Publications by Colleges and Departments (MSU - Bozeman)
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Item A forest for every classroom : place-based professional development through the seasons(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2013) Curtis, Janeen Suzanne; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.Educators from western Montana participated in a year-long series of place-based professional development workshops that aimed to give them the skills to more fully incorporate their local place into their teaching. Pre and post surveys and interviews were used to assess the effect of the program on the teachers' place based knowledge and teaching practices. Teachers were found to have greater knowledge of their local environment, to teach more lessons outside of the classroom, to more often use local themes to organize their teaching, to more often engage students in service learning, and to more often involve community members in their teaching as a result of their participation in the program. The relationships teachers built with each other and with the workshop organizers and presenters from their community were found to be the most valuable part of the program while the program assignments were found to be the most challenging piece.Item Developing a professional learning community among mathematics teachers on two Montana Indian reservations(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2006) Nelson, Karma Grace; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jayne DowneyThis study documents the development of a professional learning community [Math Inquiry Group] of mathematics teachers from schools on or near the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations in Southeast Montana (referred to in this study as the bounded system) using an approach referred to as ALRR (Ask, Listen, Respond and Reflect). It adds to the current body of literature identifying professional learning communities as a recommended method to improve classroom practice and close achievement gaps in mathematics. Although much has been written about professional learning communities within a given school or district, there is little advice for those wishing to develop a professional learning community across schools. Teachers and administrators in the bounded system were committed to improving student learning in mathematics but struggled to do so within the context of high student mobility rates and a serious lack of consistent curricular material.