class and gathered evidence by collecting and evaluating student work, interviewing students, and gathering survey results before and after the treatment. There was evidence that in several aspects of science class, student confidence was boosted. Finally, it was asked whether using the SWH would increase student enjoyment of science class. The same sources of information were used to evaluate whether this happened, and the results were inconclusive on this front.Item Exploring the effect of science 'wonder' videos on high school student attitudes in science(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Hoffmann, Kathryn Jane; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisStudent attitudes toward science affect their engagement with required learning in STEM courses, future career choices, and basic science literacy. My study worked with high school students enrolled in two classes each of Chemistry 1 and Integrated Chemistry-Physics and looked at the effect of a regular weekly program of a short, 'wonder' science video combined with a reflection journal to promote positive attitudes toward science and to develop student curiosity about science topics. Data was gathered through a variety of Likert-like surveys and written reflections about the videos. The results showed a definite increase in curiosity as evidenced by an increase in student-initiated questions and in positive responses to the surveys for both boys and girls in both classes but were especially strong for the girls. Additional effects included an increase in student discussion of science topics outside of class and an improvement in student perception of their ability to learn science. There was little observed effect on career plans as a result of this program. In conclusion, a regular program of weekly wonder science videos that present engaging science topics outside normal curricular topics is a minimally intrusive but effective way to increase student curiosity about science, to provide an opening for promoting and addressing student-initiated questions and to develop student science literacy.