Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
Browse
48 results
Search Results
Item Instructional feedback and learning: understanding the perspective of pre-service teachers for personal learning and future teaching(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2021) Dallman, Dallas Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jayne DowneyInstructional feedback has been demonstrated to be a critical element in student learning and achievement. While important for learning, instructional feedback is challenging to provide and challenging to receive. Research suggests that instructional feedback is often underutilized, particularly in post-secondary education. Pre-service teachers are in a unique position of being both receivers and providers of instructional feedback concurrently. There is a lack of research examining the perspectives of this group as it relates to the receipt and application of instructional feedback as well as their intentions regarding the use of instructional feedback in their future practice. This case study explores the perspectives of elementary pre-service teachers in the advanced stages of their teacher education program. A three-part interview protocol included a constructed scenario, a guided recall, and direct questioning about beliefs and values. The protocol was used to identify the ways in which pre-service teachers experience instructional feedback, understand instructional feedback, intend to use instructional feedback in their own practice and pre-service teachers perceived level of preparedness to do so. The results demonstrated that this group of pre-service elementary teachers values instructional feedback as a tool for learning, are hungry to receive effective instructional feedback from experts in the field, and would like more practice and preparation to be able to provide effective instructional feedback to their K-8 students. While this case study is a spotlight on a specific group of pre-service teachers in one specific teacher education program, the findings suggest that pre-service teachers as a group may also be unique in their understandings and appreciation for instructional feedback.Item What effect does the claim-evidence-reasoning framework have on teaching and learning in a middle school classroom?(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Reamy, Allyson Tiffany; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisA technique for evidence-based writing called claim, evidence, reasoning was integrated into a middle school science classroom to help students be able to gain the ability to explain not only what happened, but also why. This study analyzed the use of argumentation and the ability of students to make observations through their 9-week chemistry unit utilizing rubrics, student interviews, Likert surveys, and confidence surveys to gauge student success. The results indicated that students improved the quality of their responses on labs where they were prompted to write a claim, evidence and reasoning.Item The 5E learning cycle vs. traditional teaching methods and how they affect student achievement rate, interest, and engagement in a high school physics classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Ali, Walayat; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThe main research question I sought to answer was "the 5E learning cycle vs. Traditional teaching methods" and how they affect student achievement rate, interest, and engagement in a high school physics classroom? Students from two eleventh grade classes participated in the study that covered two physics units. Each class learned one unit through 5E learning cycle and one unit through traditional teaching methods. Pre- and post-content tests, surveys, interviews, attitude scales and engagement tally charts were used as data collection instruments. Data were processed using both quantitative and qualitative analysis strategies. The results suggested that Traditional teaching method was more effective to produce higher achievement rate but 5E learning cycle stimulated curiosity ,equipped students with better lab and critical thinking skills ,enhanced interest and improved engagement level .Item Teaching english on the moon: a memoir of teaching at a rural school(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Hoffmann, Alan David; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Allison Wynhoff OlsenMontana is a primarily rural state. The majority of Montana's high schools are 'Class C' schools with enrollments under 107 students. Of these, over sixty Montana high schools have enrollments under sixty students. In these schools, high school academic departments normally consist of one person. This experience is rarely examined. Even existing literature that focuses on rural education focus on settings with higher enrollments than many of Montana's smaller schools. Drawing on the author's personal experience of teaching at high school with an enrollment of around 25 students, this memoir provides an account and guide for working in these settings. Through this, the author details the benefits of teaching in these settings, such as smaller class sizes that allow for more one-on-one interaction. It also examines the challenges of coming and teaching in rural places, including the stresses of prepping for seven different classes and difficulties of integrating into rural communities. Given the number of these schools in the state of Montana, many graduates from the Montana University System's education programs will go on to teach in these settings. This work aims to advocate for rural settings and to give teachers that may go into these areas an idea of what to