Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Nature journaling in the middle school science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Leonard, Megan; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: C. John GravesNature journaling is a practice of collecting observations and questions on the pages of a notebook by using pictures, words, and numbers. The purpose of this study was to determine how implementing the use of nature journals in a middle school science classroom affects students' attitudes towards science and nature. Participating students were given a survey prior to the treatment period to determine baseline attitudes towards science and nature. Students were then instructed on best practices to complete a nature journal entry. Over the treatment period, students were taken outside on school grounds to complete one of the three repeating prompts. By the end of the treatment period, a total of nine prompts were completed. Students were then given the survey an additional time to determine if attitudes changed regarding science and nature. Open-response questions were included in the post-treatment survey to gauge each student's experience with nature journaling. The results of the study indicate that nature journaling can have a positive effect on students' attitudes towards science and nature.Item The impact of integrating Next Generation Science Standards and environmental literacy curriculum(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Hill, Joyce Margaret; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisNext Generation Science Standards provide a framework to develop students' understandings of science ideas, using scientific practices to make sense of natural phenomena. The environment offers a meaningful context to develop these important ideas. However, there are few resources that effectively integrate both the science and environmental standards. This study was part of an ongoing initiative to develop lesson sequences that could be used K-12, created by teacher leaders and informal science educators. The research question focused on the impact of integrating curriculum on students' science understandings and attitudes about nature and environmental stewardship. During Spring 2021 the lessons were taught as part of a pilot. For this study, students participated in a pre and post survey. A sample of student work as well as student interviews were part of the data collected. Results indicated that the lessons supported students' science understandings and affected their attitude towards caring for the environment. Local environments can provide meaningful contexts for important science ideas and bring science alive for students. Increasingly, the environment and human activity will be an important issue to understand better.Item How do inquiry-focused nature walks influence pre-school students' understanding of their environment, engagement in nature, and emotional regulation?(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Kakuk, Camas S.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThe purpose of this study is to discover whether there is measurable value in adding elements of nature school philosophy to a traditional Montessori preschool, even in an imperfect or transitional environment. Do inquiry-focused nature walks influence preschool students' understanding of their environment, engagement in nature, or emotional regulation? In this project I attempted to measure the impact of a daily inquiry walk, through several data streams: a parent survey, a nature inquiry checklist based on the NGSS kindergarten science standards, and by direct observation of nap and walk time and quality. Despite many setbacks and school closures, our initial findings suggest positive results in the areas of healthy sleep, knowledge and understanding of the natural world, and emotional and behavioral health.Item The effect of place-based experiences on science identity, attitude, and achievement in a remote learning advanced placement environmental science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Faxon, Briana Leigh; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisStudents in science courses are routinely consumers of science and are less often producers of scientific work. In this action research project, Advanced Placement Environmental Science students engaged in place-based lessons remotely while asynchronously developing authentic research projects that impacted their local ecosystems. This work was delivered to stakeholders within the community. Scientific questioning, graphing, and explanations, as well as surveys and interviews were used as data collection instruments throughout remote learning. The results suggested that place-based learning experiences helped students increase their skills in scientific questioning and explanations, their science identity, and their attitudes towards science. Students' sense of place was minimally changed. Results indicate the need for place-based and hands-on learning to increase students' attitude, aptitude, and identity, especially during stressful pandemic remote learning situations.Item Studying science in the outdoors influences student interest, engagement, and cognition(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Dean, Kimberly Jane; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisLack of motivation and engagement are common problems among middle school students. In addition, I am often shocked to hear how many of my students have never visited any of the six ski resorts less than an hour's drive away, never gone canoeing, no time spent hiking, camping or participating in the kinds of outdoor activities that our state, Utah, is famous for. The lack of time spent in the natural world can inhibit students' understanding of their local environments and their ability to connect what they are learning in science classes with outdoor and relatively natural ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of streamside field experiences on the engagement of middle school students. Sub questions investigated if studying Utah's watersheds and water quality issues in the field and the classroom helped students increase their knowledge and awareness of water quality and water science and whether time spent in nature impacted students' attitudes about protecting streams. The research followed eighth grade students through three field trips, one snowshoeing at a local mountain campground, and two monitoring water quality and canoeing at a local river. Data collection included pre and posttests, science motivation questionnaire, science attitude survey, student interviews, and a teacher's journal. Data collection was collected before and after treatments to monitor changes throughout the process. The research indicated that there was a positive relationship between my response variables: student interest, engagement, and achievement and my intervention variable of: time spent learning science outdoors.Item The effects of field experience in a physical geology high school classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Lorenz, Vincente James; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThe field trip experience has been around for the better part of two centuries (Emmons, 1836; Falcon-Lang, 2009; Hopkins, 1835a, b; Perry 1899). However, with fast-paced technological lifestyles, a shift to teach toward high-stakes testing, and transportation budget cuts, field trip experiences have been pushed increasingly to the outskirts when it comes to modern education. The purpose of this research is to assess the effects of geology field experiences on student learning in a high school geology classroom. A sub-question concentrated on student attitudes and engagement toward studying science. Seventeen public high school students ranging from sophomores to seniors completed the study in a single classroom. The students studied four different geologic sites specific to Indiana. Study sites included a meteor impact site as a non-treatment study and a glacial geology site as a treatment study. Students then studied a second non-treatment site identified as an ancient seafloor environment, and a treatment site focused on karst topography. A variety of data collection tools assessed students both quantitatively and qualitatively. Students completed pre and post-surveys, comprehension pre and post-tests, site-specific notes and drawings, as well as interviews. Teacher recorded observations and a reflective journal were kept to monitor students and their behavior throughout the study. During the non-treatment period students were told to take notes and draw field sketches based on a specific site in the classroom. During a treatment period students took a field trip to complete notes and field drawings at a specific geologic field site. It is important to note that this study was interrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and so one non-treatment and one treatment site had to be completed as part of e-learning. I filmed one treatment site to generate a virtual field experience. Student results indicated an overall positive impact toward studying geology via field experiences. Although it was interesting that more students were engaged in the classroom rather than in the field, students displayed positive gains for both treatment units. Students surveyed and interviewed displayed an overall better attitude and appreciation toward studying science.Item Assessing the effects of expeditionary field science courses on student's environmental literacy(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Bavier, Adam Geoffrey; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisThis action research project studied how student's environmental literacy responded to an immersive field biology experience. Treatment was a 5-day expeditionary field course designed to connect students to wildlife research in Yellowstone. While on course, students participated in science education modules structured around the natural and cultural history of bison and the modern practices used to manage their population. Pre/post environmental literacy assessments were administered and a progressive Draw-an-Ecosystem model was delivered and scored. Results showed moderate content knowledge learning as well as increases in students empowerment and intention to act relative to environmental issues and their confidence with science competencies.Item Exploring the conceptual framework and knowledge base of nature-based experiential education(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2020) Meyer, Joshua Joseph; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Robert CarsonThis study examined the current status of Nature Based Experiential Education (NBEE) with respect to its underlying knowledge base and conceptual framework. Compared to other professions, including K-12 education, these formalized attributes have appeared to be fairly minimal. Anecdotally, NBEE draws upon an eclectic array of sources for inspiration and knowledge, while practitioners rely extensively on their own acquired base of personal experience for guidance. If this is true, then there is a certain element of rugged individualism to be admired. The tradeoff, though, would be a commensurate inability to form a cohesive discourse community, to identify and codify best practice, to establish a coherent research agenda to advance the state of the art, and to support either professional development or the establishment of standards in any kind of systematic and meaningful manner. Assuming that these are desirable goals, the initial challenge was to determine what sources of knowledge are most prominent among its practitioners. This study addressed that problem by using a qualitative mixed methods approach. The researcher employed three separate but complementary methods - by critically reviewing NBEE-related literature, by interviewing individuals with expertise in NBEE, and by surveying NBEE practitioners. The results of this study tend to support the anecdotal view that practitioner knowledge is eclectic, diverse, and largely dependent upon the experiences of individual practitioners, a kind of folk craft which is nevertheless shared among members of the field. It also revealed a small but robust inventory of inspirational and informative publications, some widely known. The project itself was met with interest, as practitioners and experts generally agreed that the profession would benefit from a more systematic and contemporary foundation of canonical knowledge and guiding principles. The study concludes by making several recommendations on how these goals can be served.Item Outdoor education and citizen science in a high school freshwater ecology science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Tierney, Sarah Martina; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisOutdoor education and citizen science practices were implemented into a high school freshwater ecology curriculum to assess student motivation, attitude, and in general their connection with the outside world. In this study students were exposed to various outdoor learning opportunities and citizen science activities. Pre and post treatment student surveys were conducted, student interviews, student journaling, and student engagement tally sheets were all recorded to assess student engagement. As a result of this study, a majority of students reported a benefit from lessons outside the classroom as well as indicating an increase of energy, pleasantness, and engagement.Item Field science experiences in paleontology: shaping science stewardship in high school learners(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Lepore, Taormina Jean; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg FrancisHow do field science experiences shape a sense of conservation and stewardship in learners? This study analyzed separate groups of female-identifying and male-identifying 9th grade high school students (N=80) on their first field paleontology experience at Rainbow Basin Natural Area, California. Likert-style surveys and written self-reflections indicate relative consistency in pre- and post-treatment responses student-to-student, through when paired with qualitative responses, the power of science stewardship and a personal sense of connection to public lands becomes markedly apparent. Future studies in the realm of science stewardship in field paleontology will help illuminate the impact of field paleontology on science learners.