Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Effects of student self-assessment in an engineering classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Nelson, Dylan James; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisSelf-assessment has had much research done in the past, but has not been tested for its effectiveness in the classroom by the author. This study details the effectiveness of self-assessment on student achievement in an engineering classroom. Two middle school Pre-Engineering Technology (P.E.T) classes from a Title I school participated in the study with each class being split up into a treatment group and comparison group. All students were given pre-content, unit content, and post-content assessments with the treatment group self-assessing during each unit content assessment. All students participated in Likert Scale Surveys and students were picked at random to participate in interviews. After analysis of data, student self-assessment was found to positively affect student achievement and student confidence, in many cases, when defining engineering problems. The analysis of student self-assessment also proved to be beneficial to the author's teaching practices.Item Teacher confidence and classroom practices: a case study on science identity(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Bowers, Alison Taylor; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThis study examined the relationship between students' science identity and their teacher's science teacher identity, as well as the influence of teacher confidence and understanding of Next Generation Science Standards and three-dimensional science teaching and learning on science teacher identity. Teacher and student surveys were used to evaluate correlation, while observations and interviews were used to understand the relationship between teacher confidence and science teacher identity. Results showed that there is little correlation between strong science teacher identity and strong student science identity, but there is a relationship between teachers' understanding of Next Generation science teaching and learning and overall science teacher identity. Teachers who have a solid background in science content knowledge and science pedagogy, especially three-dimensional science teaching based on the framework for the Next Generation Science Standards, tend to better see themselves as science teachers.Item The effects of using a curriculum program with embedded literacy on middle school students' science performance and confidence(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Hunt, Erin Ransford; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisIncorporating disciplinary literacy into content area instruction has been a focus of the district for several years. General strategies such as annotating text and note-taking were implemented with little success. The purchase of a new science curriculum program, Amplify Science, with embedded literacy strategies gave teachers the opportunity to teach students science content through embedded literacy strategies that utilize reading, writing, and communicating in science. The effectiveness of this program was measured by comparing students' pre- and post-unit assessment scores, ability to write science arguments using Amplify and non-Amplify prompts, reading comprehension, ability to annotate text, self-assessment of their reading abilities, and a survey of students' confidence in science. Students and the collaborating teacher were also interviewed to discuss specific areas of growth. Results indicate that Amplify Science has made a very significant, positive impact on this group of 6th grade students' performance and confidence in science, as well as their ability to read and write in science.Item The effects of a teacher prescribed problem-solving pathway on novice problem-solvers in a chemistry classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Houseman, Randal C.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisMany high school chemistry students struggle developing the skill of problem solving. When faced with novel problems they often do not even know where to begin. This leads them to leave problems blank or partially completed and prevents them from spending the necessary time and effort wrestling with the problem. This study investigated a teacher prescribed problem solving pathway and its effect on the strategies that students used to solve problems. It also looked at the impact on the students' attitudes and confidence with problem solving. Documented Problem Solutions, confidence surveys, and a survey of strategies called I Do Not Understand Survey were used in conjunction with student work and reflections to determine if the treatment had any effect on the students' approach to problem solving. The results indicate that students incorporated most of the strategies used in the prescribed pathway and continued to use these strategies one-month post-treatment. Unfortunately, the study did not translate to improved attitudes and confidence toward problem solving. The students' reflections shed light on the number of students who feel some level of stress when confronted with a challenging problem.Item Effect of reflection on student achievement and self-confidence in the science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2014) Grotbo, Sara Danielle; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.The focus of this project was on the use of guided reflection in the middle school science classroom. Students reflected using various strategies both at the beginning and end of each class period. The goal of the project was to see how this daily reflection would affect student achievement and self-confidence for the learning goals of a unit. Students' achievement and self-confidence was evaluated by several methods: pre- and post-tests, surveys, interviews, student notebooks and direct observation. The results of the study indicated positive increases in both achievement and self-confidence with the addition of reflection activities to the science classroom.