expect.Item The Montana modernists: redefining Western art(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Corriel, Michele; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mary MurphyThrough an investigation of twentieth-century Montana postwar societal aspects, I examine the emergence of an avant-garde art movement in the state. The pioneers of this movement, Jessie Wilber, Frances Senska, Bill Stockton, Isabelle Johnson, Robert DeWeese, and Gennie DeWeese, nurtured, sustained, and promulgated an aesthetic philosophy that redefined Western art in Montana. Divided into three sections, the exploration of this avant-garde movement concentrates on place, teaching/artistic lineage, and community. Part one examines place. For some, place refers to the physical attributes of Montana in the postwar years, the isolation, the beauty, and the complexity of its landscape that not only served as a backdrop but also played center stage in the influences on life and art. For others in the group, place became a metaphor for the body politic, a personal evocation of space held within the boundaries of time. Part two charts each artist's artistic lineage to further understand how they arrived at their particular artistic styles. Community, the third section, seeks to answer one of the larger questions within this work: how did six artists working in Montana in the late 1940s create a thriving art community that opposed the meta-narrative of the West and still resonates in contemporary Montana art. A thorough study of their teaching styles, art techniques, and social gatherings demonstrates the workings of a tight-knit community of like-minded artists (and writers, dancers, musicians, and philosophers) as they addressed the changing zeitgeist of a postwar America, cultivating fresh ideas through a modern lens, allowing Montanans a new option for viewing themselves.Item The effects of student choice on achievement in the high school science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Larsen, Andrew; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter WoolbaughEducation has changed from a one-size-fits-all approach to learning to an approach that caters to the individual student. Teachers regularly employ strategies in their classroom to ensure students are exposed to the content on a variety of platforms. The purpose of this study was to explore how students' achievement in science class was affected when given a choice of classroom activities to complete based off their interests. Secondary questions included how student attitudes towards learning science changed when given choice and how teaching practices changed as a result of implementation of student choice activities. The research was accomplished using a student choice-board, a matrix of activities from which students chose based on personal interests. After completion of a prescribed number of activities, student achievement was measured using pre- and post-test data. Qualitative data were acquired through student interviews, observations, Likert-style surveys, and journaling. The results of the study indicated that there was no appreciable difference in achievement when students learned by choosing their activities and when traditional teaching methods were employed. Student attitudes towards learning science showed either an increase in positive attitude or were neutral. The most definitive result of the study was how teaching style changed.Item Preservice elementary teachers' writing skills: perceptions versus abilities(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2017) Knickerbocker, Michelle Tappmeyer; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ann EllsworthThe purpose of this study was to determine if preservice teachers' perceptions of their writing skills aligned with their actual writing skills and how their writing experiences affected their attitudes and beliefs toward writing and writing instruction. This mixed-methods study measured the linguistic skills of 27 elementary education students through a variety of quantitative assessments designed to measure both their writing abilities and their knowledge of linguistic concepts. Surveys, classroom observations, writing samples, and interviews provided qualitative data of writing experiences, attitudes, and beliefs regarding writing and writing instruction. The quantitative and qualitative data were then analyzed and compared. The results confirmed the hypothesis that students' perceptions, as shaped by their writing experiences, and attitudes and beliefs about writing and writing instruction, did not accurately reflect their abilities. Recommendations were made for possible curriculum changes and other supports to improve students' skills and shift their attitudes and beliefs about the value of writing and writing instruction.Item The development of specialized content knowledge in beginning algebra among secondary mathematics pre-service teachers(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2016) Pettry, Danielle Nichole; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jennifer LuebeckThe goal of teacher preparation programs is to equip future secondary mathematics teachers for the broad spectrum of mathematical learners they will encounter. Part of that process includes developing their Specialized Content Knowledge, defined by Ball, Hill, and Bass (2005) as a deeper understanding of mathematics that allows teachers to explain new ideas, work problems in multiple ways, and analyze student solutions. This study examined the development of Specialized Content Knowledge among secondary mathematics pre-service teachers. Forty-seven pre-service teachers completed a demographic survey