Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Investigating the efficacy of a collaborative evaluation model using visual research methods and concept mapping strategies to evaluate a professional learning program for teachers building competency in media literacy(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2021) Vradenburg, Nicole Angeline; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sarah PenningtonThe purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of collaborative evaluation as a method for understanding and describing how a collaborative professional learning program for educators will improve their self-reported skills in media literacy while engendering them to deliberately employ media literacy practices in their lesson plans. The model investigated for this study had six phases and employed the use of surveys, collaborative discussion, and the creation of visual artifacts to gather descriptive data to answer research questions. This participatory approach to evaluation gave participating teachers the opportunity to evaluate the data alongside the researcher. The role of the researcher as the program evaluator and facilitator leveraged the collegiality and strong relationships developed over time to gather detailed data about the professional learning program and the self-reported growth in media literacy competency of the teachers. Facilitators of professional learning for teachers can employ a collaborative evaluation model to gather testimony form participants describing their experiences that will inform the design of future programs for teachers. Findings suggest that including teachers in the evaluation of the programs in which they participate is an effective evaluation strategy that increases the chances that the data collected will inform the future professional learning programs for teachers. This model is recommended for programs that are meant to support teachers in building their competency in a specific content area, such as media literacy, over time through collaboration with peers.Item Examining the experiences of teachers in online professional development: a teacher education twitter-based professional learning network(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2020) Nusbaum, Rebecca Mae; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Carrie B. Myers and Nick Lux (co-chair)Teacher Education Twitter-based Professional Learning Networks, commonly referred to as 'EdChats,' have increased rampantly in number and in reach over the past decade. Global, national, and local reforms tout EdChats as an effective learning platform and an innovative form of Professional Development, yet the EdChat trend is new enough that it has not developed research depth. EdChats provide a supplementary solution to traditional district-mandated auditorium Professional Development models. EdChat models often leverage social constructionist and constructivist learning paradigms in a highly accessible ubiquitous environment. Uniquely, EdChats seemingly highlight educators as self-directed learners who are seeking to curate their own learning trajectory to ultimately improve their practice. This qualitative study was framed from Garrison, Anderson and Archer's (2000) Community of Inquiry, as it sought to examine reported experiences through social presence, teacher presence, and cognitive presence. Intersection of these three areas provides relevant criteria for online learning analysis, and heavily aligns with educational experience at the crux of the model. This study served to examine reported overall learning experience of #MTEdChat participants through three guided research questions: learning experience, assumed learning roles, and how they learned from varied perspectives. The participants included 10 educators who met the following criteria: (1) being an in-service or pre-service K-12 educator: teacher, principal, coach, or school administrator, and (2) having participated in #MTEDCHAT one time or more. Participants were interviewed through secure video conference, their interviews were transcribed and analyzed, and emergent categories were developed. The data was analyzed using open codes and further analyzed through categories and emergent themes. Key findings revealed that learning experiences were comprised of three recursive buckets of learning, as described through: interpersonal, intrapersonal, and social capital. Participants revealed how these three primary areas helped to construct their reported learning experiences. Findings illustrate the value of learning reciprocally in a group, and how social capital can effectively facilitate learning. Also telling was the identifiable connection between a geographically boundless environment and the varied perspectives that it yields. Reported learning experiences provide relevance and prompt future use and recommended improvements.Item The impact of a middle grade professional development school on teacher training and retention(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2020) Stierman, Catherine Rowan; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael BrodyTeacher preparation and retention are in a state of crisis. Just under 20% of all pre-service teachers will still be in the classroom four years after graduation (AACTE, 2018; Cowen, Goldhaber, Hayes & Theobald, 2016; Darling-Hammond, 2003; Ingersoll, Merrill & Stuckey, 2018; Latham & Vogt, 2007; NCES, 2016; NCTAF, 2003). The quality of training and the sense of self have been identified as the determining factors for persistence in the education profession. The research is very clear that professional development school (PDS) prepared teachers are significantly more likely to enter and to persist in the field. This case study focused on ten undergraduate education majors in a middle grade professional development school with a significantly higher than average retention in the field. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously. Sources included five inventories, twelve sets of interviews, and eleven reflections. It was determined that governance at both the university and middle school sites allowed the classroom teachers and professors to provide a curriculum that centered on the identification, practice, and internalization of effective educators through active learning and student-centered pedagogy. Three curricular practices were identified by the participants as being significant influences on their development and success as teachers: opportunities to see classroom teachers and professors model best practice, substantial time to practice their own skills, and a structure for reflection and processing of learning events.Item Teacher consultant transformation in a local National Writing Project site(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2016) Waterton, Nigel Paul; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Nick Lux; Christine Rogers Stanton (co-chair)Teacher professional development is both evidentially and emotively understood to be largely ineffective. Yet the National Writing Project's professional development model has established a long-term record of measurable impact on student writing improvement and profound influence on its participants' ways of thinking and living their teaching and writing lives. For many, the experience is transformative. This dissertation investigated two questions: First, what are the features of a professional development model that facilitate transformation learning over time? Second, how do participants view the way these features of a transformative professional development model inform their classroom instruction? This narrative inquiry is informed by the theoretical lens of adult transformational learning and investigated two practicing writing teachers who participated in the National Writing Project Summer Institute at least three years ago. The study found four resonant narrative threads: structure, risk, audience, and agency. Participants deeply restructured their classroom writing instruction over time in a way that shared agency with student writers and that posed risk to instructors and students. This occurred frequently through shifting writing audience away from teachers and providing greater authorial voice to student writers, which are practices both participants experienced in a National Writing Project local site.Item Counselor role and training needs of pastoral counseling(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1976) House, Philip AlvinItem An introductory inservice course in linguistics(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1969) Hoover, Sharon Lee ShowersItem The use of real-life learning strategies in personal and career development situations by students at Eastern Idaho Technical College(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1995) Strakal, Daniel J.Item An investigation of school factors related to enrollment in remedial writing at postsecondary institutions in Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2011) Shipman, Dustin Harry; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Arthur W. BangertRemedial postsecondary coursework, while ubiquitous, is a high cost means for students to become prepared to complete the rigors of postsecondary education. Remedial coursework represents a void in time of students' lives when they are neither true college students nor enrolled members of a high school class. The onus of preparing Montana students for successful transitions to postsecondary education is on the shoulders of the school systems from which they graduate. Ultimately, paving the way for successful postsecondary transitions involves a number of different variables. The key facets of student achievement are embodied within school leaders, teachers and students. In this study, enrollment data gathered from the Montana University System was analyzed and a significant relationship was established between the variables of student ethnicity and socioeconomic status with enrollment in remedial writing. 243 English teachers in the state of Montana responded to items on the Support For Professional Development Questionnaire. The responses from this questionnaire revealed a high level of positive perception for administrator support for professional development among Montana English teachers. Lastly, this study highlighted that high school English teachers who participate in the MUS professional development activities express a greater understanding of the expected writing requirements for postsecondary institutions as compared to high school English teachers who do not participate in the MUS professional development activities.