and an assessment measuring Specialized Content Knowledge. Twenty-three of those pre-service teachers were then interviewed to further illuminate experiences that influenced their responses on the assessment, and to elaborate on experiences that they identified as helping them develop Specialized Content Knowledge. Qualitative analysis revealed two broad categories aiding in the development of Specialized Content Knowledge: coursework and interactions with learners. Within the category of coursework, pre-service teachers highlighted course components that were also related to interactions with learners, often in a hypothetical way (e.g., analyzing fictional student work). Findings indicate that the development of Specialized Content Knowledge is strongly influenced by interactions with learners, both face to face and hypothetical. These results are discussed along with recommendations for practice and future research.Item Investigating the teaching of statistics with technology at the high school level through the use of annotated lesson plans(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2016) Arnold, Elizabeth Grace; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Elizabeth BurroughsThroughout the last twenty years, data analysis and statistics content, together with the integration of technology in mathematics classrooms, have gained increasing attention in the United States at the K-12 level. National and state standards now emphasize statistics concepts throughout high school and there is a growing motivation to shift from a traditional formula-based style of teaching statistics to a more data-oriented approach emphasizing conceptual understanding and statistical literacy. To implement this approach in the classroom, it is necessary to integrate technology into the teaching of statistics. However, many in-service high school mathematics teachers are not familiar with this process, and statistics is still a relatively new subject for most. This discrepancy highlights the need to help foster and develop in-service high school mathematics teachers' ability to effectively use technology when teaching statistics. The goal of this study was to investigate how specially annotated lesson plans influence and guide in-service high school mathematics teachers' use of technology when teaching statistical concepts. I developed a completely randomized block experiment, using quantitative and qualitative measurements and methods of analysis. High school mathematics teachers were randomly assigned to receive an annotated or non-annotated statistics unit that included technology-based activities; four lessons were observed. The results of this study demonstrated how the process of helping teachers effectively use technology in the instruction of statistics is not straightforward; there was a large amount of variation in how teachers integrated technology and no consistent differences between the annotated and non-annotated group in this regard. All teachers, regardless of received unit, integrated technology more effectively when they were provided with a technology-based activity employing simulation. Teachers' integration of technology was most influenced by their awareness of the use of inquiry.Item How preservice teachers' attitudes and beliefs about writing inform their view of writing instruction : a case study(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2016) Malloy, Denise Glaser; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ann EllsworthAttitudes and beliefs about writing held by preservice teachers play a significant role in how they will approach writing instruction in their future classrooms. Teachers who engage in regular writing practice, possess knowledge of English language foundations and grammar, and have a positive attitude about writing will be better prepared to address the challenges of teaching students how to write. This study examined the attitudes and beliefs of seven elementary education majors who were enrolled in one writing?intensive English language arts course during the spring semester in 2016. The participants in this qualitative case study were selected after taking the Writing Apprehension Test (WAT) as part of their coursework. A social constructivism paradigm provided the theoretical framework for this study. Data sources included: a questionnaire, two semi?structured interviews, a writing memories matrix, daily class observations, a focus group, field observer notes, and student work samples and journal entries. The data was analyzed in the context of student as writer and student as future writing teacher. Six themes emerged within the framework of the analysis for both writer and future writing teacher: providing explicit and meaningful feedback; offering choice in writing topics; making writing fun, enjoyable, and possessing an enthusiasm for the subject; providing adequate instruction in writing foundations, skill, and grammar; allowing adequate time for writing practice; and helping students understand the 'why' of writing. This study offers insight into how preservice teachers perceive and practice the writing process, what factors were influential in the development of their attitudes and beliefs, and what role those will play in writing instruction. In addition, this study explores how providing positive experiences with the writing process within the context of the six themes can bolster confidence and skill levels for soon?to?be teachers. Finally, this study concludes with suggestions for how teacher education programs can optimize instruction to remediate and reinforce skills, foster positive experiences with writing, and support future teachers in their journey.